The corn maze was too inviting. Did that first. There were 3 mazes. One for toddlers where it was just haystacks being the dividers, and the toddlers can see their way through. The other 2 were corn mazes, one for kids and the other for teens and adults. I didn't try the adult one, in case we really couldn't get out and the kids panic. I would too, cos the corn were so thick and high, I would be moving in circles.
This kiddie one was challenging for them. It provided for forks at several points, but one of the forks always led to a nearby dead-end so you could work your way back and try the other fork easily enough. Still we took about 20min to get out. I let ds1 lead the way. Below right shows him pointing to the fork we should take.
Then, we went for the kiddie fun areas, climbing haystacks and sliding down! Started at the toddler-suitable ones, then as kids got more confident, we went to this one below, which were for older kids. There was a scout group there together, having a blast and since they were a whole group of boys together, they were shrieking away and having lots of fun that was infectious and rubbed off on my boys, who also wanted to play there.
The rope wall was tough for ds2 though (below left), but scouts being trained to be helpful and "always prepared", they actually saw ds2 having trouble and kept helping him. One particular boy attached himself to ds2 and became his "buddy" (see below right). So all I needed to do was sit down in front of the haystack and watch them play. Great!
Chatted with the boy later and he said his grandfather often made trips to China and was an important person there, so I should know his grandfather. I told him we were from Singapore, but I didn't think it made any difference to him. :-) So I just said, "I'm sure your grandfather did a lot of great work in China!" Which made him very happy. :-)
Emboldened, both kids wanted to try the steepest slide now. I recoiled in horror, cos even my heartbeat would quicken at the thought of trying the slide myself. But the scouts and farm help said they will help. So ok!
Scaling the vertical rope wall behind was impossible for ds2 cos the rungs were too far apart. So the farm boys hoisted him right up. And both of them slid down, shrieking in delight. I thought they would cry! Sigh, I must learn to let go, they are growing up! ds1 is shown below.
There was a corn pit too, where instead of sand, it was full of corn kernels. I thought I liked this pit much better. The kernels were easier to remove from both kids' hair, clothes and shoes. Sand always gets trapped in the hair or in the folds of their skin... They jumped, burrowed and buried themselves in it (below left). Looks so fun, I wanted to jump in also.
It was very bumpy and fun!
Below left: this enclosure had steps and obstacles for several goats to scale. It was called the "Goat Mountain".
ABove right: This is the Corn Cannon. I think I found this the most fun. It costs $1 for 3 tries. Aim is to shoot the corn on cobs from the cannon to a target board with a bullseye some distance in front.
ds1 tried first and he got a shock when he pressed the button and the corn shot out with such great speed, force and sound! I think it repelled him backward also, so he didn't want to try anymore. Hence, I did one myself and let ds2 do the 3rd shot. None of us hit the bullseye! haha. It was a lot of fun though, having the whole corn shoot out and the sheath (leaves) of the corn falling into scraps around us.
Won't attempt to explain how it works. My physics colleagues at hc always laughed at me whenever I tried to explain any thing that involves physics concepts.
Above: Duck Race! Pump the water to get rubber duckies moving along.
After that, we walked around looking at the farm animals, then waited for the hayride. That was the highlight of the day so I left it till last. It involved sitting on a wagon pulled by a tractor. It brought us around the adult and kiddie corn mazes then out to the different farm patches where the other crops were planted. Last about 45min? Scenery was wonderful, with many birds, the mountains and the bumpy wagon ride made it very enjoyable (below left).
I thought the 3 girls riding opposite us looked very cute hugging their pumpkins, so took a pic.
