I’m always looking for new experiences nearby, here in Southern California, so when I saw a listing for the Tanaka Farms Hana Fields pumpkin patch in Costa Mesa, we had to give that a try. Jurassic-themed corn maze? Tractor hay rides? Pick your own pumpkin? And get to hand feed goats? Yes, please! Except for feeding goats, I’d never done any of those things, at least in recent memory.
We got our tickets for nearly half price on Groupon. I didn’t even know that Groupon was still a thing, but, Yay! We picked a day in the middle of the week and lucked out with a beautiful, clear sky and mild weather. If you’re in the So Cal area, it’s open till November 9.
First, we headed to the corn maze. I expected a narrow, slightly claustrophobic, confusing puzzle, a la Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. But there was plenty of space and you couldn’t really get too lost because the wrong paths ended in quick dead ends, usually inhabited by creepy scarecrows.
Throughout the maze were vignettes featuring mostly dinosaurs, which The Husband loved. Also, aliens, pirates, and unfortunate adventurers. There were two separate mazes that took us about an hour to do, because we were having fun, getting our steps in for the day, and making sure we saw everything. No FOMO for us!
We love the Creature from the Black Lagoon! Appreciated his inclusion 🙂
If you can zoom in on this one (above), you’ll see the iconic Indiana Jones hat on the left and the equally iconic gold statue from the first film on the table in the upper right, along with a chalice and Indie’s dad’s notebook.
I’m not scared!
The skeleton attempting an escape from the coffin in the background ~ LOL!
Pterodactyls are my favorites!
Some flora from the maze
And proof that it was real, live corn that made up the maze!!
Some pics from the pumpkin fields and general area.
Got us both in this picture, LOL!
Dinosaur eggs below. Perfect example of how different The Husband and I approach getting our pictures taken… LOL!
The Husband with the tractor in foreground. A bumpy, but fun, ride.
Lavender fields from the hay wagon. I think we’ll be coming back in the spring for the lavender and sunflower season!
We didn’t get any pictures feeding the goats and sheep ~ our hands were too sticky with goat spit to handle the phone ~ but here are some of the animals and fowl on view.
If that chicken in the center were mine, I’d name it Phyllis Diller!
Pretty, glittery tin flowers decorating the restroom (porta-potty) area.
We spent a few hours exploring the maze, riding the hay ride around the property and touring the farm area. We got there early, so it was pretty uncrowded most of the time we were in the maze itself. And even after that, it wasn’t crowded like I’m sure the weekend gets. One great thing about being retired is we get to do things in the unhurried middle of the week. 🙂 On the way home, we had lunch at the Discovery Cube in Santa Ana since we were so close. Another fun place to go (we have annual passes) during the week.
We hand picked the two orange pumpkins out of the field ourselves and bought them, along with the white and orange, specifically for our back steps. This little tableau makes us both happy when we walk out the door or come home. We don’t usually do a lot of decorating, but for some reason, we got in the spirit this year. I mean, you can’t go to a pumpkin patch and walk away pumpkinless, can you?!?!
If you’re interested, I’ll be putting some video of the dinos on my Instagram, so you can click the link below to see them, too.
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