The Great Pumpkin Patch {Top Ten Tuesday}

Recently my twin and I headed to Arcola, IL for a sister getaway.  We bought a two night stay at a Bed & Breakfast through Living Social and were excited to get away for some exploration.  When we first arrived, we asked ourselves, “What did we get ourselves into?” {giggle}  However, we quickly asked around and scoped out the area to find a one particular treasure — The Great Pumpkin Patch in Arthur, IL in the heart of IL Amish Country.  For $5.00 per person you enter a 200 acre world of fun, color, and you feel like a child all over again.  So, let’s take a look at my Top Ten pics of this adventure.

one: fun signage.  I found the hand written signage on all of the old wood so much fun.  It was bright and full of personality.  You can’t really read them well, but the one sign says that this fantastic place was featured on Martha Stewart.  After visiting, I can see why {smile}.

two: harvest mums.  They had hundreds (maybe even thousands) of mums.  Beautiful, vibrant colors.  If I lived in the area, I would have certainly bought one of those beauties to take home.  Mums are such a highlight of Autumn.  I even included a picture of me in front of a wall of mums.   I’m such a dork.

three: hundreds of pumpkins, gourds, squashes and more.   When I first read about this place, I thought — “Seriously, how many gourds or squashes can you have?”  Well, there’s a lot more varities of these colorful delights than I could have ever imagined.  Wowzer is all I can say!

 

 

four: petting zoo for the kiddos.  I only captured a couple of quick photos, but there were quite a few animals for the kids to enjoy — roosters, hogs, llamas, etc.  Being that I don’t have children, I soak up watching the little ones light up with excitement and hearing their little giggles when the animals approach.  Those sights and sounds are priceless.

five: pumpkin ice cream. Now I’ve had pumpkin pie concretes — but let me tell you that this pumpkin ice cream was a real treat.  Yum!  The line was lengthy every time we passed by, so we knew we had to try it.  Our only regret was that we only ordered one to share {hee hee}.

six: time with my sis.  If you can believe this one — we didn’t have one picture of us taken together {insert boo’s here}.   It’s kind of my fault.  I’m not too thrilled with my appearance (aka weight) as of late, so I was a bit of a party pooper with pics of me.  I did capture this one of my sis though.  I love this girl!!! And let me tell you, we know how to laugh hard, play hard and fight hard {ha!}

seven: scarecrows and oh so cute wagons.   There was so much to take in visually around this place. This scarecrow had such a sweet face and I loved, loved, loved the little wagons. All pumpkin patches have some sort of contraption to haul those pumpkins around in — but these little wagons stole my heart. I think it was the pop of green…  I pulled one along for the three or four small things I was going to purchase (and to blend in, of course).

eight: fun photo ops around the acreage.  They really do cater to all ages.  There was one cute spot that I didn’t capture on camera but it was a place to measure your kids heighth.  It said, 2011 on it and “How tall this Fall?” for the families who return each year to get the kiddos pic.  How fabulous is that?  Another HUGE surprise was that they crowned me the Pumpkin Queen….  not, just kidding {giggling out loud}.

 

nine: purchase tickets.  I thought these “Purchase Tickets” were pretty fabulous too.  Made me feel like I was in a rustic sushi place.  Again, I loved that 95% of this handy dandy ticket was hand written.  Just feels down right homey, friendly, and fun!

ten: pumpkin angel food cake. Yet another pumpkin treat that I did not know existed. Thanks to a friend of mine on Facebook (you know who you are) mentioning this was a must have — I picked one up at The Homestead Bakery there on The Great Pumpkin Patch grounds. There were none to be found, so I asked and was brought out a warm one. I did decide to wait until I got home to actually eat it, but was super duper anxious to give it a try. It was delish! Those amish women know how to make some serious good food.

 

Soooo, here’s where I put in a plug for this incredible-must-see-place.  It’s about 2-1/2 hours from St. Louis, but I’m pretty darn sure I’ll be frequenting this place each year. It’s worth the trip.  Plan a family road trip next Fall. If you have kiddos, they will eat it up. It is beautiful Amish Country with quaint little downtown areas to stroll through antique shops, etc. So, what do you think? Did I peak your interest?

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