Bates Nut Farm

We went to Bates Nut Farm with the Herndons on Sunday and had a nice time. (At one point, Josh accidentally referred to it as "Nate's But Farm"! ;-) Bates is a farm in Valley Center where you can buy... uh... nuts. San Diegans like to drive out there this time of year to take pictures of their kiddos posing with bright orange pumpkins. And yes, that's what we did with Emily. The stupid batteries in our camera died on us (even though I swear I had charged them up a week earlier and had not used it since), so Lisa used hers and got a great shot of the baby in the middle of a pumpkin "patch". I would post it here, but I don't have it in digital form yet. Poor Lisa wanted to get one of her daughter, Julia, but Julia was NOT having it. (She is three days younger than and was born in the same hospital as Emily, by the way. :-) She cried every time Lisa tried to put her down in the middle of the patch. Stephen also tried to get a shot of the whole family (Lisa, Josh & Julia), but that didn't really work, either. I did, however, get a great one of the three of them earlier in the day, while we were waiting to board the hay ride. Again, I'd post it, but I can't yet.

Last year (or was it the year before?), Stephen took me to Bell Gardens (established in 1993 by Taco Bell founder and philanthropist Glen Bell), yet another farm out in Valley Center. It was a really nice little place. They sold pumpkins of course, but they also offered hay rides, a cute train ride, and even a neat "haunted" trail in the treesy ("woodsy") part of the farm. I expected Bates to be very similar to Bell, but unfortunately it doesn't have the charm that Bell did. They charge for their hay rides (only $2 per adult, but still!), they don't have a train, and the scenery there isn't nearly as delightful. Also unfortunate is the fact that Bell closed down. Not sure why. My neighbor was telling me that the local schools used to love to take the kids out there on field trips every year come October/November, so I don't think they closed due to a lack of business. On Sunday, I was surprised to see Bates packed with a ton of people. I now realize it was so crowded because Bates is getting Bell's business on top of their own!

I wish Bell Gardens hadn't closed down, but we still had a great time with the Herndons on Sunday, and that's what counts!