Everything Arlington's Pumpkin Patch & Fall Festival Guide 2020

This Fall, typical October activities may look a bit different (thanks, Covid!).

However, if you are an all-things-pumpkin lover like I am, you are ready to at least attempt a fun Fall with your kiddos!

I've rounded up a few of the activities going on in the greater Arlington area. Let me know if I missed any!

Farms & Festivals

Mainstay Farm (Cleburne; 30 minute drive)

Hayrides, pumpkins, a new mini rollercoaster and more! Buy tickets in advance to save on admission. Open through Halloween.

Country Critters Farm (Alvarado; 20 minute drive)

Activities include: bounce house, tractor and train playground area, pony rides, hayride, wooden maze, game areas and more. Admission is $10 per person. Some activities have an additional cost. 

Sunset Hill Tree Farm (Alvarado; 20 minute drive)

Games, activities, pumpkins and more! Weekends only. Check the Facebook page (linked above) for special admission prices.

Shadow Creek Pumpkin Farm (Midlothian; 20 minute drive)

Corn maze, swings, games and so much more... Buy tickets in advance online to skip the wait.

Forest of Fear at Joe Pool Lake (Grand Prairie; 10 minute drive) October 16, 17 & October 23, 24

Drive through the haunted forest and get spooked! No hayrides this year. $15 per car.

Midlothian Fall Fun Festival (Midlothian; 20 minute drive) October 31, 8:30a- 2:30p

Family-friendly festival featuring shopping and kids activities. Free goodie bag while supplies last.

Pumpkin Patches

Randy's Farmers Market Pumpkin Patch (Venus; 30 minute drive)

Wear your costume! Pet some cute animals, bounce in the bounce house and snag a pumpkin. Open through Halloween. Free admission.

St. John Youth Ministry Pumpkin Patch (Mansfield; 10 minute drive)

Post for cute pictures and take home some pumpkins to carve! Check the Facebook page (linked above) for weekend events with various food vendors including Pokey-O's and Steel City Pops!

Drive-Thru Events

Inglewood Kids Drive Thru Fall Festival (Grand Prairie, 10 minute drive) October 16, 5-8p

Enjoy a Fall Festival from the comfort of your vehicle. Sign up on the Facebook page (linked above)

Grace Lutheran Church Drive Thru Trunk or Treat (Arlington) October 25, 5-6:30p

Bring a bag to collect your treats!

New World United Methodist Church Trick or Treat To Go (Arlington) October 25, 5-6p

Have Kids, Will Travel: Oklahoma City

When you are asked where you would go to have a quick weekend getaway with your family, what would you say?

Austin? San Antonio? Broken Bow, OK? Turner Falls, OK?

What about Oklahoma City? Would you suggest it?

Honestly, prior to my recent visit to OKC, I would not have thought to take a family vacation to Oklahoma City. There aren't any famous lakes or amusement parks. It's not a "known destination" by any means. 

And that is exactly why Oklahoma City needs to be the spot you run to for your next weekend escape!

The EA crew headed to Oklahoma City for a fun weekend getaway. The drive from Arlington was super easy- just 35W straight north for about three hours. We had a full itinerary of things to see and do during our three days in OKC and couldn't wait to hit the ground running!

We started our weekend festivities at Scissortail Park. And, y'all, this park ROCKS! It is similar to Klyde Warren Park in Dallas, only it's not surrounded by busy streets and crazy traffic. This park has a stage for entertainment, large open areas for sports, a fantastic playground for kids of all ages, a splash area for younger ones to get wet, bathrooms, a pond (with rentable paddle boats) and SO much more. We easily could have spent a full day here running, playing and soaking up the Oklahoma sunshine. This is definitely a spot to add to your list to let the kids run off some energy and just have an easy, breezy, free afternoon of fun!

