With only one weekend left between now and Halloween, it’s time to grab your youngest child, niece, nephew or godchild and venture down to Cox Farms in Centreville, VA (about an hour’s drive from DC). Or you can do what I did and grab a group of fun friends and act like kids for the day!

The scene is a bit overwhelming at first, with a crowded parking lot and long lines to purchase a $15 dollar entrance wrist band. The feeling doesn’t ease up until about 15 minutes into the adventure when you get acclimated to children of all ages running around and crawling all over the numerous slides that can be found on the farm. The barn features farm animals such as sheep (that really do eat facing the same direction as the sign outside says), big ugly pigs, and chickens. On weekends a band plays throughout the day on the stage in front of all the picnic tables. And apparently the slides don’t wear kids out, because they can be found dancing around the stage area.

While the slides, barn and band are all fun for the kiddies, the real highlights are the milking cow and the hayride.

This poor cow is brought out throughout the day for everyone to try their hand at milking! I don’t know what’s in that hay to keep the cow so sedated, but she really didn’t seem to mind tons of strangers putting their hands all over her udder. It’s quite and experience for a city gal like myself.

I recommend saving the hayride for last. It’s on the hayride that you get a true appreciation of what Cox Farms has to offer. The lines look really long, but move quickly, and the ride is completely worth the wait. Besides, while waiting you get to fret about a rogue turkey jumping from the coop onto your head.
I should have known we were in for some major entertainment when the first plywood character to greet us was Barney, the big purple dinosaur and just who I associate with fall and farms. Following Barney are Bill and Hillary Clinton clad in golf attire, with President Obama looking like Spock from Star Trek (I like to call him Sparack Obama.)

At this point, as hay starts creeping into your pants and shoes, you really start to look forward to what else is in store. You get some alien action, some jungle animals (both plastic and wood), some fairytale and cartoon characters, and maybe some of the Bible cast as well. Then a real cowboy on a horse joins the ride for a minute before heading into the “Halloween Disco” where the tractor stops for a few minutes in a small barn equipped with disco balls, strobe lights, and some funky music. Basically, words cannot do the Cox Farms hayride justice, it’s something you must experience for yourself.
As always though, the fun cannot last forever. Upon leaving Cox Farms you get to pick a pumpkin to take with you. While they had plenty of nicely shaped pumpkins, none were good for carving. But don’t worry, you can purchase the larger ones, along with some delicious fresh apple cider to drink on the car ride home.
Food tip: Unless you enjoy eating hamburgers that taste like the ones you ate at school in third grade, you may want to bring your own snacks.