Just because it’s been over 90 degrees in Los Angeles recently doesn’t mean we can’t pretend it actually feels like fall. It is not sweater weather, that’s for sure, but that’s no reason to give up hope. Despite how difficult the sunny weather and palm trees make it to get into the seasonal spirit, there are still plenty of ways to celebrate the season in LA! Visiting a pumpkin patch is a cute and easy remedy for being sick of summer.
Shawn’s Pumpkin Patch is a popular location for people of all ages. It offers a ton of kid-friendly activities, from carnival games to face painting to giant slides, ranging from $3 to $15. The best part, however, is that admission is completely free. This means that you can have a great time at Shawn’s without spending a penny! Although we were tempted, my friends and I all opted out of buying tokens to play the games they had. Some of my friends bought funnel cake, corn on the cob and kettle corn, but I was on a strict budget of zero dollars. Just walking around, looking at the pumpkins and taking pictures is enough fun for me.
As one of the largest pumpkin patches in the LA area, Shawn’s has a huge variety of pumpkins of all shapes, sizes and colors. If you are actually looking to buy a pumpkin, there’s definitely a pumpkin for everyone. Some of the pumpkins were as inexpensive as one dollar, whereas some of the other ones were so big that I couldn’t pick them up. If I wasn’t in a tiny college dorm room, I would’ve loved to get a pumpkin big enough to carve. I did find a small, top-shaped one that I wanted, but I decided against waiting in line to buy it. I do miss the funky little guy, though.
I, like all the other social media addicts out there, was really looking forward to taking cute pictures. Unfortunately, since we got there pretty late, the sun had already set and the pumpkin patch was mostly lit by string lights. While this added a nice ambience, it wasn’t exactly prime photography lighting. This was a little disappointing (why did I wear corduroy to a pumpkin patch if I wasn’t going to get good pictures?!) but it was nice being able to just hang out with my friends without having to stress about taking photos.
I don’t go out and explore all that LA has to offer as much as I should, but visiting the pumpkin patch was a nice break from stressing about school and extracurriculars. It is easy to forget to relax sometimes, but it is so important to prioritize your mental health over just studying. It doesn’t have to be a pumpkin patch, but we should all try to remember to get out of the library and do something fun once in a while.