Pumpkins and Train Rides and Road Trips: An Unforgettable October
November 06, 2017
Y'all know how much I love summer, and I was pretty sad to see it go. We made so many memories this summer and enjoyed a ton of time at home in our awesome backyard, but like all good things, it had to come to an end.
Fall has brought new adventures, and we continue making memories with our little redhead. He has officially reached the point where he knows what to do when I pull out the camera, and that makes this picture-obsessed momma THRILLED. Here are a few fun activities we've done this fall, including our East Coast road trip to Charleston, South Carolina!
We took off work on a warm Monday afternoon in October to take Bryson to Orr Family Farm, our favorite local pumpkin patch and farm in Moore, Oklahoma. This was our third year to take him, and of course he was able to do a lot more on his own than he did the prior two years.
We mined for gem stones...
...picked out some large pumpkins...
...played a lot...
...took a train ride around the farm...
...took a hayride out to the pumpkin patch...
...got distracted by the hay bales...
...and enjoyed some edible cookie dough, kettle corn, homemade lemonade and fudge!
We took advantage of all the farm offered and can't wait to go back next year!
Later in October, we hit the road for a 42-hour roundtrip drive from Oklahoma to Charleston, SC. Were we crazy for taking a 2-year-old on that long of a road trip? Perhaps. But after he did so well on our Colorado road trip this summer, we knew we wanted to try it again!
I had a two-day conference in Charleston — a 17-hour one-way trip — so I planned a ton of fun things to do on our journey there and back. The only day we did nothing but drive was the first day, when we drove from our home to Birmingham, Alabama. Bryson saw two new states that day.
On day two, we took a detour to Bryson's Apple Orchard in Mountain Rest, SC. We had a great time picking and collecting fresh apples!
From there, we visited the Children's Museum of the Upstate in Greenville, SC and explored the downtown area where we stayed for the night.
The next day, we visited the Greenville Zoo and drove to Charleston, where we took Bryson to the beach for the first time — he loved collecting seashells!
During the rest of our time in Charleston, we visited some museums and Fort Moultrie, a military fort during the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. Very neat history there.
After we left Charleston, we drove to Asheville, NC. We did some shopping and ate at the BEST place for dinner, Moose Cafe. If you are ever in the area, this place is a must. So much delicious comfort food — homemade biscuits and apple butter, chicken & dumplings, chicken fried steak, etc. — and awesome service. It was the best place we ate during the entire trip.
The next day — our final day of fun — we took the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway from Asheville through the Smoky Mountains to see their spectacular fall foliage. We were not disappointed, and I highly doubt this is the last time we see them.
We finally made it to Bryson City, NC! When I first started planning this trip, I found this town on the map and knew we had to make a pit stop there because...well, Bryson of course! I think this might have been our most fun stop of the entire trip. Why? It included a ride on the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad to a PEANUTS®-themed pumpkin patch!
They had the neatest "Trick or Treat Street" tent set up where kids could go through a tent where front doors had been constructed and ring door bells to trick or treat!
We will definitely have to go back to Bryson City. It was the neatest town tucked in the Appalachian Mountains at the south entrance of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and had a ton of stuff to do.
Bryson saw a total of six new states on this trip, making the total he has visited 12. He might not remember this trip, but we are so glad we took him on this adventure with us and can't wait for the next one!
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