I was so excited to take the boys to the Pumpkin Patch this year. In my mind, I envisioned that picturesque Norman Rockwell setting where the boys and I would be sitting on a hay covered wagon taking a stroll around the countryside. Tyler would be running through rows and rows of pumpkins searching for right one. I thought about that crisp fall wind rushing through our sweaters causing the first chill of the season. I did my research and found a pumpkin patch at the Santa Fe Dam in Irwindale, CA. This was going to be perfect! Among the activities listed on the website were a haunted house, games for the kids, hayrides, creepy carriages and the ever-popular bounce house. Ahh, fall had finally arrived!
We called a couple friends and rushed to beat the weekend crowds only to find that we were the 3rd car to enter the parking lot. By the time we unpacked the kids, one of the cars had actually left, so there was only 2 cars (including ours). This was a BAD sign considering we live in Los Angeles, where you can't go anywhere without a mob of people trying to get to the same place as you. As for the pumpkin "patch", it was more like 4 rows of 20 pumpkins. I sheepishly waited for our friends to arrive and actually considered driving back home before having to explain myself. We decided to stay and give it a try anyway.
I am not sure what a hayride is for people living in Irwindale, but it certainly is not this:
And the "creepy carriage" was something like this decorated with black streamers and skulls (oh yeah, and it cost $20 per hour to rent):
The rest of the kids piled themselves into the bounce house while my timid child, Tyler, pouted on the side asking if we could go home yet. I tried to find something fun for him to do, but had to face the fact that there really wasn't much going on. I made up some game about trying to find the perfect pumpkin, but then realized that I was sending an OCD child on an impossible mission. We finally settled on some "good" pumpkins, packed up our stuff and left. The highlight of the day for Tyler had nothing to do with hayrides or pumpkins. It was feeding rice cakes to the ducks and geese in the lake (which was definitely not included in my fall family fantasy). Oh, and when we left, there was 1 car in the parking lot.
***UPDATE*** Since the people at the Irwindale Pumpkin Patch were kind enough to take the time to comment here, I think I should mention that the all of the kids did have a great time and we obviously were able to get some really wonderful pictures at the scenic patch. 
October 13, 2007
The Perfect Pumpkin
Posted by Kerri at 10/13/2007
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9 comments:
your pictures look so fun! the pumpkins rows are cute. i'm sorry your experience was a little disappointing, though.
"The best laid plans of mice and men go oft awry." Glad you and Tyler both enjoyed your "good" pumpkins, even if they weren't perfect. :)
Oh my gosh, that was so funny. That SUCKS!!! I bet you guys had a great time though, when you think about it, especially in 5 years from now:)
Sorry your experience didn't go as you had hoped. I have heard that Underwood Family Farms in Moorpark is a really neat place to go. (look it up online) I might want to take Kamryn sometime next week.
Why am I so lame that I couldn't find this place? Oh well. On the drive back from the dam we actually found a pretty fun pumpkin patch in Pasadena (on the road that runs up to Eaton Canyon, north of the 210). We got our year's worth of pumpkin pictures, but it would have been more fun to see all of you guys!
Yeah, I saw Underwood Family farms, but I thought this was seemed to be almost as fun and so much closer! I am tempted to drive out to Moorpark, but Arthur is sort of over it by now.
So Sarah, sorry you couldn't make it, but I am glad you found a good substitute (and probably even better)!
this is hillarious! something that has totally happened to me. I still looking for my dream pumpkin patch out here. We went to amazing one in NYC on Long Island, and I've been looking for replica since....no such luck.. I think you total get kudos for the effort though! and you got your pumpkins- that's all the boys cared about I'm sure!
Kerri, on behalf of the pumpkin patch, I'm sorry you didn't have the time you expected. It being our first year and being a "mom and pop" operation we did our best to provide our customers with a memorable experience. I understand there are great (and more expensive) patches such as "Mr. Bones" in Beverly Hills, "Underwood" in Moorpark, and "Lombardi Ranch" in Santa Clarita, but besides the parking lot patches scattered around there aren't any in the San Gabriel Valley worth speaking about. We did have a Hay Ride (maybe you missed it), we also had a 700 sq ft. haunted house, a bounce house for the kids , as well as one of the more beautiful settings you can find around LA (as seen from your nice pictures). As far as number of people, we have been quite busy in the afternons (perhaps you came in the morning) and most of our customers have spent the better part of the day with us, riding bikes and pedal boats, picking pumpkins, having ice cream and snacks, or just enjoying the scenery. I'm sorry there weren't as many people there as you would have expected, but I hate crowds myself and hope we can make a better patch to meet your expectations next year without drawing so many people that our patch loses that "mom and pop" touch and becomes one of the many crowded familiy activities in LA.
this mom and pop patch sounds great, kerri. i am totally in next year (if we still live here) and jocelyn will be old enough to enjoy it!!
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