My dad and Susan came this weekend for a visit, and my dad graciously agreed to spend his birthday on a quest for The Great Pumpkin. After he and Susan arrived the day before from Iowa, we then turned around and drove them halfway back to Iowa to go to a mega apple farm/pumpkin patch near DeKalb that was a cross between a county fair and giant retail experience. There were about 1,000 cars in the parking lot, and each carload probably spent about $50 on pumpkins, apples, cider, and (my favorite) apple cider donuts. We passed a house on the way to the farm that was disproportionately large compared to its neighbors, and we joked on the way home that it probably belonged to the farmer who was smart enough to open up a cash cow pumpkin patch. The money was just pouring in there from the city slickers who were happy to stand in a 40 person line to buy a half gallon of apple cider and some taffy apples.
For his part, AJ was pretty happy to pick out two pumpkins--one for himself, and in a act of generosity, one for his brother, who was along for the ride but having a rough day due to teething. AJ's favorite part was clearly getting to scrub the mud off the pumpkins he choose using the cattle watering tank and scrub brush that was set out for this purpose. Another genius business move--have the customers wash the dirt of their own pumpkins, saving the money to pay workers to do it and giving them that "authentic" experience.
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