Scan My Photos Of Pumpkin Patches, Hayrides & Haunted Houses

October Includes Events To Please Kids & Grown-Ups

Pumpkin patches, hayrides and haunted houses. When did October become such a fun-filled month?

This cool fall month offers the possibility of numerous family outings and memory-making sessions. Take the pumpkin patch, a tradition you probably took part in as a child. Think about the pictures your parents took of you then. Let this opportunity to share the pumpkin patch experience with your own offspring be a reminder: I must scan my photos.

Pumpkin patches pop up across the United States as families prepare for an afternoon of carving and roasting pumpkin seeds. In urban areas, a church, community center or empty lot is usually the site of temporary patches this time of year. If you live in the countryside, you may be lucky enough to visit a real farm to pick your gourds.

Rural areas are also likely to host hayrides, a time-honored tradition that celebrates the harvest season. Hayrides may take you through small town centers or around working farms. They are a fun, leisurely way to enjoy the scenery and spend quality time with the family. Some tour operators might throw in mugs of hot, mulled cider as well. These moments can make you nostalgic for the past, and serve as a reminder: Now’s the time to scan my photos.

You can find haunted houses of all types. Large amusement parks put on grand affairs, but high school students, community groups and radio stations also create or sponsor smaller versions. Then there’s the ultimate combo: haunted hayrides. One popular attraction, Headless Horseman Hayrides and Haunted Houses in New York, is spread across more than 45 acres and includes a corn maze and one-mile long hayride. Such spooky activities are probably better suited to older kids, though; teenagers and adults will likely enjoy such gory thrills.

But the bonfire and marshmallow roast that comes at the end of a hayride? That’s for all ages.