LACKAWANNA COUNTY, Pa. — It's not exactly the usual pumpkin-picking weather. However, this week's hot streak didn't stop families from soaking up the sunshine while they can at Roba's Family farm in North Abington Township near Waverly.
Dustin Ciampi of Pittston enjoyed his first time at the farm alongside his son, Keegan, and daughter, Zelda.
"It's a couple weeks into fall already, and it's 80 degrees. It's beautiful," he says.
While Kimberly Nicholson said, the unseasonably warm temperatures were a little too much for this time of year.
"I feel like I'm in July still because this is too hot," she laughs.
"We get to be out here in tee shirts, and we don't have to break out the winter jackets just yet," says Jeff Roba, President of Roba Family Farm.
Roba's opened their gates Thursday for Pittston area's school trip. The heat didn't stop these students from getting into the fall festivities.
The kids enjoyed everything from climbing activities to feeding the animals. Some, like Zelda, were brave enough to tackle the giant slide.
"It kind of gave me little butterflies," explained the seven-year-old.
Meanwhile, parents like Nicholson were on the hunt for the fall staples.
"Mostly for the pumpkins and mums. You got to get the pumpkins and the mums from a good place, you can't get them from anywhere," she explained.
While the warm weather brought people out in droves Thursday, it's also been a good growing season overall, according to Jeff Roba. While it started out dry, the rest of the season allowed people to have quite a selection of pumpkins.
"The apples over at Lakeland orchard, we probably have a record-setting crop of apples over there. And as you can see, plenty of pumpkins to go around," said Roba.
Some of these pumpkins are *so big the Ciampi family couldn't take one home.
"I think I could fit in one of them If you carved it out," laughs Zelda. "It won't fit in the car!" adds her dad.
Families say it's days like these that keep them coming back to Roba's year after year.
"This is like one of those iconic places you go to with your family," said Nicholson.
"We hear from people who have been coming for the past 30 years, and they love to tell us that, from our very humble beginnings to where we are now," said Roba, who is a second-generation owner himself.
Making memories for the past 30 years, no matter the weather.
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