Ah, my son started preschool for the first time this month.  It’s been an emotional time for me (not helped by the fact that I am also in my third trimester of pregnancy with my 2nd, and have some hormones to contend with, too).  But watching him run into his new classroom, with his new buddies, clearly a student in a “real school” now, makes me want to take all the time I can with him when he is home.  I want to continue to share with him all the things I remember as a kid and loved.

And since I love fall (I used to get so excited to shop for back to school supplies as a kid and that aisle in Target still makes me get a spring in my step…I am sure I can’t be the only dork out there…), I have this huge list of things I want to take him to to celebrate “the harvest.”

And, of course, hay rides top the list.  We’ve done hay rides at Ganyard Farm and Green Acres Farm and both have been a hit.  Although I am not sure what it is about the hay ride that is so much fun?  A loud tractor bouncing around at slow speeds, smelling diesel fumes, riding through farms that aren’t always that picturesque while sitting in a scratchy, allergy-causing hay hardly sounds like a winning combo.  But win it does.  But of course my son also loves when we put him in our wheelbarrow and push him around the backyard.  (Which my husband refuses to do for me, telling me I am too big, which don’t worry, I don’t take as a statement about my growing pregnancy belly and thighs).

If you really love hay, you can get all up in it at McKee’s Corn Maze.  That is some serious stuff there!

Fall hiking is always big on my list, too.  Some families like to get in the car and drive the Blue Ridge Parkway to take in fall foliage and views.  But since my brood is notoriously bad in the car (ok, really, it’s me, I hate road trips), we like to hoof it.  There are lots of spots I like and you can see a list here, depending on how challenged you want to be.  But two particular spots come to mind.  Occoneechee Mountain is a hidden hiking gem you can get to in HIllsborough, even if you can’t spell it.  My husband and I explored the Lower Haw River trail this past weekend and that is going to be especially gorgeous in the fall, with the colors reflecting off of the mighty and large Haw River.

Know of any other great fall spots in the area?  Where else should I be taking my son to show him how wonderful and beautiful this time of year is?

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