That’s right, folks…a real pumpkin patch in Pensacola where you pick the pumpkin! According to the person I have been in contact with at Holland Farms, “it will be a patch where you go out into the field and pick out your own pumpkin” and I am so very excited!
This is the first time that they are doing this so be patient with them as they open up this weekend and continue to work out the details! As of the latest email I received, opening day will be October 2. I did notice on their website today that it says the pumpkin patch will be open October 1 (ALWAYS CALL BEFORE YOU GO!). They will be open seven days a week and the hours will be Mon-Sat 8am-6 pm and Sunday 1pm-6pm but be sure to confirm the hours before you make the drive out there. They are also planning on having other activities like hay rides and hiking trails will be available.
Holland Farms is also a peanut farm! Stop by to buy a cup of boiled peanuts or purchase some roasted peanuts.
If you go, let us know what you think. I am going to try to make it for opening weekend to check it out, but I am not sure if it will happen!
Holland Farms is located at 2055 Homer Holland Road, Milton, FL 32570. Their contact number 850-675-6876.
Photo Courtesy of Kevitivity
Even if it is only a degree or two cooler, we are loving the fact that it is (sort of) showing signs that fall is upon us. One of our favorite things to do in the fall is visit the corn mazes around the area. My son is a maze aficionado. He loves them and can find the way out like a rat following the smell of the cheese at the end of the maze! Here are a few of the corn mazes in our area.
As always, we recommend that you follow the links or call ahead for more information and to confirm dates and times.
Sweet Seasons Corn Maze, Milton, Florida - This was probably the most challenging maze that we visited last year. Sweet Seasons Farm puts on quite a show and you could spend all day visiting. The Grand Opening is September 25th and they will be open each Saturday and Sunday from then until their closing day, October 31. Their attractions include the maze, a corn cannon, the cow train, a hayride and a playground. This year they are adding a mini hay bale maze and you can purchase Scout patches if you finish the maze! Before you go, make sure you print the coupon! Read our 2009 review of the Sweet Seasons Corn maze.
Maizing Family Farm, Elberta, AL - We enjoyed this maze last year because we were lucky to be there at a time when it was not crowded so the kids were able to wander through the maze on their own after we went through it together. Their opening day is October 1 and they will continue through the month until October 31. Their attractions include the maze, a corn cannon, a playground, tractor drawn wagon rides, and animals. This year they will also have a sunflower “sea” as well as an ornamental corn and gourd patch. See our 2009 review of the Maizing Family Farm Corn Maze.
Dixon Primary’s Haystackular, Pace, FL – The PTO of Dixon Primary is putting on the first annual Haystackular Hay Maze. Opening day will be October 1 and the maze will continue through the month. There will be different events, fall activities and food available.
Magnolia Corn Maze, Magnolia Springs, AL - Opening day is September 25th and the maze will continue through October 31. There will be different activities including trick or treating, a haunted maze, and a food drive throughout the month. Other activities include the cow train, corn cannon and games.
Seward Farms, Lucedale, MS – This trip clocks in at about 1-1.5 hours depending on where you live but this corn maze comes recommended by a friend so I wanted to add it to the list. This appears to be the longest running maze in our area as it opens September 11 and stays open through November 6. Activities include the maze, Animal Farm Alley, hayrides, a corn cannon, a U-pick Wildflower Patch, and more.
Did we miss any? If you know of any other fall mazes, please let us know in the comment section.
The 7th Annual Beaches to Woodlands Tour is starting back up again and has great family friendly activities throughout the months of September and October. We are looking forward to visiting the Holland’s Peanut Farm, the corn maze, the Monarch Festival, Zoo Boo and Depot Days! See the full schedule of events on the website. We will write more about the events as they get closer!
Awhile back, I was trying to answer a reader’s question about where to ride your bikes around town. One of the suggestions was the Blackwater Heritage Trail in Milton, Florida. It came highly recommended from several people so we decided to load up our bikes and make the short trek out to Milton!
There is a small parking lot with picnic tables and a restroom right off of Highway 90. I can’t vouch for the cleanliness of the restrooms because we didn’t check it out but at least there is one if you need it!
We parked here and got the kids ready to ride their bikes. Even though it was so hot outside, we had a great time exploring the trail and riding bikes together as a family. This is the picture from the Mystery Photo Monday this week!
The things we loved about the trail: the path is very wide so my 3 year old could wobble back and forth on the trail; there are bridges to ride over and creeks to look at; the trail is well marked; the trail is a little over 8 miles so you can travel as little or as far as you would like.
The things we hated about the trail: there were some areas where the kids could have easily taken a wrong turn off the trail and fell down a little slope or into trees; at least at the beginning of the trail (and we did not go far because we had little ones with us) you have to stop at roads with lots of traffic and this made me nervous with my children.
Things to Know Before You Go:
- Keep close eye on the children that are young and not used to riding on their own without parental supervision. You will come across several intersections. The intersections are well marked with stop signs, but make sure that you are ahead of your kids. The cars were moving quickly on some of the roads that we were on and they do not have stop signs.
- Keep track of where you are and how far into the trail you have gone. My kids were whining about halfway back to the car. In our excitement of being on a trail, we didn’t really pay attention to exactly how far away from the car we went until we were on our way back!
If you have a favorite place to take the kids to ride their bikes, let us know!
The Santa Rosa County Library Summer Reading Program activities begin June 14. There are all sorts of great activities and challenges planned for children of all ages. You can even sign up online!
