This might be the absolute cutest and most adventurous article we’ve ever published on Handmade Charlotte! We handed the reins over to our 5-year-old, Noah and told him he had to plan a weekend trip.

First up, he had to decide where his sweet little baby heart wanted to go. Noah had pumpkins on his mind. He pointed us to Burt’s World Famous Pumpkin Patch in Dawsonville, Georgia. Burt’s is the best of the best and has every variety of pumpkin you can imagine. On top of the pumpkins and gourds, it’s basically a fall farmers market with pies, jams, ciders, rides, corn mazes and more. We made a date and set off to the dream of a young boy.

Jonathan and I have five children, so a chance to give one child a special weekend with both of us is extremely rare. This special assignment was absolutely magical! To bump it up a notch, a giant “car-transporter” delivered a brand-spanking new Ford Explorer Sport with all the bells and whistles for our journey. I think Noah pretty much fell over when he saw the delivery truck, so you can image the look on his face when he got to check out his new “Pumpkin Delivery Vehicle.” I’m not going to lie, the other kids were slightly jealous :)

As you can see, Jonathan and I were traveling with a true visionary. He had a plan and he was going to make it happen—nothing was going to stop him. We couldn’t bring everything on the list, but this was his trip and the grasshoppers and rubber bands simply had to make it.

We made our way to Burt’s by way of farm stands, country stores, cornfields and roadside shacks selling our favorite travel snack—boiled peanuts. We love them so much we’re going to share our favorite recipe from our most favorite mountain man. He doesn’t share it with just anyone, but he could see the wild eye in my boy and couldn’t resist. Enjoy!

The Ultimate Appalachian Mountain Man Boiled Peanut Recipe

• 2-3 lbs. fresh green peanuts
• 1 cup salt (or more to taste)
• ¼ cup whole black peppercorns

1. Put all ingredients in a stockpot and cover with water.
2. Bring to a boil and simmer for 1 – 3 hours. Peanuts are done when they are soft inside the shell. If they have a slight crunch, continue to cook.
3. Discard water and pepper. Cool peanuts to the touch.NOTE: It’s important to note that peanuts continue to absorb salt if left in the cooking brine!

Noah took over the smartphone and snapped a few photos, but of course we couldn’t resist capturing our little man. The decisions of our brave 5-year-old took us on one wild ride that ended in piles of pumpkins and boiled peanuts, our souls filled to the brim with a memory none of us will ever forget.

Join us on Instagram to see more of our dreamy fall drive-along!

This content was created in partnership with Ford to help make creativity a part of every drive.