Popular fall things around town — keeping it corona safe

Popular fall things around town -- keeping it corona safe

Aysha Mirza, Designer

Visit it

Hall’s pumpkin patch

Rate 10/10

If you are looking for a cute and affordable pumpkin patch, Hall’s is the place to go. This trendy fall outing in Grapevine will have you in the fall spirit for sure taking you on hayrides, a long corn maze, flower picking, a petting zoo, and the most important part picking out a pumpkin. The price to get in was $10 and it included the corn maze, being able to get tricked through it as many times as you want. The hayride was $5 and lasted about 20 minutes but the ride does sell out fast, so I would get your ticket as soon as possible. Hall’s have plenty of pumpkins and a wide variety to choose from and the prices range from $10 to $30 each. They also have a garden to pick flowers from and offer vases and potting soil for $10. If you do everything, it can be pricey, but I spent three hours there and still did not have time for many things like the petting zoo and garden. They also offered a very traditional southern sweet tea for $5 and Blue Bell ice cream but because of Covid, they are not doing refills anymore. You are required to wear a mask except for when taking pictures and they limit the number of people allowed in the corn maze and on hayrides to follow CDC guidelines. Overall, if you are looking for something to get you in the fall mood Hall’s pumpkin patch is an awesome place to go just make sure to have cash because they do not accept cards.

 

Eat it

Grounds and Gold Co. 

Rate 9/10

Grounds and Gold Co. is a new, cute, trendy coffee shop off of Bowen Rd in Arlington. They not only offer coffee but food and pastries too. The highlight of my experience was the food. I got a Cobb Salad for about $6 though it was the half bowl, which was still pretty big, and a vegan cinnamon roll for around $5 which was huge and could definitely be shared between two people.  I was not a huge fan of the coffee (but that’s because I’m used to traditional Starbucks) but if you are up for trying something new, the French toast iced coffee was $6.50 and was really good. They do have their fall menu out now as well with a pumpkin spice latte and pumpkin roll pastries.  I think the reason I liked it so much was that it was a quiet, chill environment. I went during school and stayed for two hours studying, being able to get so much work done. They also have an awesome staff that keeps up with cleaning tables before a customer can sit down in order to keep the experience Covid safe. To be able to have a change from the normal Starbuck and Dunkin was really nice and a great turn out, plus bonus points for being super close to Martin.

 

Drink it

Over time it seems like TikTok trends have become more and more popular. While quarantined, I discovered the coffee side of TikTok – the dark side. This part of the social media platform has convinced me to go broke, trying the good and the bad, and the sweet and bitter all for coffee. So I decided I am going to try some different fall-themed coffee drinks and let you know which is my favorite. First off I tried the Chai Latte from Dunkin and let me just tell you, this was not it. It had way too much spice in it and was not very sweet so this one is a pass. I then decided to try a recipe that I saw on TikTok where you make your own pumpkin spice latte. I used two scoops of pumpkin puree, almond milk, some brown sugar, nutmeg, then mixed it, pouring it over ice and half a cup of coffee. This turned out really good but it definitely makes a mess to clean up so if you don’t like that you might not want to make this one. Lastly, I decided to go back to traditional Starbuck and get the trending Chai Latte with pumpkin cold foam on top. Now, this is called perfection. It was just the right amount of fall in a drink. 

 

Watch it

Teleparty

10/10

Watching a movie in the theaters will never be the same. And let’s be honest, who wants to leave the comfort of their bed to go sit in a theater while putting themselves at risk for Covid? Teleparty became a trend on TikTok during quarantine introducing the idea of watching movies online, but with your friends too. The chrome extension synchronizes video playback and adds group chat to Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, And HBO. Hosting long-distance movie nights with my friends has been something that we constantly look forward to and has become a great alternative to paying $10 per movie ticket plus food at the theaters. If you are looking to watch some good holiday throwbacks with friends Teleparty is the perfect, corona safe, place to go.

 

Read it

Our new normal has resulted in students not having the same access to books as they used to. But not for Martin’s library. Librarian Suzanne Severns has worked hard to be able to provide a virtual library offering many free websites for eBooks and delivery to classes or curbside pick up for any book requests. And although the library is different this year, students are still allowed to visit the library individually with a pass during class and lunch. You can join the Library Canvas page to be able to see the different websites for free eBooks that are provided. You can also fill out a book request form and choose for Severns to deliver it to your in-person class or choose curbside pick up from the front of the school from 3:15 to 4 on Mondays and Thursdays. But because of the changes, the library has many books that have not been returned, so make sure to return them so that others can enjoy them as well. I highly recommend you check out the library (haha get it?) and take advantage of the access to all the wonderful books.

 

Listen to it

Musicians strive off of inspiration and quarantine was the perfect time to be inspired. Some took the time to be inspired by the pandemic and CDC guidelines like Luke Combs song “Six Feet Apart.” Others did not let quarantine stop them from filming music videos and having photoshoots for album covers, they just did it at home by themselves. Artists like Justin Bieber and Drake filmed their music videos on an iPhone in the comfort of their home and even opened up a category at the 2020 VMAs for Best Music Video From Home with Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber, “Stuck with U” winning. Being able to see musicians and artists not be stopped by a pandemic but instead inspired really is an admirable thing to be able to do during tough times and it proves to the world that nothing can stop you.