Good morning. It's Monday. I am filling in for my colleague James Barron. Today we have an autumn cornucopia of seasonal outings. |
| Amy Lombard for The New York Times |
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Fall technically began a few days ago, but summer always slip-slides through September. Now, it's official. Welcome to October. |
We're using words like "crisp" and reminding our loved ones to "wear layers." We're readying ourselves for spooky, for cozy, for cheer. |
And we're preparing to engage in that fine northeastern tradition: the annual pilgrimage to the area's farms. That means pumpkin patches and apple picking. Petting zoos and leaf peeping. Corn mazes and, of course, cider. Endless cider. |
To prepare you and your children for your full fall fantasia, I spoke with Jody Mercier, the New York regional editor for Mommy Poppins, a parenting website, who had recommendations for autumn day trips in New York and just beyond. "Get away from the city, see some new terrain, some foliage and have a little adventure," she said. |
In general, Mercier said, try to keep your travel time to about 90 minutes. ("Whenever I am getting in the car with my kids, I always tell them that the first thing we pack is patience," she said.) |
Bring layers. Wear the right shoes for a potentially mucky farm day. Also, go now: Pick-your-own orchards can get quickly picked over. (One note: Check websites before you leave, in case of any closures or cancellations.) |
Option one: Find nature in the city |
These three activities might take you to parts of this enormous city that you've never visited. They're cheaper than other options, too. |
The Queens County Farm Museum has a corn maze and offers hayrides, both for a fee. There's a pumpkin patch and a booth that sells doughnuts and cider. |
Transport: It's a train to a bus. The E gets you close, as do several Long Island Railroad lines. |
Tickets: For the maze, book in advance. It's $16 if you're over 12; $12 for 4- to 11-year-olds; free for children under 4. Hayrides are $6 each. Buy there. |
When: The last two weekends of this month (Oct. 21-22 and 28-29). Daylight hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. |
Cost: It's free to pick a pumpkin, but there's a suggested donation. The ferry costs $4, but some people can ride for free, including children under 12. |
Decker Farm, on Staten Island, is part of a working colonial village. There's pumpkin picking, pumpkin painting and even pumpkin chucking, which costs extra. See also: Hayrides and a hay maze. |
Getting there: It's a ferry ride to a half-hour bus, or about a 15-minute drive from the bridges. |
Cost: The farm costs $12 for adults; $10 for children ages 6 to 10 and is free for anyone younger. It's added onto general admission: $10 for adults; $5 for children 6 to 10, free for younger children. |
Option two: Go for 'agritainment' |
Think of this as barnyard-as-theme-park, Mercier said: "They're trying to make the farm the attraction." She recommended two area farms. |
There is a corn maze, an evergreen maze and a sunflower trail. There are pony rides and wagon rides, a bouncy castle and a hay pyramid. You can even feed the farm animals. |
And there is a wine and cider tasting for adults, too, as well as other events. |
Cost: The cheapest ticket, on the weekend, costs $29.99. It's $17.99 more for a bundle of attractions aimed at children. |
Getting there: It's about an hour and a half on New Jersey Transit. Then, there is a free shuttle. Or, it's about an hour's drive from New York City. |
Waterdrinker Family Farm & Garden, on Long Island, has many options. Pick your own pumpkins and pay by the pound. Sunflowers for $2 a stem. There is also mini golf, farm animals, a haunted house and stick-your-face-through-corn-cob photo ops, among others. |
Tickets: They are $20 each at the main location; free for children under 3. |
Getting there: Without traffic, it's under two hours from the city. Otherwise, it's about an hour and a half on the train, then a 40-minute cab. |
Option three: A more low-key farm experience. |
If you're looking for what Mercier described as "a quiet, mellow, old country experience," she suggested going to a smaller farm in the Hudson Valley. (The M.T.A. lists farms accessible by train — and maybe a short cab ride.) |
Two suggestions: Harvest Moon Farm and Orchard has apple picking, hayrides, live music, a farm store and good food. Right across the road, there's Outhouse Orchards, which also has a corn maze, pizza, pony rides and a pumpkin patch. |
Getting there: It's an hour and 12 minutes on the Harlem Line, and then a short cab. |
Tickets: At Harvest, it's $15 a person (or free for children under 3), and extra for apple-picking bags. At Outhouse, prepaid, it's $30 for a small bag. At both, buy ahead. |
Or, on Long Island, she suggested Lewin Farms, one of my childhood favorites. There are a lot of pick-your-own options; call ahead to see what's in season. She likes the corn maze, too, and the roasted corn. |
"It's totally charming and cute," she said, adding, "That's somewhere I really like." |
Getting there: Without traffic, it's about an hour-and-a-half drive. Public transit is difficult. It's more than two hours, and then a cab. |
Cost: The corn maze is $8 for adults, $7 for kids. Pick your own varies by the pound: $2.25 for apples and $2 for vegetables. For pumpkins, it's $45 for a full bag — or $40 an armload (defined as "all one person can hold"). |
We also have some suggestions from Wirecutter, the Times product recommendation service. |
Expect sun and haze, with temps in the high 70s. At night, expect clear skies and a low around 60. |
Alternate side parking and meters are in effect. |
| Jefferson Siegel for The New York Times |
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My wife and I were about to drive back to Ithaca after spending a weekend seeing shows in Manhattan. Before leaving town, we stopped to get sandwiches to eat in the car. |
When we got to the sandwich place, it wasn't open yet, so we took a place in the growing line. As we waited, a woman approached me and asked whether we would let her share our space in the line while she went to do some other shopping. |
I didn't know if saving a space that way was allowed, but I agreed anyway. |
The woman thanked me, and, maybe to emphasize her gratitude, tapped me lightly on my upper arm. Then she raised her other arm and squeezed my bicep with both hands. |
"You've been working out," she said. |
Glad we could get together here. James Barron returns tomorrow. — A.N. |
Hannah Fidelman and Ed Shanahan contributed to New York Today. You can reach the team at nytoday@nytimes.com. |
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