Apple Picking

Since the kids didn't have school yesterday, a friend and I decided to take a field trip to Carter Mountain to go apple picking. We had never been there before but I had always wanted to go. The view from the farm on the mountaintop was breathtaking and all we could see around us were apple trees. Different apple varieties are ready for picking at different times - we had our choice of Golden Delicious (which were nearing the end of their picking time), Granny Smith, and Fuji. None of those particularly interested me (Honeycrisp are my fave) but I knew that Matt and the kids liked Granny Smith so we were in luck! I really didn't go for the apples anyway, more for the experience so...

We wandered through the rows of Golden Delicious and had a touch time spotting any. There were a few stranglers left behind way up high but we weren't lucky enough to have snatched an apple picker (they were in short supply) so they were out of the question. Slightly disappointed, we decided to stop for a bit and enjoy lunch. Once our bellies were full, we'd tackle the Granny Smith - hopefully with more success!

We had brought lunch with us so we had a nice picnic next to our car in the parking lot - which was one of the only places we could find any shade (since it was a balmy 85-90 degrees).

With full bellies, we gathered the troops, and began the trek through the Granny Smiths. The kids had a great time searching for, and collecting, them. We ended up with way more apples than I planned on but it was fun. Some snapshots of our day...