West Coast Frisbees: Bates Nut Farm

We decided to try going to an actual pumpkin patch/farm this year, in addition to the Del Mar pumpkin patch that is mostly just games and rides. We thought it would be a little more authentic and Ben is now old enough to enjoy things like a corn maze. Jim suggested Bates Nut Farm and I had heard of it before, so off we went last Sunday. Although my co-worker mentioned that there would be a line to get in, Jim and I were still picturing a small, quaint farm with a few people. Boy, were we wrong! We knew it would be crazy when we were stopped in traffic on a 2-lane road 2 miles from the entrance! When we finally got there, it felt more like Disneyland. There was a huge parking lot, cops directing traffic, and just crowds of people everywhere you looked.

I would say that overall, it was a fun experience and I'm glad we went, but it was definitely a lot of work in that there was a LINE to do anything - a line to buy tickets, lines for the bathrooms, lines for buying food, lines for each ride, lines for the store, etc. We spent a lot of time on our feet, trying to get to the next activity. Now we know to go early next time!

We started our day by picking out our pumpkins for carving later. We all found the "perfect" pumpkin pretty quickly and while Jim put them in the car, Ben and I walked around trying to take everything in and figure out what we wanted to do next. Ben wanted to go on the bouncy slide so after buying tickets and waiting in line, Ben got to go down 3 times and he loved it. Next, we decided to check out the corn maze (actually a maze built from hay). They had 8 different stamp mailboxes hidden within the maze to try and find, which was fun. Unfortunately, I started to feel nauseous and figured I needed food, so I left Ben and Jim to finish the maze as I searched for food. Of course the food stands were on the opposite side of the grounds and there were long lines. After standing in line for about 10 minutes, I started sweating and seeing white, so I knew I needed to sit down. I sat down in the shade and called Jim and they came over to find me food and help. Once I ate, I was fine, but I almost passed out at the pumpkin patch, yikes. Now I know to always have some sort of granola bar or something on me.

After eating some lunch and grabbing ice cream, we finished finding all of the stamps in the maze and went to check out the gigantic pumpkins. Our last activity of the day was going on the tractor hay ride. Ben and I went on it, which basically just went in one big circle around the pumpkin patch. Ben loved it, even though at one point he asked me when it was going to go faster - lol! We stopped into the main store on our way out to pick up some of their famous homemade fudge and nuts and then called it a day. As we drove home, we saw that the line to get in was backed up just as badly as it was when we got there! Now we know - Bates Nut Farm is the place to be in October. :)

Walking into the farm and heading towards the pumpkins