Yesterday, we took Mio to Cox Farms in Centreville for their annual month-long Fall Festival, which is the largest and most popular fall festival in the DC area. We took Mio to Moore’s Pumpkin Patch last year in California, but she was so young that she didn’t really get to appreciate it as much then. Now that she’s walking, talking, and more perceptive, we knew that she’d be able to appreciate this celebration of autumn a lot more this year! It was a beautiful day, so there were thousands of other families there! It took a while to get through the line to enter the farm, but it was well worth it!
A cow greeting us as we waited in line at Cox Farms. Mio mooed back at him.
Finally entering the festival!
Taking a picture together by the pumpkins.
Piglet Mio with Daddy.
Mio was SO excited to see the pigs. She kept making oinking noises at them… lol.
Bonding with the pig.
Equally excited to see the goats.
Here is Mio by the goat pen, trying to feed them a corn husk she found on the ground…
Dan really wanted some kettle corn, so we bought a bag. Mio couldn’t wait to get her hands on some.
“Dadoo, please!”
Trying kettle corn for the first time.
There were lots of rides and activities for kids at the festival, but one of the main attractions was the hayride! We wanted to make sure we had time to go on it, so we got in line to ride it first.
Munching away while waiting for the hayride.
Finally boarding the hayride!
Here we go! Mio’s first hayride ever.
Mio and Daddy on the hayride.
Mio and I taking a ride through the corn fields.
The hayride was very eventful, with lots of little props and characters along the side of the road to surprise and entertain passengers during the ride.
This alien came up behind Dan and gave him bunny ears while he was busy snapping photos on his phone. There was everything from aliens (with a spaceship)…
to creatures from “Where the Wild Things Are”…
dancing cowgirls…
…and tentacles rising out of the water!
…there was even a scrawny Superman that came to “rescue” us when we our hayride got “stuck” in the ditch! 😛
There was even horses that came up next to the hayride!
Mio mooed at the horse. The horse looked confused.
“Get ready for the tunnel, Mio!”
Mio was in awe during the entire hayride.
After getting off of the hayride. That was a lot of fun!
Mio on the tractor.
“Whee!” Mio coming down the giant Castle Slide with Daddy.
Mio-rella in the pumpkin carriage with Mama.
By a vintage wagon.
They were giving away free apples and apple cider. The apple cider was SO good! Best we’ve ever had!
These apples were so sweet and delicious!
Mio drumming on the pots. (She’s had plenty of practice with the pots in the kitchen back home!)
Smiling out of the window of the train car.
Happy times.
Getting into the front of the train. Choo choo!
“All aboard!”
Cutie making her way out of the tunnel.
Those pumpkins and gourds were the same size as her (or larger)!
Of course, we had to stop by the pumpkin patch before we left. Mio had a great time wading through the sea of pumpkins…
Of course, she picks out the most ginormous one. I think she based her decision on which pumpkin was the most fun for climbing.
Silly girl trying to lift up the pumpkin…
A video of Mio at the pumpkin patch:
Passed out in the car ride home after a fun day at the Fall Festival!
The Fall Festival at Cox Farms was definitely the most impressive one I’ve ever been to! It’s not only a lot of fun for kids, but enjoyable for grownups, too. We definitely want to go back in the future — maybe we’ll make it an annual family tradition! 😀
We spent Sunday afternoon at Oktoberfest in Reston Town Center! Dan’s new office building is right in Reston Town Center, so it was a nice opportunity to go see the area he works in and also enjoy the good eats/drinks and carnival rides that the festival had to offer! It was pretty cold and misty, but we still had a great time! 😀
We were cracking up at how big Mio was smiling when she got there, with her hands folded in her lap. It looks almost like she’s a villain (think Dr. Burns from The Simpsons)!
What is Oktoberfest without a cup of overpriced (but apparently delicious) beer?
Delicious steamed mussels from McCormick & Schmick’s
My sister and I don’t like nor drink beer, so our main focus was the food!
Amazing chicken kabobs from Midtown Kabob
…complete with samosa, also yummy!
Enjoying the meal while Mio looks on.
Peruvian chicken from Pollo Peru. So. Effing. Good.
Mio reaching for some while we chow down.
She grabbed a french fry!
Mio’s learned how to do “cheers!” and clink her cup against another person’s, but she’s so into it that she’ll do it with every type of food she happens to share with you, and multiple times (as in every five seconds). So when she and I both had Peruvian french fries in hand, she insisted on toasting and bumping them together… over and over. Here it is on video!