I think know the part my kiddos will tell you they loved the most about Oklahoma City was the Science Museum. Guys- This. Museum. Is. COOL. I seriously don't think there are enough words to describe how impressed we all were with the science museum. There is just SO much to do. Ride a Segway. Try out gymnastics. Trick your mind. Learn about the history of the bicycle. Play life-size versions of your favorite games. Climb and play in the kids' area. Check out some airplanes from yesteryear. I could go on. We spent four hours here and easily could have spent four more! There is an on-site cafe and coffee shop, as well as a gift shop, so you can truly plan an entire day here. I really can't say enough good things about this museum, and everyone I've talked to that has been says the same thing- OKC is worth a weekend trip for the Science Museum alone! Throw in Scissortail Park and you're totally going to win parent of the year award in your kiddos' eyes!

National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum is a spot to check out with the kids and then go back without the kids! My girls adored the replica Old West Town inside the museum- complete with a jail cell they loved being "locked" in! And the new outdoor area, Liichokoshkomo’ (Let's Play!), is a gorgeous outdoor space with lots of room for kids to roam. Check out the different dwellings Native Americans lived in, play on the playground, relax by the waterfall... The sheer beauty of this outdoor space will knock your socks off! Go back later without the kiddos and check out all the fantastic art pieces depicting life in North American hundreds of years ago. 

Blue Zoo OKC wasn't a spot I was expecting to love. We have both SeaLife Aquarium in Grapevine and SeaQuest Aquarium in Fort Worth. We've been to each of these locations countless times (and love them) but weren't expecting Blue Zoo to be any different. But I love being wrong- and I certainly was this time! Blue Zoo entertained my girls for hours! Downstairs, you can pet stingrays and observes sharks in the shark tank. Upstairs, though, you really get to let loose! Not only are there plenty of areas for kids to roam, climb and play (my kiddos loved the climbing wall), you can feed birds (they come right up to you!), pet lizards and turtles and stick your hands in a tank full of manicure fish! Yep. Manicure fish. Little fish that will come up and nibble on the dead skin on your hands! I had a pedicure with these fish years ago in South Korea... It's an experience to say the least! My girls were fascinated, though, and spent at least 20 minutes with their hands in the tank! There is a mermaid show in the evenings, which my 6 year old loved. They mermaids even swam in the shark tank! Impressive to the younger set.

The Wheeler Ferris Wheel is a fun stop for the kids after dinner (and ice cream!) one evening. The views are peaceful and gorgeous from the top of the Ferris Wheel, and the girls really enjoyed the carnival ride. Afterward, grab a hammock and relax by the south fork of the Oklahoma River!

Other activities we loved in OKC:

Aqueous, a free light installation outside the Oklahoma Contemporary Museum by artist Jen Lewin, was a fun way to burn some energy after the sun set. 

The Oklahoma City National Memorial is a peaceful and stunning memorial dedicated to the Oklahoma City Bombing. My girls had so many questions about the hows and whys of this event. While I couldn't answer very many of them, we were thankful to be able to wander through this tribute to the victims and learn a little bit about their lives.

Myriad Gardens is another great spot to wander and explore for free. Be sure to check out the childrens area with littles!

Brickopolis- laser tag and mini golf and video games, oh my!

One of our favorite spots to eat in OKC was Bricktown Brewery. So many great beers on tap! Plus a reasonably-priced kids' menu, delicious appetizers and more! Look this up for sure! We also really enjoyed hanging out at Chisholm Creek Market. Lots of eateries (with adult beverages!), ice cream spots and places for the kids to run wild while you relax.

What did I miss? When we return to OKC (and we will because we loved it so much!), what hot spots do we need to add to our list of places to visit?

*Please note: I received free accommodations as well free admission to many of these attractions in exchange for my honest reviews. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

Have Kids, Will Travel: Austin, Texas

I can't count the numbers of times I've been to Austin without kids. I've partied on 6th Street, shopped at The Domain, had tacos at El Arroyo and watched the bats at the Congress Avenue Bridge. Several years ago, I even visited the Facebook offices there with my brother.

But I haven't really ever done Austin with kids. 

It turns out Austin has a lot to offer for the under-18 set!

While traveling is tricky right now (hello, Covid), it can also be lots of fun if you are willing to venture out. We have found that many places are incredibly clean, properly enforce social distancing and are generally just not as crowded right now (although, let me be clear, there are many places that are not taking precautions, too). 

