Tanks for the Memories: Vala! It's Fall!
- Lindsay Britts
- Sep 14, 2017
- 3 min read
Getting inspired to do a little cruisin’ of your own? Ready to hit the road for a weekend ride to a place you’ve never been before? We can show you the best trips in your neck of the woods and you won’t even have to stop to fuel up. Each week, we pick a starting city and plan a getaway to some of the most charming, energetic, and just plain fun places that you’ll only need one tank of gas to reach. When it’s all over, you’ll be able to say… TANKS FOR THE MEMORIES!
Starting City: Omaha, NE
Destination: Vala's Pumpkin Patch in Gretna, NE
Distance: about 20 miles
It’s PSL season. Pumpkin. Spice. Latte. Everyone loves them, not just the ladies who photograph them next to Ugg boots and scarves for Instagram. Let’s be real, you come into the drink for the pumpkin promise but staying for the spices: the cinnamon, the nutmeg, the touch of clove. The start of Pumpkin Spice Latte season is the perfect point to spice up your routine and start planning those weekend trips to local pumpkin patches, just as most of the country falls into autumn like a slowly drifting leaf on the breeze. If you’re in Omaha, you’re in luck, as one of the country’s biggest and best pumpkin patches is right next door: Vala’s Pumpkin Patch in Gretna, Nebraska.
Source: Yelp
Gretna is a small town of about 5,000 whose population has doubled since the turn of the millennium. It was built along a railroad line, overtaking a trading post named Forest City that was adjacent, and named after Gretna Green in Scotland. Vala’s Pumpkin Patch was started in the late '80s as a family venture and has expanded just as much as the town, with 152 acres of rides and attractions. The vision statement for Vala’s Pumpkin Patch is, “To create happiness and magical memories for families through fun, fall traditions. What a fun statement to live up to!
The pumpkin patch opens up on September 15th, which gives you plenty of time to gather the best pumpkins for harvesting. It’s recommended you make an itinerary with their lovely map, as there are so many things to see. In addition to buying your pumpkins for the year, there are also supply stores for carving, decorating, and painting right on site for a one-stop experience. Don’t worry about bringing snacks, though, as there are multiple food stalls around the patch ranging from full seat-down meals at the Country Bakery and the Pie Farm to carry-around foods, including turkey legs and funnel cakes from Legs and Cakes Smokehouse. There are also places to buy treats to take home like Lolo’s Fudgery and Popcorn Shop and Kelsey’s Sweet Shop. At the end of the day you can participate in the Sundown Marshmallow Roast over a big communal campfire.
Source: TripAdvisor
There are spectacles held every day on the grounds to bring enjoyment to kids and adults alike. Every hour there are the Pigtucky Derby Pig Races, where a scampering of pigs races around a track to catch an Oreo. I am all in for this hog slog! After the pig races you can cross the walkway to watch the Pumpkin Chunkin’ Air Cannon Show. If you’ve never seen punkin chunkin’ in action with your own two eyes, you can watch a pumpkin sail a quarter of a mile through the air and marvel in the masteries of physics. Oh, and there’s a dragon that eats pumpkins, too. Trust us; you won’t want to miss it!
While there are a few other things to see and do around Gretna, you may want to buy a Season Pass to Vala’s Pumpkin Patch because you’ll want to stop by this gourd-ous farm more than once!
STRETCH YOUR LEGS: On the way to Vala’s you can stop at the Brass Armadillo, an antique mall along I-80. In addition to stalls from over 350 vendors, they also have a collection of hard-to-find books. You could curl up with a pumpkin latte and a nice book when you’re done at the patch.
LEARN MORE:
http://www.valaspumpkinpatch.com/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gretna,_Nebraska
Comentários