“Are we allowed to climb that?”
My sister Megan and I looked at each other. We were standing in the middle of a cornfield (something Megan and I have done together since we were 9 and 10 years old), looking up at a towering metal overlook.
It was a beautiful fall day, sunny but cold, and the overlook stood against the blue sky like a challenge.
I had called Megan just two hours ago, hoping that at the last minute she and my three nieces and nephew might be up for an adventure. Megan, a pediatric nurse practitioner who worked at a hospital in Zimbabwe and met her husband in rural Alaska, is not one to turn down adventure.
“Yes, we’re in!” Megan had said right away, and in an hour I was at their house.
We’d decided to go to VanDemark Farm in Sidney, Ohio, a sprawling attraction that boasted not only hay rides and a petting zoo, but ziplines and a giant swing. Unfortunately, when we arrived, we found out that the farm had suffered wind damage overnight and some of their attractions were down. We did find signs of wind damage, but we were undeterred.
We started with the petting zoo, which included llamas and pot-bellied pigs, although everyone agreed that the barn cat (an accidental attraction) was their favorite. These four are definitely Megan’s kids.
Then we ventured to the corn maze. Matthew, the oldest at six, would typically have been the one to charge through the maze. But Lucy, one of the four-year-old twins, took off first and led us for a while. Megan told me that Lucy has an innate sense of direction. And sure enough, she got us to the overlook.
About 25 to 30 feet off the ground, the structure seemed clearly designed for employees to climb and watch the corn maze.
Matthew immediately started to climb it.
“That’s weird,” I said. “It doesn’t seem like just everyone should be able to climb it.”
“But there are no signs saying we can’t,” Megan said.
So we all started up. By the time the twins got about 15 feet up the steep stairs, they started getting nervous. Megan and I took turns holding their hands.
I helped Matthew up the last step and felt his little legs shaking.
“I need to get down right now,” he said.
I had to admit having that feeling for a split second, as well.
“It’s OK Matthew,” Megan said, helping two-year-old Izzy up the last step. “Look! We made it!”
We were standing on solid metal mesh and we had a 360-degree view of the cornfield, the farm and the interstate beyond.
As soon as we were back on the ground, I gestured over to a wad of yellow caution tape that had blown into the stalks of corn. “I think that was supposed to be around the tower,” I said.
The kids were all nervous, but they were excited too. We marveled at the view. It was amazing to see that even though the kids were scared, they mustered proud grins.
Then we carefully made our way back down.
As soon as we were back on the ground, I gestured over to a wad of yellow caution tape that had blown into the stalks of corn.
“I think that was supposed to be around the tower,” I said.
Megan and I both laughed and followed Lucy back into the corn. Later, after playing on a haystack, taking a hayride and playing a few rounds of mini golf, we hit the road while the sun set. It had been an adventurous day, for sure.