Apple and pumpkin picking (Houston, Austin: new home, neighborhood, live)

[N. Olikee]

Originally Posted by Idlewile

I've gotta agree. While I understand pumpkins do not grow here therefore a real patch is impossible, I am shocked by what invented patches are charging, not for the pumpkins (which are, of course, always overpriced) but for admission and/or activities. Last week we went to a place out of Bastrop that charged $10 for adults and $7 for kids over 2 just to get in. There was a corn maze, a field with a large sandbox, candy and beer to buy and a row of port a potties. $27 bucks for this -- thank God our little one is barely 2 years old and we didn't have pay for her.

Or you can spend money on gas driving to Sweet Berry Farms with thousands of other hot, sweaty, dusty people and pay for activities and overpriced pumpkins there and tour guides that read from a piece of paper for school field trips.

In CO not only were the patches real, there were hay rides, corn mazes, farm animals, games etc. all for free and no admission charged.

Actually.......I think that's pretty reasonable. I've been to far more expensive for the "real thing."

[Idlewile]

Originally Posted by N. Olikee

Actually.......I think that's pretty reasonable. I've been to far more expensive for the "real thing."

Really? $27 for a 20 minute walk through a corn maze and access to buy popcorn and beer? it's not like the corn maze was haunted or anything. We all could have gone to the San Antonio zoo for the same price with a coupon.

[N. Olikee]

Originally Posted by Idlewile

Really? $27 for a 20 minute walk through a corn maze and access to buy popcorn and beer? it's not like the corn maze was haunted or anything. We all could have gone to the San Antonio zoo for the same price with a coupon.

Yep ....going to stand by i!

[G Grasshopper]

It sounds to me as though the mid-west, with its really well defined seasons, would understandably have more of a tradition of fall celebrations. Here in Texas, there is a difference in seasons, but it is really unpredictable. Here at the end of October, it could be 85 degrees or 58. Even on Christmas day you could have snow or 80 degrees, or something in between. Put that together with the relative lack of fall color and the fact that pumpkins are hard to grow in this climate, you are not going to have a really well developed culture of fall celebrations. That may be a hard thing to face if a family has a tradition of participating in all those activities, but they they will just have to find new traditions.

California also does not have well defined seasons, but they do grow pumpkins. When we were bringing up our son there, we had a pumpkin patch way out in the country with a dairy farm that we went to every year. We had a really defined order of things we did each time (got a wheelbarrow and went out to the field - got about 5 pumpkins of different sizes - came back in and went to the milking barn to watch that happening ..... other things, etc.) Rituals are comforting to kids, and parents like them, too. But when a family moves, sometimes the rituals have to change. But I do sympathize with families missing old patterns. It takes work and creativity to come up with new ones. I always wonder which things kids will remember.....

[N. Olikee]

Originally Posted by G Grasshopper

It sounds to me as though the mid-west, with its really well defined seasons, would understandably have more of a tradition of fall celebrations. Here in Texas, there is a difference in seasons, but it is really unpredictable. Here at the end of October, it could be 85 degrees or 58. Even on Christmas day you could have snow or 80 degrees, or something in between. Put that together with the relative lack of fall color and the fact that pumpkins are hard to grow in this climate, you are not going to have a really well developed culture of fall celebrations. That may be a hard thing to face if a family has a tradition of participating in all those activities, but they they will just have to find new traditions.

California also does not have well defined seasons, but they do grow pumpkins. When we were bringing up our son there, we had a pumpkin patch way out in the country with a dairy farm that we went to every year. We had a really defined order of things we did each time (got a wheelbarrow and went out to the field - got about 5 pumpkins of different sizes - came back in and went to the milking barn to watch that happening ..... other things, etc.) Rituals are comforting to kids, and parents like them, too. But when a family moves, sometimes the rituals have to change. But I do sympathize with families missing old patterns. It takes work and creativity to come up with new ones. I always wonder which things kids will remember.....

OK...........yadda.....yadda......yadda....nobody cares!

Actually, the ones we went to in the Midwest were somewhat fun....depends on the age of the kiddo.

[centralaustinite]

Thank you for the thoughtful post, G Grasshopper!

[love roses]

I agree Grasshopper. In fact, I love adapting to new traditions.

[capcat]

Originally Posted by centralaustinite

Thank you for the thoughtful post, G Grasshopper!

I second this!

[N. Olikee]

Originally Posted by centralaustinite

Thank you for the thoughtful post, G Grasshopper!

Mmmmkay

Those of you "went to the mat for GG." That's OK. I understand! Or maybe I don't?

[N. Olikee]

I can't STAND the Midwest! It's awful! Lots of drugs goin' on there! Some people have this idealized image of it and it's just not that way.

So glad I got my kids out of there because it's bad, bad................really bad.