This trip to Austin didn't include a few of the things I would have loved to do because of Covid closures. Seeing peacocks at Mayfield Park came highly recommended, but the park was closed. Many public parks and swimming areas in Austin are closed or at severely reduced capacity, meaning we didn't want to take our chances by showing up and getting turned away. 

So I did some googling and came up with some fun, outdoor activities that allowed the girls to enjoy the unofficial last weekend of summer while still trying to keep germ spread to a minimum. 

Obviously, seeing the bats was the top-most line item on my list of things to do in Austin. If you don't know what I'm talking about, start here: Austin Bats  Austin is home to the largest urban bat colony in North America. It is estimated that 1.5 million Mexican free-tail bats live underneath the Congress Avenue Bridge. Every night at dusk, the bats begin flying out in droves to feed. It's an eerie but cool sight to see- and it's totally free (although you may need to pay to park)! Peak season is May-November to view the bats. You can watch from beside the bridge or on the bridge, and there are numerous boat and water tours (that cost money) you can also enjoy for bat viewing. We arrived at 7 pm and the bats flew around 7:45. The girls loved it! (the smell though...)

On Saturday we decided to head to Lake Travis to enjoy the water before water activities shut down for the season. A quick google search lead me to Volente Beach, Texas' only beach and waterpark resort. My girls love all things water, so I figured this was worth the 30-minute drive from our Austin hotel. Parking was $7, and the waterpark was $24.99 per person. The fee included 4 waterslides and a large pool area (with a kiddie slide) as well as a pirate ship play area for the 5 and younger set. The waterpark had an attached restaurant and a separate but attached bar. In the evenings, there is a stage for live entertainment (this hotspot becomes 18 and over after 7 pm). From the waterpark, you could walk to the beach and swim in a small area of the lake surrounded on three sides by a dock. My girls were there for six hours and did not leave willingly, so I'll call the day a win! The waterpark wasn't very crowded, which meant they got to enjoy the attractions for hours!

We stayed at the Aiden by Best Western, just south of downtown Austin on I-35 and highly, highly recommend this spot! The hotel was less than $100 per night for a room with two queen beds. It has an attached restaurant that has a full bar- and free breakfast is included! (due to Covid, the breakfast is not buffet style. You fill out an order form and get brown sacks filled with your requested food items, which can be consumed in the restaurant or in your room). The pool is in the center of the property and very picture-esque. It has a shallow area for kids and an 8 ft. area for older kids and adults. You can sit out by the pool and enjoy a meal or an adult beverage (no glass) and visit with friends. You do have a make a reservation at the front desk- only 30 guests are being allowed at the pool at a time to limit large gatherings. All rooms had outside entry so you didn't have to be in common areas of the hotel at all if you didn't want to be.

On Monday, we stopped at Sweet Eats Farm, just east of Georgetown and about 30 minutes from Austin. Y'all... my girls and I are doers of all things, and we have done hundreds of activities in DFW and beyond. And this farm is in my top five favorite activities we have ever done. Like, ever ever. This farm is a total throwback to my own childhood. No screens or gadgets or high-tech activities here (not that there is anything wrong with that!). Just good, old-fashioned fun. Check out the pig races, find your way out of the hay maze, swing, climb, slide, ride a horse, pet animals (alpacas and goats and baby chicks, oh my!), jump on an inflatable jump zone, slingshot apples and SO much more. The cost was $12 per person and it was SO worth it. Honestly, we stayed three hours because I was anxious to get on the road and get home to prepare for virtual school on Tuesday, but, if we had had more time, we would have stayed longer. The weather was warm but the activity areas were completely shaded. Food was available onsite. The girls got muddy and sweaty and didn't ask about iPads or YouTube Kids once. It was such a fun way to unplug and enjoy watching my kids be kids! (Although I did get good cell service, in you you were wondering!) The next time you are in Central Texas, I highly recommend checking out this spot!

Of course on the way home we had to stop at Buc cee's with half the state of Texas (are those spots ever not busy? Like, ever?). But it was an easy three hour drive each way to Austin and just what we needed for a little fun away from home. When is the last time you went to Austin? What activities would you recommend for family fun in Central Texas?