Nc or Virgina, we want to see a REAL fall!!

WE live in Florida and I am trying to plan a vacation in October for my family. We have three girls 8,11 and 13. None of us have ever seen a single orange leaf actually on a tree, or a real pumpkin patch. I want them to expierence a REAL change in the season. We wont be able to go on a long vacation this year and are looking at around the second or third week of Oct. We have no problem driving all night to get somewhere. If we leave on a wen afternoon we will have thurs-sat to run amok and enjoy!!! lol Then the dreaded Sun to make the trip back. Do hay rides,corn fields,and pumpkin patches really exsist? WHERE? please help me decide where to go.

Nc or Virgina, we want to see a REAL fall!!

Here%26#39;s a website that lists all the various pumpkin/corn maze/fall festival stuff around Northern Virginia. (It may be a bit out of date, so you%26#39;ll want to check out each site as it gets closer to fall to see if they are still in operation.)

www.pumpkinpatchesandmore.org/VApnorthen.php

There are 3 places that I have actually been. All of them can get quite busy on the weekends (especially Cox Farms), so do as much of this during the week as you can. It%26#39;s been many years since I%26#39;ve been to Cox Farms, but at the time, a lot of it seemed geared more toward the younger kids. (I don%26#39;t know if it has changed in the interim.) But the giant slides and rope swings are great for all ages. I%26#39;ve been to The Corn Maze in The Plains and to Temple Hall more recently and their mazes will definitely be great for all of your kids--especially The Corn Maze in The Plains.

(I can%26#39;t seem to paste the website for Temple Hall Farm Regional Park, but just do a Google search for that. Here%26#39;s the websites for Cox Farms and The Plains.)

http://www.coxfarms.com/Default.aspx?p=118

cornmazeintheplains.com/index_cornmaze.html

Nc or Virgina, we want to see a REAL fall!!

If your dates a flexible (maybe late October %26amp; early November) you can probably find what you are looking for in Georgia or South Carolina and have a much shorter drive. Google ';fall foliage'; and you can find a map that will tell you approx when to expect fall colors by state. Of course, actual foliage changes depend on weather, temperatures, rainfall, etc, so check the sites in August/September and firm up your dates. In the meantime you can do more research to find the best pumpkin patches.

Good luck.

Fall colors don%26#39;t only depend on latitude, but they also depend on altitude.

The leaf turning will be further along up a mountain than down in the valley.

For fabulous fall colors, I would definitely recommend VA. One of 2 places:

-The Blue Ridge Mountain area of VA. I have never seen fall foliage quite like there (except in Connecticut, but that is much further than you planned on driving.) The perfect combination of the altitude, the temps, %26amp; the latitude/longitude, make this part of northern VA perfect.

-OR-

-The Tidewater/Williamsburg area of VA. Since it is a little further south, the colors there would be changing a few weeks behind the northern VA area, but they are also really beautiful as well.

Both areas will have a great selection of fall festivals, corn fields, pumpkin patches, etc that you are looking for.

Visit Virginia%26#39;s Tourism site - www.virginia.org . I live here in the state, %26amp; still use that site- it%26#39;s wonderful %26amp; so full of helpful information! On the site, you can filter by specific things you are looking for, like Fall Foliage, or Festivals, etc. And you can also combine that with a filter of the different areas of VA.

Hope that helps.

Not that I don%26#39;t love my state, but are you also considering Asheville, NC? That is such a unique town, shorter drive, and you can work in a visit to Biltmore. It%26#39;s mountainous area, so you%26#39;ll get the nice crisp days and elevated lookout points that give you undulating color in every direction, similar to the Blue Ridge up here in VA.

And no matter where you end up, if you can find a cornfield maze be sure to do it. While they%26#39;re fun to do during the day, your kids should be old enough to also enjoy it after dark. I love to get lost in the mazes after dark. Most will post the occasional sign with a trivia question - the right answer will guide you toward the exit - so don%26#39;t worry about ~really~ getting lost in there. Be sure to take a flashlight, preferably one for each person.

As for a pumpkin patch, there%26#39;s Hickory Nut Gap Farm. hickorynutgapfarm.com/Fall_Activities.html