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North America, Travel
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October 9, 2009

Pumpkin Picking in Dix Hills, NY

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This past weekend my family and I decided to go pumpkin picking.  I had a list of places I wanted to try but it was Sunday, and some places in NJ that are closer to the city are closed on Sundays, other places seemed too far.  So we decided to look on the New York side and found a couple of places only 40 minutes away in Long Island.  In the town of Dix Hills, NY.

We trusted our handy-dandy GPS to take us to the chosen location, but then I was driving, and I swear, that “woman” just confuses me sometimes.  Instead, I began to ignore her directions and followed the neon colored signs along the road with arrows directing us to “the pumpkin patch”.

We followed the signs all the way into a parking area for Colonial Springs Farm. It wasn’t were we had planned to go, but it didn’t seem like a bad place to get lost to. The day was sunny, a bit warmer for a Fall day, the farm wasn’t terribly crowded, and it had beautiful grounds.  When you first walk in (admission $2.00 per person, 3 and under are free), you see the pony ride area ($6.00 per ride) and the play area ($1.00 per ticket, 3 and under free).

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We headed straight towards the play area, which had a little ride pulled around by a small tractor  The kids really liked this area. There’s room to run and a few simple slides and fun stuff little kids would enjoy.  The only thing we adults didn’t like much (and a few others we heard complain) was that it was one ticket ($1.00) just to go down the slide-each time. Or one ticket ($1.00) to go through a make shift tunnel-each time.  It just seemed a bit excessive to us.  We think that they might be better off just charging one flat entry fee into the play area and let the kids be free to slide as often as they want.  We actually had to tell our 4 year old he could only slide two times because we didn’t have enough tickets!  So silly. The other thing that happened was the young lady at the ticket booth wasn’t telling parents that 3 and under were free, so parents bought tickets for their little, little ones only to later realize that they didn’t need to. That aside, the kids really seemed to be having a good time.  I didn’t mind at all paying the $1.00 per ride on the tractor train.  That seemed worth it to us, and the kids really loved it.

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IMG_2812After quickly running out of tickets, we headed out towards the business of pumpkin picking. Everyone was really excited. There was a nice selection of pre-cut pumpkins to pick from. All the boys started picking their favorites.  Nice big ones, cute little ones.  Perfectly round, bright orange ones.

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The boys started talking about pumpkin pie, and “scary” pumpkins. It was really a lot of fun to watch them get all excited as they talked about their plans.

We stopped and grabbed a quick snack at the hot dog shack they have there. You can get hot dogs, chips, water and soda, each for a couple of dollars or less. They have many activities, but we decided on letting the kids ride the pony. The smile on their little faces as they rode the pony (the first time either of the little ones has ever done so) was priceless, and I lucked out in that they didn’t insist on riding a second time (we told them the pony needed to rest).

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We headed towards their market before finally leaving, each of us carrying our huge pumpkins (total for pumpkins $19.00).

Before heading home we decided to check out our original destination, Albert H. Schmitt Family Farms to see how it compared.

IMG_2863A lot smaller than the first location, Schmitt Farms had a bigger store, with more of a selection of Halloween and garden decorations than anything else. The pumpkin picking consisted of a short walk to a section of the lot, where pre-cut pumpkins waited to be picked. They have an indoor haunted maze for young kids, though not too young, and offer free hayrides.

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We got some apples (pre-picked) which my 4 year old described to be “as sweet as watermelon”, and which I have stored for an apple pie I’m baking.  They also have some of the brightest, fullest pots of mums, which to me was their biggest attraction by far.

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So after comparing the two, I would say that Colonial Springs Farm has more activities, but for little kids (my 11 year old didn’t have much to do there other than pick the pumpkins and help us run after the little ones), the play area is a bit over priced for what is offered (and remember children 3 and under are free), and the selection of pumpkins, at least when we went, wasn’t vast, but they were nice looking pumpkins.

Albert H. Schmitt Farm was smaller, the things to do were a lot less, the market was bigger, but offered more decorations than anything else, and their selection of mums is fabulous.

If you are looking for a trip not too far from the city (about 40 minutes from Manhattan for both), and some Fall fun with younger ones in tow, these are some nice options to consider.

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Carol Cain

Brooklyn native Carol is happiest when on an adventure, whether close to home or farther away. She is a small business owner and travel writer. In addition to creating Girl Gone Travel, she is the Founder and Principal of Brave World Media, a social media marketing, communications, and branding agency. She's mom to three wonderful sons and wife to a handsome Irish/Scot. She lives, works, and plays in the beautiful Finger Lakes region of NY.

