A Basic Fall Day in Western New York

Savy and I apple picking

A couple weeks ago I took the day off to simply hang out and do your basic “Fall time” activities (think apple picking, pumpkins, farm animals and more). When choosing a place to visit, it was quite hard - I mean Western New York has a lot of great places to visit this time of year. After narrowing my list down, I randomly selected Blackman Homestead Farms in Lockport, NY.

About a 40 minute drive north of Buffalo, my niece and I picked a great day to go, it was early afternoon and the weather was just right . The selection of apples we picked from was perfect (perfect in my terms), the apples weren’t picked over, there were a lot still on the trees to pick from and it wasn’t overly crowded, making it easy to walk around and explore.

While there we picked out some pumpkins, visited with the goats and pony’s and I even got myself a few mums for my front lawn.

I would highly recommend this location for your Fall activities.

Next time I’m out that way its on my list to stop and check out their cidery (Blackman Cider Co.)

Less is More Sometimes

A couple weekends ago my sister and niece went with me to pick out pumpkins like we normally do this time of year. Instead of going to the Great Pumpkin Farm in Clarence like we normally do, we decided to go to Becker Farms and change it up a little. While I enjoy Becker Farms for their winery and brewery, I was really disappointed in the service {or lack there of} when it came to the children's area and pumpkin barn.

While every other area was open and ready to go, the area to pick your pumpkins and pay was closed and just opening {at 12:30pm} when we were ready to check out. If you wanted to pay you had to lug your pumpkins to the country store to pay for them. To top it off the staff {if you could find them} was rude and not helpful when it came to answering questions and it made for a not so fun time and us regretting our decision to just go to the Great Pumpkin Farm. The pumpkins were overly priced costing us $33 for 5 of them, that I could have gotten cheaper somewhere else.

So even though I like the winery and brewery on site, I think they should refocus on what they want to do next year. Sometimes its better to not have it all and focus on the areas you're good at. Sometimes less is more...

-B

Even though it was a disappointing experience, I did capture some pretty scenic shots while we were there.

{A smile on my face, even though the service wasn't so good}

Friday Favorites!

Its been a good week, volunteering, catching up on things that I have been putting to the side and planning ahead to the next couple of weeks. Even though the weather isn't supposed to be that great, I'm looking forward to picking pumpkins with my niece and sister on Saturday and Sunday I'm looking forward to attending {as a guest} the Bridal Celebration at Asbury Hall. Ali and Erica always put together great events and there will be a lot of talented Buffalonians there. Have a good, rested weekend! Go Bills!

-B

{ I love seeing the cranes downtown }

{ Just another reason I love Newbury St. on Elmwood }

{ The Polar Bites Pre-Party was a success! }

{ My walk to the First Niagara Center last week was a beautiful one, I love seeing the trees starting to change colors }

{ The first step I took on the Sky High Course this past week. Facing fears and living life }

FALL into my Favorite Things

Fall is one of, if not my favorite season. I love the cool, crisp air, the leaves changing colors, and the oversized sweaters and boots you can wear. Lets not forget the fun activities to do; corn mazes and hayrides, decorating and carving pumpkins and trick or treating. This is the time of year we get to enjoy the yummy candy apples and warm pies to delicious apple cider as well.

While there are a lot of activities that take place this time of year below are my top 8 places to go for fun Fall activities in Western New York.

1. Becker Farms - Apple and Pumpkin Picking, Wine and Beer tastings, hayrides and much more!

2. The Great Pumpkin Farm - Kid Rides, Pumpkin Picking, Animal Farm, Face Painting and Country Store

3. Pumpkinville - Hayrides, Pumpkin Picking, Corn Maize and Country Store

4. Letchworth State Park and Allegany State Park - Beautiful fall foliage and hiking trails

5. Nightmare Hayrides on Sommerville St. - Haunted Houses and Hayrides

6. Cambria Corn Maze - Corn Maze, Pumpkins and refreshments

7. Falcone Farms - Apple and pumpkin picking

8. Mayer Brothers - Apple Cider, Baked goods