You know when you are just craving ramen, and you just want to eat some right then and there. Normally, when Dann and I go to Wagamamas, we order a bunch of little bites and split them, as you might notice from most of the places we go, but this time we wanted to get some tasty, tasty ramen! We both got a couple of small items, different ramens and a dessert. Wagamamas is an interesting restaurant, as everything just comes when it’s ready, but the food is always lovely.
Christmas is coming up fast and many people are already getting ready for their Christmas decorations. One of the main decorations, the center of the entire show, is always a Christmas tree. We tend to go for real Christmas trees – there is something about going to a Christmas tree farm, taking a look at the forest of trees waiting for homes, and selecting the one that fits perfectly in your living room, to decorate and display for the holidays. Larkins Farm is all about KeepingItReal with their selection of Christmas trees at two different locations in Essex.
In the hunt for more places to go out and visit, we found that we actually live quite close to the Hylands Estate Adventure Castle, which is a completely free, quite massive park for kids to play and explore. We wanted to make it more of a day out, so we actually packed a lunch to eat there – though there is a little cafe which is perfect for getting lunches or hot drinks if you need it.
We have been exploring pumpkin patches, as it’s just that time of year! This year, a new name popped up – close to Marsh Farm, we found Hurley’s Pumpkin Forest. This pumpkin picking patch has a few fun activities around the outside, along with a variety of pumpkins, to give families a complete day out. Pre-booking is essential though, but is on the cheap side at only £5 per car, which covers the cost of parking and a wheel barrel rental. Most other things in the Pumpkin Forest is free, though, so you will get a lot out of your £5!
Cammas Hall is a place we do go from time to time, mainly to pick fruits. It’s local, always has great produce, and is just a fun day out for the family. This year, they are doing a special, ticketed, Halloween event – alongside a Corn Maize and their regular pick your own pumpkin patch. We wanted the full experience – so we grabbed the Halloween tickets and headed over.
These tickets basically allow you to go through a spooky trail, which is very children friendly. The area is covered over, so that it is a bit dark and a bit spooky. All along the trail, there has been spider webs, decorations and animatronics. If you walk slowly down, you will find brooms hidden among the branches, spider webs with big fake spiders in them, and areas that you can interact with. We ended up touching the dials on a TV and watching it come to life, claiming it was stealing my soul. Ghosts fly back and forth on the path, and otherwise there is just a lot to see and take in. Nothing at Cammas Hall is too scary – Robin, who is the youngest of our family, walked through it perfectly fine, only commenting on the spider that jumps out as being scary.