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2 Comments
  • Landon Zuanich
    May 27, 2010

    Damn, cool website. I actually came across this on Ask Jeeves, and I am happy I did. I will definately be coming back here more often. Wish I could add to the post and bring a bit more to the table, but am just taking in as much info as I can at the moment.

    Thank You

    Dog Toys and Clothes

    Reply
  • Kicking off Fall at Jenkins-Leuken Orchards, New Paltz | NYCity Mama
    September 28, 2010

    […] Fall is one of my favorite seasons. I am looking forward to visiting our friends upstate soon and re-visiting the orchards for pumpkin season.  (Check out our pumpkin picking farm choice last year: Colonial Springs Farm.) […]

    Reply

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About me

Hi! I'm Carol! I am an award-winning travel blogger, a keynote speaker, and the Principal and owner of Brave World Media, a social media marketing, communications, and branding agency. I a wife to a handsome Irish/Scot and a mom to 3 sons. Welcome to my blog where I share stories of my travels and professional public relations insights and advice. Thank you for reading and for your support!

Carol Cain

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A message about yesterday’s event: Happy Monday A message about yesterday’s event:

Happy Monday, y’all. Woke up in time to enjoy the soft glow of sunlight that shines its way around our house in the morning, and sipped on a cafecito without being rushed for anything. So already today is a win. 

Yesterday we worked our longest day yet for our little coffee cart that could (7 hours!!!) at the Heritage Fiesta in Ithaca, NY. 

Though we were ready for a crowd, the reception was also unexpected because there was a popular coffee shop just steps away. 

But we had Cómodo Fam stop by, family (who also fed us 🙏🏾), and soooo many members of the Latinx and BIPOC community who were just excited to see a small business like ours representing. 

I want to share that we were ALL worried about potential harassment and assault by 🧊and fliers were handed out to prepare us. And you would think that it would’ve intimidated the community enough to not come out…BUT WE DID. In numbers. 

And for hours that little parking lot next to Press Bay Alley was packed with all sorts of Latinx and non-Latinx community members, eating, laughing, dancing, singing, and drinking all the cafecitos and refreshers we had to offer. Literally. We went home cleaned out!

All this to say that we are all aware of the threats but we also understand the power and importance of coming together as a community and a people. By no means are we all the same, and Lord knows a lot of Latinos have a lot of self-reflecting to do based on the choices they made, but yesterday was a testament to the best of us, and I thank @yenospina and @lcatompkins for putting together such a wonderful event, for inviting @cafecomodony to be a part of it, and to all the friends, old and new, who came out to support us and la cultura. 

#fingerlakes #newyork #cafecomodo #coffeelover
Finally taking a break to enjoy one of my favorite Finally taking a break to enjoy one of my favorite lazy day pastimes of the season: market shopping for fall goodies - which in the Finger Lakes is especially bountiful. 

📍Joseph’s Wayside Markey, Naples, NY

#fingerlakes #newyork #octobermood #fallday
Our neighbors are harvesting the grapes. The proce Our neighbors are harvesting the grapes. The process is busy and noisy but also exciting and fun to watch. 

This cloudy morning seems to have calmed things down a bit, but not for long I am sure. These families work hard!

Bonus: they set up roadside stands so we can purchase and taste them 🍇 I highly recommend picking some up if you see some in your drive. 

#fingerlakes #lifeinthecountry #newyork
The rain has been so good. More, please. ❤️ The rain has been so good. More, please. ❤️
I want to take moment to send out love to my fello I want to take moment to send out love to my fellow Latinx and immigrant community. 

To send strength to my community of glorious misfits who are out in the world making good trouble and emboldening us to not give up hope on our dreams, our livelihoods, our future, our country, our people. 

The country our parents worked so hard to get to so that we could fly. A country they helped build and bring to prosper. A country our communities help to feed and house and care for. 

I am my immigrant parents dream come true, and my children are a continuation of that dream. 

I just want to remind all of us who represent the targeted, of our worth. Of the value of our contributions. In our languages, our culture, our insights, our work ethic and skills and knowledge. Of the things we bring to the table.

I don’t know what will happen tomorrow, or to us. But, as someone whose family lived through a dictatorship, I have an idea of how this story will end. And all I can advise is that we remain on the right side of it, our convictions unaltered, our core values untethered. Our spirits unbroken. In these stories, the monsters might scare us, and even harm some of us, but they never, ever win in the end. 

I am living proof of that. ❤️ And every time you succeed and feel joy, you are too. Pa’lante, mi gente.
Signs of autumn 🍂 in the Finger Lakes. Signs of autumn 🍂 in the Finger Lakes.

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