It’s the most wonderful time of the year! No, not Christmastime, but Fall.

The days are sunny and dry, our Florida humidity is finally starting to ease up, and football is on the TV. I just love all that comes with Autumn. We may not have true distinct seasons here in Destin (other than Spring Break, Summer, and Snapper seasons ), but our communities still get in the spirit.

There are actually quite a few pumpkin patches in Northwest Florida, but most are a decent drive from Destin (at least an hour). Jason and I took the kids just 20 minutes north of Destin to Niceville to get a taste of a pumpkin patch much closer to home.

Crosspoint Church in Niceville hosts a great pumpkin patch each year with the proceeds benefiting the church. Saturdays are family days complete with a petting zoo, bounce house, and face painting.

The kids had a ball with the farm animals! There were bales of hay all around the pins and the kids thought it was such a hoot to feel the goats and pony.

Julia’s favorite was the precious bunny. They were for sale for $20, but sadly we had to pass. Two dogs are plenty for us!

Mac would have stayed all afternoon in the bounce house. The only way I could get him out was to convince him to get his face painted.

Most of the volunteers were youth members from the church and they were all so friendly and helpful. Donations were accepted at every booth, but certainly not required.

I somehow managed to not get any photos of the pumpkins, but there were hundreds! Tiny ones all the way up to huge Cinderella pumpkins. They also had wheelbarrows and carts available to help you haul your pumpkins from the patch to your car. Again, all the pumpkins were for donations. The church had suggested donations based on size, but what you donated was ultimately up to you.

We stayed at the patch for about an hour and it was time well-spent. The kids had a wonderful time, we were able to support a local church, and the drive to and from the pumpkin patch was definitely do-able with little ones.

The Pumpkin Patch at Crosspoint Church in Niceville is open for business 10 am to 7 pm October 1-31st. Saturdays are Family Fun Days with the petting zoo, bounce house, and face painting from 11 am to 3 pm.

Crosspoint Church Niceville
214 S. Partin Drive
Niceville, FL

The Destin Seafood Festival takes place on the harbor the first weekend of October each year. The festival kicks off Friday afternoon and goes throughout the weekend.

Sunday is typically Family Day, so Jason and I decided to take the kids after church. We were able to check out all of the vendors and enjoy lunch on the harbor.

But first things first- pony rides!

Julia and Mac wouldn’t let us past the kiddie section without stopping and partaking.

Unfortunately the kids’ activities were grossly overpriced. Pony rides were $7 per kid for about a 2 minute ride, and the bounce house was $10 per child! I couldn’t believe the prices. The friendly attendant told us the kids could bounce all day for that price, but we knew we were only staying a little while.

Fortuantely, there was a lot to see to distract the kids, so we walked around for a bit in search of food.

The kids finally decided on chicken on a stick and french fries. Total festival food!

The chicken on a stick was nothing special. I should have known better. It wasn’t even local- it was from a huge vendor that travels from festival to festival. The kids loved the fries though, and fed most of their chicken to the pelicans off the dock.

Jason and I shared a plate of tacos from a local food truck, The Big Red Truck. We tried the fried fish, Asian chicken, and BBQ pork tacos.

The tacos were delicious! Much more affordable and we were able to support a local business. Win-win.

The kids and their buddy Audrie payed a visit to the Blue Runner II. My father=in-law is a charter boat captain and owns this fine fishing vessel. We love going out on Papa’s boat. If you ever want take a fishing trip in Destin, he’s your man!

Audrie and Julia made some beautiful spin art masterpieces.

This is actually a local vendor who can always be found near AJs. The girls loved trying spin art and it only set us back $5.

By this point, the kids were getting hot and cranky, so we made our way toward the exit. But not before soft serve!

I don’t know what was so special about this soft serve but it was honestly some of the best I’d ever tasted. Good thing I didn’t order my own. I would have dominated it. I settled for a couple bites from the kids.

All in all, it was another successful year of the Seafood Festival. Our kids are still a bit young to truly enjoy a full day at the festival. There is always a great line up of live music that we would have liked to watch, but we’ll have to try again in the future.

Until next year, Seafood Fest!