Last weekend we decided we needed to get out of the house in between the thunderstorms. We decided to check out one of the state parks that we haven’t visited yet. We were definitely not disappointed by the views at the park. I thought that this Mystery Photo Monday would be a difficult one and loved that Dara figured it out! Yellow River Marsh Preserve State Park is absolutely gorgeous and is perfect for a quick walk so this is not an all day affair. The walk to the marsh area is only a few minutes. The trail is a little bit overgrown. I was in flip flops and I wish I had tennis shoes on.
When we got to the marsh area, I couldn’t get over the number and the size of the pitcher plants. It was unbelievable at times!
Before you go, read up on the pitcher plant so that you can impress your kids with all of your knowledge! Pitcher plants are carnivorous plants; they “eat” insects!
Things To Know Before You Go:
- Before we entered the preserve, we made sure to discuss a respect for nature and reminded them to make sure that they did not touch or pick anything.
- The parking lot was difficult for us to find so if you are lost, just look for the VERY large sign on the road! The public access point is located on Dickerson County Road.
- Once you are finished with your quick walk, there is nothing else to do at this park. The Florida State Parks website says that there is a gazebo, but we did not see it.
Oh my goodness. I can’t believe that May is here already! Here is your weekend roundup of activities. If you know of a family friendly event going on around the area, please leave a comment. As always, call ahead or follow the links to make sure that the information is still accurate.
April 30 and May1 – Jay Rodeo - Rescheduled to these dates. Visit website to find out how to get free children’s tickets.
May 1 – Visit the Palafox Market
May 1 – Destin Green Fest (Abrakadoodle flyer here)
May 1 - Dauphin Island Arts Festival
May 1 – Home Depot Kids Clinic – Build a picket fence planter.
May 1 – Lowes Build and Grow Clinic - Build a school house.
May 1 – Northwest Modelers Inc Open House – Model Airplanes!!
May 1 – Wet and Wild Festival
May 1 – Gulf Coast Kid’s House Chocolate Fest - Support the Culf Coast Kid’s House and enjoy chocolate treats from loval restaurants. There is a special kid’s area that will feature activities, games and prizes.
May 1 – Spring Garden Festival - Volunteers share their horticultural expertise.
All Weekend – 26th Annual Crawfish Festival
When I came across a link for Adventures Unlimited Zip Adventures my first thought was “How on earth had I not heard about this yet?” I am fascinated with the idea of zip lining through the rain forest in Central America but unfortunately it isn’t in the cards (or wallet!) this year. After doing a little research, I found that this just recently opened! Zip Adventures is a zip line tour over and around Coldwater Creek. I have not been so I have no idea what the adventure is really like, but everyone seems to be having a blast in the pictures! 
The Zip Adventure is not cheap. The least expensive is $69. Your kids must weigh at least 70lbs and be 10 years old. Zip Adventures is run by Adventures Unlimited which is a great place to rent a kayak or tube, camp or take a ropes course. If you have tried the Zip Adventures, leave us a comment and let us know what you think!
You can find more information on the website or become a fan of Adventures Unlimited on Facebook.
Awhile back (and I apologize for taking so long to write the article!), I got a reader question about where to ride bikes in Pensacola. We do not have two proficient bike riders yet so I hadn’t really thought about this. Also, we are lucky to live in a neighborhood that has sidewalks for the most part. As I did the research to help answer this reader question, I realized that either a) Pensacola is sorely lacking in this area or b) there is just no advertising for bike trails. I looked at my bloggy friend’s website, Outdoor Gulf Coast, where Shawn and Lindy share lots of outdoor adventures. I also posed the question on several message boards as well as our Facebook page and got a few responses. I have visited a few of these spots, but have no experience as far as how the spots are for bike riding with kids. Here are some suggestions from our readers:
Gibbs Point - Located on the west side of Pensacola, Gibbs Point has miles of trails that run by the water.
Blackwater Heritage Trail - This trail runs from Milton to Whiting Field and is 8.1 miles. This seems like it would be your best bet if you are looking for lengthy trails.
Any of the city parks - Many of the city parks have walking paths around them.
Escambia Parks and Recreation also has a list of parks that have walking paths.
University of West Florida Campus - The campus is relatively quiet on the weekends and has some great sidewalks for the little learners and some more rugged trails as well.
**UPDATED** Thanks so much to our awesome readers, we have a few more suggestions. Via the Facebook page:
William Bartram park and along Bayfront Parkway -Z.B. (We have taken the kids for a walk here and they loved the area.)
Johnson Beach on Perdido Key is where we like to ride. There is a fee to enter the park. We find it to be one of the safest places to ride in the area. The road is new and the beach is beautiful too. There are shower and restroom facilites at the pavillion. – T.B.
Fort Pickens on Pensacola Beach. There is a nice unpaved trail from Fort Battery to Fort Pickens. -S.B.
Where do you go for a bike ride? Please leave a comment in this post.
Gulf Coast Wings of Hope, an organization that I have mentioned before, is near and dear to my heart because it was founded by friends of mine. They are currently collecting donations for their fundraiser, the Gulf Coast Wings of Hope Garage Sale. If you are spring cleaning, please consider calling them to come pick up your donations. They will accept anything except for outdated computer equipment and adult clothing. They will be happy to schedule pickups if needed. For more information or to schedule a pickup, please call Russell at 324-1807 or the Wings of Hope number at 607-7294. They will give donation letters to serve as tax receipts. Donations will be accepted until July.
