Disappointment Followed by Family Fun

Well, I had a very disappointing start to the weekend. Two people bailed due to prior engagements, so we weren't able to do the run. So then, we were going to hit up Waverly Hills, but as soon as I got my socks on, the person I was going with decided she didn't want to go. I still don't understand why, but this whole weekend was one huge disappointing bust. Next weekend, we're planning to finish the run. Dunno how well that's gonna work out, but one way or another, I'm going to some damn haunted houses this weekend. It's our last chance for the damn season!!

However, to lift my spirits, my awesome hubby took me, my sister, and my cousins who are also my adopted brothers, to Gallrein Farms in Shelbyville. We had so much FUN!! I have been to a pumpkin patch before, but this place was enormous! Seriously, if you tried to count the number of pumpkins in this place, it would take you a week to get halfway through the patch. It was great, because you had to take a hayride to get to the patch, you picked your pumpkins, you took a hayride back, then you went inside the store to pay for your pumpkin, which was based on the weight. We bought 6 pumpkins, some Indian corn, and some smaller gourdes from the store, and altogether it came to $30. HELLO? Really? One of our pumpkins was two and a half times the size of my head, another was one and a half times the size of my head, and 3 others were still good sized pumpkins! I'd say we won on that deal. :)



Aside from just the pumpkin patch and hayride to the field, there was a horse-drawn hayride that just went around the farm, not for pumpkin pickin', a small petting zoo where you can buy corn to feed the animals, and you could buy tickets for kids to go on a little tractor ride, a bouncy house, and horseback riding. So much to do! Plus the food tent, which served hamburgers, hot dogs, brats, chips, and sodas. The food was surprisingly good, especially considering that they must have bought the food in bulk, and that's usually pretty low-quality food. I was impressed. It was reasonably priced, too, considering it was a commercialized place, and we all know those kinds of places suck money from your wallet like a black hole.

And let us not forget the best part for any parent, aunt, uncle, older sibling, or any group with young children. There was the hay castle and the hay pit. Oh, they were itching like crazy later, but we let the kiddos loose and they ran themselves crazy! They climbed the castle and ran across the row of stacked hay bales and jumping in the hay pit and throwing it all around...it was hilarious and we scored some amazing photos from it.

So, we ended up spending less than $50 for a family of 5 to have all-day fun and left with 6 pumpkins plus a few other smaller gourds. The kids had a blast, the grown-ups had a blast, there's something there for everyone. The only complaint I had was having to carry the pumpkins from the store to the car, but that's just because I'm a pansy. They did have some carts that were available to haul your pumpkins from one place to another, but people kept taking them down to the parking lot and not returning them. It's just like going to the grocery store and watching people return their carts to the nearest empty parking space instead of taking the extra four steps to get to the cart corral, and heaven forbid they actually return them to the store...how lazy has our country gotten? But that rant is for another forum.



All in all, taking into consideration the layout of the place, the variety, the quality, the family friendliness, how nice the employees are, and the overall fun level, I'd honestly give this place 5 horses. It's the first 5 anything rating I've given any place. I'm so glad we went, we had so much fun and I highly recommend it to anyone in Kentucky looking for a pumpkin patch. We'll definitely be returning next year!