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Mondays are for dreaming: Fall fun

By Mara 2 Comments

Sitting on a giant pumpkin at Longwood Gardens

One thing that has changed for me recently is that both of my children are in school. That means a definite reduction in local day trips, especially since we tend to go away a lot on the weekends. As the fall days turn golden and the summer heat dissipates I find myself feeling a tad wistful for the days when I could spend crisp afternoons wandering with Teddy.

So today I’m dreaming of this time last year when Teddy and I were able to duck away with his preschool friend Molly for an afternoon at Longwood Gardens just outside of Philadelphia, a great fall destination where we admired the fall displays, including a giant cornucopia,

Giant cornucopia at Longwood Gardens

Huge pumpkins carved into cool shapes,

Goofy pumpkin at Longwood Gardens

And electric trains running around what has to be the world’s prettiest track.

Fall train display at Longwood Gardens

Fall train bridges at Longwood Gardens

We also spent a lot of time in the indoor children’s garden, which offers loads of opportunities for water play.

Playing in the indoor children's garden at Longwood

Fountain in the indoor children's garden Longwood

The fountains are fun, but a definite favorite was “painting” the wall with water.

Painting the wall with water at Longwood

The children’s garden also has a spooky dragon, appropriate for Halloween (Teddy has to be persuaded to dip his brush in this dragon’s mouth in order to paint the wall. His desire to use a big paintbrush overcame his fear.)

Dragon fountain at Longwood

Longwood is a great place to visit at any time of year, but I think they really out do themselves in the autumn in terms of fun for kids (trains and giant pumpkins!) and beauty for adults. You can read in more detail about one of our visits here. And if you’re looking for pumpkin patches and spooky places to visit around the United States and possibly the world, I hope you’ll visit the Family Holiday Blog Carnival at Best Family Travel Advice where you’re sure to find lots of other great fall fun posts.

And here’s my bonus for you bloggers out there: today I offer you the chance to participate in not one but two memes. You can share your Monday Dreaming link below, or you can visit Best Family Travel Advice and share your posts about pumpkin patches, corn mazes, and orchards. Or do both – I won’t tell on you. Happy Fall!

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Filed Under: Dreaming of, Easy outings from Philadelphia, Kid-friendly gardens, Longwood Gardens, MidAtlantic adventures, Nature fun

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Comments

  1. Arrows Sent Forth says

    October 11, 2010 at 11:35 am

    Wow, that place looks amazing! I love the cornucopia!

    Reply
  2. Vera Marie Badertscher says

    October 13, 2010 at 2:45 pm

    I love the cornucopia. I recently wrote a guest post for Road Trips for Families, and linked your Winterthur article, looks like I should go back and add Longwood as well.

    Vera

    Reply

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I'm a family travel expert & award-winning writer who loves to eat. Explore this site and you'll find lots of stories about my adventures, and family travel tips. More about Mara

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