We just couldn’t get enough of that chicken, so we went and got a second plate to share!
Mio kept whipping her head back and forth to look at all the people passing by. She was so curious about everything that was going on around her.
A Daddy’s girl moment.
Enjoying the view from Auntie Miwa’s shoulders.
Buying tickets for the carnival rides.
There was a train ride that we could all ride together.
Our little family on the train.
Mio kept saying “ppo ppo” (Japanese equivalent of “choo choo,” the sound of a train puffing out smoke) while riding.
After the ride was done, she was eager for more carnival fun!
Mio kept saying “ba~ ba~” when she saw the Jamaican banana.
A carnival isn’t complete without funnel cake! So of course, we had to get one.
Miwa and Dan wanted to go on one of the scarier/intense rides. Here they are before taking flight.
Mio was really scared for them! When the ride lifted up into the air and started flying around, she started screaming and clung onto my legs. Poor girl was scared for her Daddy and auntie…
Dan and Miwa flying in the air! It looked terrifying, but they seemed to enjoy it.
As a finale, we took Mio on the carousel. She doesn’t really understand the difference between horses and cows yet, so she kept mooing and making cow noises while waiting in line and riding on the carousel. I corrected her the first couple times, but it was pretty cute so I just let her moo the whole ride through.
Mio getting on the carousel.
She had a very grave expression on her face the entire time.
Clenching her teeth! Mio’s been on carousels and merry-go-rounds a few times before, but she seemed more uptight this time – maybe because it was cold?
Of course, when the ride ended, she started getting upset and wanted to go on again… (On a separate note, isn’t the heart-shaped elbow patch on her jacket adorable? My mom got this jacket for her.)
Like with the Marin County Fair, there were a lot of rides Mio couldn’t go on because she wasn’t 36 inches tall, so that was kind of a bummer. Maybe in a year or two, she’ll get to enjoy more of the rides! 🙂
We spent a full day on Wednesday last week in San Jose, after moving out of our El Cerrito home, to spend some time with Dan’s parents before we left for the East Coast. We spent most of the late morning strolling around the Japanese Friendship Garden in San Jose, had lunch, and then walked over to neighboring Happy Hollow Park & Zoo to dedicate the afternoon to letting Mio have some fun at the kids park going on rides, playing on the playgrounds, and meeting animals there.
By the bridge at the Japanese Friendship Garden
The beautifully landscaped Japanese garden.
Koi in the pond.
The koi had such gorgeous colors!
You could buy a handful of feed for the koi for a quarter, so we got some for Mio to drop into the pond. Here’s a video of Mio feeding the koi and ducks. She says “gwa gwa gwa” (the Japanese sound for quacking) when she sees ducks these days.
More quacking from Mio:
Mio loved feeding the koi and ducks!
Mio throwing feed into the pond.
Mio with Daddy and her grandparents
Beautiful Japanese maple tree reflects the arrival of autumn.
Strolling around the Japanese Friendship Garden.
I love that there are so many Japanese gardens in the Bay Area.
Delicious homemade bentos for lunch! Dan’s mother prepared all the delicious food and I just helped with handling packing the bentos with the food.
Mio and Dan eating lunch.
After eating lunch at the picnic tables, we walked over to Happy Hollow Park & Zoo, which is right next to the Japanese Friendship Garden.
Mio touching the dinosaur statue in front of the park entrance.
We decided to let Mio ride the Mini Putt-Putt Car ride, since it was one of the few rides she was tall enough to go on in the park. I was a little worried about whether or not she’d be okay riding it by herself, but she was perfectly fine!
Mio turning the steering wheel. (She even pulled the rope to ring the bell a couple times!)
Mio loved it so much that she protested when I took her out after it was over. So we let her go on the ride a second time, this time in the police car.
A video of Mio on the Mini Putt-Putt Car Ride:
Poor Mio wasn’t tall enough to go on a lot of the rides.
Mio expressing her frustration at not being able to ride the swing carousel.
The playground at Happy Hollow was HUGE. And this wasn’t even all of it — there was another structure (for smaller kids) almost as large, across from this one. It was a playground on steroids.
Dan and Mio climbing up.
Dan about to take Mio down the slide.
“Yay, you did it!” Mio looks bewildered.
Dan and Mio went down another huge slide.
Mio had so much fun with Daddy on the playground. It’s usually me who takes her to the park while Dan is at work, so this was a nice change for her.
