A Day Out at Adobe Pumpkin Farm

Yesterday we dragged the kids to the first pumpkin patch of the season (but certainly not the last). We visited the Adobe Pumpkin Farm in Petaluma, located at the intersection of Adobe Road and East Washington Street. We were enticed in part by the promise of a free mini pumpkin for all children who visited during the Weekend Along Farm Trails event on the weekend of September 29 and 30.

Located just minutes from the suburban sprawl of east Petaluma, Adobe Pumpkin Farm is a real farm that, in addition to pumpkins, also grows flowers and a variety of vegetables. Here you can pick your own pumpkin from a large field, or choose from already-picked varieties in all sorts of shapes, colors, and sizes. They also have different kinds of squash and gourds available. Adobe Pumpkin Farm is a very commercial operation, and I mean that in a good way. It’s well done, with a large variety of activities and attractions to keep families busy after the initial thrill of the pumpkin hunt. The place is absolutely huge, so there’s plenty of room for children to run and jump and tear around like little maniacs, which is good. There are a few animals, like lambs, llamas, and a horse, for children to visit, too.

As it’s a moneymaking operation, you’ve got to pay for most of the Halloween attractions on site. There’s the obligatory jumpy house, a corn maze, a haunted house, and a haunted barn. The Pumpkin Barn, where you buy tickets to the attractions and pay for your pumpkins, is also a gift shop chock full of Halloween and autumn related décor items, toys, and other assorted gee gaws. It’s probably impossible to leave without getting something. They also sell soft drinks and bottled water, as well as cotton candy and other sweets. There was a building with an “espresso” sign on the outside, this being the Bay Area and all, but we never went inside and thus can’t confirm the actual presence of an espresso machine. Oh, and for those who just can’t wait, there’s also a Christmas shop on site selling decorations and hand made German, Czech, and Polish glass ornaments.

Like most 4-year-olds, our son has a love-hate relationship with the scary part of Halloween. The Adobe Pumpkin Farm haunted house looked pretty darned creepy and had loud booming sound effects. It also cost $5 a head. It was deemed by all to be “too scary,” so we avoided it. We also decided that the less-expensive ($3 per kid, free for adults) Haunted Barn was also too scary. Although it was probably less scary, we weren’t taking any chances. Our caution was justified when, on our way out, we saw a family with two kids leaving the haunted house. The younger boy, about 5 or so, was running screaming from the house, and the older girl, who was maybe 7 or 8, was sobbing. So we decided it really was too scary.

Adobe Pumpkin Farm is located at 2348 East Washington Street in Petaluma. Get there by taking 101 north to the Washington Street exit in Petaluma, then turn right onto East Washington and follow it until you reach Adobe Pumpkin Farm, which is just past the airport. There’s plenty of parking. More information at www.adobepumpkinfarm.com or 707-763-6416.