Going to the apple farm and picking apples has become one of my favorite fall traditions.
This year we went to Carter Mountain Orchard with a group of homeschooling friends. My husband graciously offered to stay home with Jenny so the big kids and I could enjoy this time together.
It rained our entire way there and I got concerned about weather we would actually get to pick any apples at all, but right before we arrived the skies cleared up and it turned out to be a gorgeous day!
As the name states, this orchard is located on a mountain. As we were about half-way there I thought I probably should have remembered to bring jackets for my girls. And I was right….I SHOULD have remembered that because it was quite cool on the mountain.
But have no fear…we made do and found a new use for our ever-faithful neat sheet!
We had a blast visiting the farm as a family last year, but there are some advantages to going with a homeschool group. As part of the school group package, someone from the farm taught the kids a lesson on how apples develop through the seasons, we went on a hayride, received apple doughnuts and apple cider (yum!!), and were able to each pick a bag of apples.
EA, MC, and Will had fun on the hayride.
And I loved the scenery!
This old truck was parked on the side of the road and I just had to capture this image.
After the hayride, we went apple picking! We went for fuji apples this year and because we visited earlier in the season we found lots of good apples on the trees.
MC said she picked six apples. EA picked ten. And Will claims to have picked one hundred apples, but MC says she “doesn’t believe him”!
My friend Kim tried to take a picture of the four of us, but the wind and my wild hair make that a difficult task.
What a fun day!!!
Melinda says
What a gorgeous spot for an apple orchard! Looks like so much fun!
Laura says
Sounds like you had a lot better experience than us! We went last Thursday. My 4 year old was not a fan of the cold, the wind, the mud, or the smell of the fermented apples. Our apple picking turned into “apple buying” b/c the closest orchard of golden delicious had NO apples left. We couldnt find any. The others were a long walk away which she was not wanting to do. She was very happy when when got our apple cider and donuts though! It was still a fun family outing even if it was not as I had envisioned!
Monica says
Our visit was much more like yours last year. We went later in the season and there were almost no apples on the trees. I let my children pick some off the ground just to say that we got some and then bought the rest. You can never go wrong with apple cider and donuts, though!!
Coley says
What great photos! Looks like your kids had a blast and I bet Will is tired after picking 100 apples! 😉 Love the scenery photos – especially the one with the old truck. It’s beautiful!