Mio making her way through the tunnel to Grandma
Mio crawling through the stone tunnel. She looks so angelic looking up at Grandma!
Smile of delight while going down the slide!
LOVE! I can’t get enough of that smile!
Mio going on the carousel with Mama
Mother-daughter moment.
Riding the carousel with Mama and Grandma
Mio cautiously feeding the goats at the petting farm area of Happy Hollow.
A cautious Mio leaning down to feed a goat.
Greedy goats crowding around Mio.
Grandpa showing Mio the miniature pony.
Mio and Dan looking at the sheep.
In the evening, we went to San Jose Japantown to have dinner at SJ Omogari Restaurant to have a delicious Korean dinner!
Hot seafood mixed rice from SJ Omogari Korean Restaurant for dinner
Back at the house, we took a family photo with four generations of Allens. Dan’s grandmother (Mio’s great-grandmother) is 94 years old and is still so healthy and talkative – amazing!
The day was a really memorable way to wrap up our time in California! We got to spend time with family, see beautiful sights, and Mio had a blast, too!
Today, we spent the day with Dan’s parents and brother, driving over to Tomales Bay Oyster Company to enjoy a BBQ lunch (with no shortage of delicious oysters!), exploring the downtown area nearby, and ending the day with some fun on the beach at Point Reyes.
I’d been craving oysters since the last time we went out there and got oysters from Drakes Bay, so I was elated that we got the chance to get another oyster fix in before we leave. I think I may have eaten one too many, though, because I feel like they are swimming in my stomach now. I wonder if there are similar places by the Chesapeake where we can buy and grill oysters in Virginia…?
On Saturday afternoon, we drove down to go to the Mountain View Obon Festival. We’d always heard about it and had wanted to check it out, but it’s about an hour drive away for us so we hadn’t gone until this year. We originally wanted to attend on Sunday because that’s the day they have the bon-odori, but Dan had an obligation that day, so Saturday was the only time we could go together. We had a wonderful time experiencing Obon together as a family!
Arriving at Mountain View Obon
Dan enjoying a beer
Mio was dressed up in her matsuri attire – thank you Yuko & family for the jinbei!
I dressed in yukata for the festival. It’s been a while since I wore one!
It was really hot down in Mountain View… especially in the yukata!
There were various food stands serving shaved ice, sushi, manju, ohagi, chicken teriyaki, beef teriyaki, corn, corn dogs, french fries, spam musubi, beer, sake, and other refreshments.
Kingyo-sukui (Goldfish Scooping Game) – an Obon classic!
Love all the colors!
Mio and I watching the Goldfish Game
Mio loved walking around and taking in everything.
Thankfully, she’s been getting better about holding my hand while navigating crowds.
Taking a break to eat some ohagi and sip on Italian soda.
Mio has been doing this funny thing where she pretends to sip water, and then afterwards lets out a big burst of breath, like it was really refreshing. I’m not sure where she learned it from… I have a feeling it’s from this beer commercial, which comes on a lot when I’m watching Japanese TV shows. Here it is on video.
Silly girl.
Love her!
We ran into our friends Ali and Tim, who recently just moved back to the area after living in DC for a couple years.
Mio loved them!
A family picture (courtesy of Ali)
Our first time at Mountain View Obon!
Around 6pm, we headed over to the stage area where Jun Daiko was going to have a taiko performance.
This adorable little boy was walking around the taiko set.
Meanwhile, Mio was getting restless and flashing people with very unladylike poses. Please don’t do this when you are 16…
…so we moved her to Dan’s lap.
Jun Daiko performing – they were great! I love watching taiko.
Mio’s first time seeing taiko – she was fascinated, too.
A lion came out during the performance.
Mio was transfixed on the lion.
The lion went around to different members of the audience, and he eventually made his way over to Mio. She was definitely a bit intimidated and shrank bank a little, but she didn’t turn away. Even after it left, she kept her eyes on him and pointed in his direction.
Here’s the last half of Jun Daiko’s finale performance of “Inazuma.”
“Inazuma” performance by Jun Daiko
Towards the end, Mio was yelling along with the taiko performers… lol.
Afterwards, we headed over to downtown Mountain View for a ramen dinner and frozen yogurt for dessert!
Our messy ramen eater
A froyo lover, just like Daddy!
I’m really glad that we made the drive down to go to the festival this year! It was memorable, and I think it’s great to give Mio exposure to Japanese culture and traditions so that she can develop an appreciation for her ethnic heritage.
