Finally Fall!: Apple Picking

{doing}

Ah Fall! My favorite season.......
To kick off all the awesomeness that is fall we went to Carter Mountain Orchard last week to pick some apples.  Technically Fall didn't start until Sunday (Sept. 22) but we thought we'd get a little jump start on it (especially since we kinda dragged summer out as long as we could for our river trips) and go apple picking.  Also we had a "Welcome, Autumn" picnic planned for Sunday and I wanted to have plenty of apples to use for making goodies for that.  (my next post will have the pictures from the picnic).  It was a great day and a beautiful place to be! we did get a little later start heading out there then we had wanted to (that's a long story) and but we still had plenty of time to pick our fair share of apples and browse their gift shop.  We're hoping to go back again sometime in October though and make a longer day of it, because we discovered that it is literally right next to Michie Tavern, and we actually ended up stopping in the gift shops that they have in the mill on the property, but next time we want to have lunch there and do the tour.  But in the meantime here are some of the pictures of the Orchards and the amazing views there.  I highly suggest going (if you are in the area anyway, lol, it is right outside of Charlottesville, VA which is about an hour and a half drive from us here in Fredericksburg.  A drive we know well though - my sister went to UVA).  It is a great family activity.  And as well As Michie Tavern being right there Monitcello (Thomas Jefferson's House) is also right there as is another historical home (but for the life of me I can't remember which one right now :/ )

looking across the rows of the orchard

picking an apple (this one was golden delicious, the other apples that were available for picking when we went were jonagolds and we actually picked more of them, I had never tried them before but they are really good, both for eating and in the stuff I made for the picnic)

enjoying some of their delicious apple cider and the view

glorious view

glorious view

there's a vineyard there too....