If you didn’t know this about me, I grew up in a small town in Iowa. While we lived “in town,” farm life was a big part of my youth.

While its been more than 20 years since my parents moved us to Kentucky, a big piece of my identity feels rooted in my time growing up there.

This weekend I had a chance to give my children a little peek into that world when we headed out to visit Farm Haven in Union, KY. While I thought it would be jut another trip to a pumpkin patch, it was so much more.

One of the things that sets Farm Haven apart is its corn maze. Walking into that maze brought back a flood of memories for me. It was a little overwhelming (not the maze part) to be in the field, talking to my children about how I grew up, the things I did as a child, how it was same/different from their experiences.

The next thing that stood out and took me home was the hayride, which was not your typical hayride. Farm Haven actually takes you out into the cow pasture where you get to feed and pet the cows. Not cows in pens, but cows roaming free. To watch the faces of the boys as the herd approached the wagon, as the cows licked their hands as the fed them corn, it was priceless and blew me away.

Farm Haven also had an area with hay bales that kids could play on, something I did as a child. It was surreal to watch my boys playing on them, and I could almost see myself again at their age, playing with my friends.

If your looking for a farm experience that’s “real,” I’d suggest heading out to Farm Haven. For this Iowa gal, they hit it on the nose.