And here we are: October. If you’re like me, you can barely contain your excitement about weekends filled with photo ops at local farms, hopping aboard hayrides out to pumpkin patches and corn mazes. I’m reminded of an old New Yorker cartoon: “Watch in horror as, before your very eyes, the Summer People become People of the Fall.” Included are illustrations of zombies with arms outstretched before them, saying, “Foliage! MUST SEE FOLIAGE!” “Must pick OWN apples. Must buy CIDER at ORCHARD!” and “MUST! BUY!! GOURDS!!!”
It’s true. We must.
If I learned anything since arriving here at the tail end of last September, it’s that you guys can’t seem to get enough of all this Fall Fabulosity. So, in July, we began collecting information on all the Halloween hoopla and fall festivities throughout the state. (And, right on schedule, the Halloween posts began appearing on my Facebook feed sometime in mid-August. “Is it too early to decorate?”)
These pages are chock full of everything you need to plan your weekends: from farms that offer pumpkin- and apple-picking, hayrides, and mazes, to parades, haunted houses and tours, and recipes. We couldn’t fit it all, of course. So, what you can’t find here, you can get online at njfamily.com/fall, your true headquarters for all your seasonal Jersey favorites. (And be sure to enter our Halloween costume contest!)
One reason why fall is so special in my family is that our oldest son’s birthday is on the 31st. (Yes. He talks about costumes all year long.) As the days got cooler five years ago, our excitement grew. And, now, every year as we turn off the ACs, I feel the same sense of anticipation and wonder. Everything has meaning: the bright, shining days, the wind rustling the leaves, the sounds and breeze coming in from the open window at night.
I think I’ve just always liked the fall. Nothing beats crisp, sunny days—“sweatshirt weather” is the best. So pack them in a bag with some juice boxes—don’t forget your smartphones!—and head on out.
Oh, and send us your pics!
