Since our first visit to the pumpkin patch was thwarted somewhat by the pesky stink bugs, we decided to try another one. Daddy was working this time, so we went with Granny, LIndsay and Caleb on a Monday. We figured there would be less people on a weekday, and we went in the morning this time when we are all at our best. We went to Hartland Orchard, another farm just off Interstate 66 in Markham. I've seen this orchard from I-66 en route to Front Royal and have always wanted to try it. Granny has been wanting to take the little ones to a petting farm, and we heard that this farm had animals. It was a beautful fall day, so we packed up the cars and headed to the pumpkin patch!
When we planned our excursion we thought ahead and decided to pack a picnic lunch. While we were smart to think of feeding our bellies (which is always a priority when you have little ones in tow), what we didn't think to check was the hours for the farm. It wasn't until we got there that we realized the farm was closed on Mondays. (Oh gosh) Fortunately for us, you can't really "close" a farm. So while this meant we wouldn't get to do the hayride or moon bounce, we were hoping we could still enjoy the pumpkin patch and have our picnic. We met the farm manager upon arriving, and he was very gracious in offering up his farm for us to do all the exploring we wanted to do! In fact, he even offered us a ride up the hill in his pick-up truck. But since we weren't quite ready to head up just yet, we turned down the truck ride, but did take him up on the exploring of the rest of the orchard.
At Hollin Farms all the wagons were taken when we got there. Daniel
is excited to see that there are many to choose from here. But
it looks like someone forgot their pumpkins.
Daniel: It's here, might as well go for a ride!
So that is what we did!
When we declined the pick-up ride, I figured I would just pull
the kids up the hill in the wagon. That was BEFORE I tried
pulling the wagon. Pulling 75+ lbs. of toddler is harder than it looks.
We decided to walk instead.
Daniel, Mr. Independent "MIssion Man" as his Daddy calls him,
did not need Mommy's help walking up the hill.
He also did not require any assistance climbing up into the truck
bed filled with hay.
Come on up, Caleb, it's pretty cool up here.
Meanwhile, Anabella was checking out the goats with Granny. She
didn't need any encouragement at all to reach right in and say hello.
Assuming a goat could be no different than Solomon and Shilee, she
received a rude awakening when Mr. Gruff bucked the fence.
It didn't stop her as she invited Daniel and Caleb to
come join her fun. And they did. They even fed the goats some
feed that Granny found in a nearby bucket. (we really did
make ourselves at home, didn't we?)
We didn't see this sign until AFTER we fed the goats. Sorry.
Time to go find something else....
This looks like fun.
And it was!
Anabella was determined to take out every last beanbag.
And, what else might we find....
A slide? Looked like fun but better suited for next year's visit.
Anyone hungry, yet?
Anyone who has ever explored with toddlers knows that there are
always distractions on the way to the next task. So, on the
way back to have our picnic, we decided to climb these VERY steep steps.
I'm sure the view was stunning, but I was so terrified to be up
there with three toddlers I forgot to look.
Time to picnic! Growing up in Front Royal, I have been on my fair
share of picnics. But this is the first one I've ever had in a
pumpkin patch!!
From the way Daniel and Anabella settled into their chairs, you'd
think they must picnic like this every day!
Daniel sneaks a look in the cooler while Anabella sneaks a "sip" of Granny's soda.
On our way back down the hill to our picnic, Granny spotted some tomatoes
still on the vines. While we didn't wanted to push our luck, we
also hated to see good tomatoes go to waste. So, after our picnic Granny asked our
friendly farm manager if we could pick some to purchase.
"Help yourself," he said, "no need to pay, just come back next year."
We can do that! Thanks, Hartland Orchard, for a fun day!!
No comments:
Post a Comment