Operation Pumpkin Patch

     Recently I had the opportunity to go to a pumpkin patch with some of my friends. It was fall break and some of the gals who were out-of-state had come home for the weekend, so we decided to take advantage of our chance to get together.

     We decided to go to a pumpkin patch..... well, because it was fall! Also, some of us had never been to one. My personal pumpkin patch memories are scant. They weren't a huge part of my childhood, and I was okay with that. Mostly I remember picking out a pumpkin in Kindergarten and First Grade and getting lost in the corn maze in middle school. So, I was not overly excited at the prospect of exploring the pumpkin patch as a somewhat-adult.

     Despite my concerns, we had a great time! Most of the equipment had been designed for humans smaller than us, but that only aided us as we returned briefly to our childhood.  After squeezing up and down several slides (okay, one was compatible for adult-sized people) we ventured into the corn maze. I wouldn't consider it an actual maze, because there was only one entrance/exit, but it still got the job done.

Here we are, about to enter the corn maze!

     After the corn maze we discovered an attraction called, "Pumpkin Land." Think of a life-size version of the board game "Candy Land," except not as elaborate. We needed to backtrack to the concession stand for a spinner, so instead we contended ourselves with jumping from tile to tile. In the middle of "Pumpkin Land" was a small playground, with various child-sized wooden structures. We squirmed in and around them for a bit before moving on.

Why couldn't we have come here as kids?

     A couple of the attractions we were able to partake in without fear of bodily harm (to us or the equipment) were a giant tire swing that could fit all three of us and a giant jumping pillow. The pillow was like a big inflated trampoline and after a full afternoon of running around corn mazes it felt like the perfect place to take a nap. 

     Unfortunately, time continued to move on. We knew we would have to return to being responsible adults sooner or later. Even though it was only for a couple hours, it was nice to be a child again. I really enjoyed going to the pumpkin patch and getting an afternoon off to spend in the company of friends.