By Heidi Hess
The blistering sun was beating down on me. Sweat was running down my brow clouding my vision. Was this the end of the corn maze or the end of me? Dehydration was setting in, giving me false hopes of a maze completed. Were those my kids or were the corn stalks shifting in the bearly detectable breeze to create shadows and illusions to trick me into following the wrong path to certain death? Haha… drama much? What can I say I have a flair for the dramatic.
Four o’clock in the afternoon in South Florida can be brutal but for Pete’s sake, it’s fall! Yeah, if you haven’t figured it out yet, Florida ignores autumn. We trade golden-tinged leaves, crisp temperatures, and apple cider for those lovely Facebook posts of our families frolicking in the ocean in the dead of winter. My opinion? It’s a good trade but if you are feeling the Fall blues here’s a way to get your fix. Check out the Fall Festival at Bedner’s Farm on 441 in Boynton Beach.
This year it’s a one-price admission and everything is included – pumpkin patch, Animal Edventure, Tractor Rides, Corn Maze, Sunflower Field, Butterfly, and Lady Bug Farm. Kids of all ages will enjoy themselves. This is a real working farm so after all the fall shenanigans are over stop back by to pick strawberries, peppers, or tomatoes.
We go to the Fall Festival almost every year and every year I kid myself into thinking that the kids and I will be able to solve the corn maze in a matter of minutes. And every year we forget to bring water or to apply extra sunscreen. I swear, one of these years I’ll learn… perhaps this is the year? Nah, probably not. Maybe I should stick to the Sunflower Field? It’s a family holiday card photo-op paradise. But then again, we’ll probably get lost in that too. The good thing about sticking to the Pumpkin Patch (besides the kids picking out their pumpkins and again another Fall photo op) is that everything is low to the ground. I mean sure it’s large pumpkins as far as the eye can see but I’m taller than a pumpkin and if I get worn out I can flag one of the nice farmers over to put me in the wheel barrel and wheel me out. Is this the rural version of calling an Uber?
The Fall Festival begins September 23rd and goes until October 30th. They are open almost everyday, except Tuesday with the last admission being at 5:00 pm. Weekend admission is $25.99 and Weekday admission is $20.99. Kids under two are free. They are located on 441 in Boynton Beach. The address is 10066 Lee Road, Boynton Beach, FL. They are on the same road as the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee Wildlife Preserve (another one of my favorite places). If you have any questions check out their website at Bedners.com
Either way, you won’t regret going to Bedner’s. So get over there for your Fall fix but make sure you take extra water and sunscreen for the corn maze. I can’t have you dehydrated in the corn maze or pumpkin patch calling for a rural Uber.