This weekend Mr. A and I met some of our church family at a local orchard, Stribling Orchard, to go apple picking.
We were both pretty excited for this event because neither one of us had ever gone apple picking, which is odd considering our love of corny seasonal events. My parents’ house had two apple trees in the front yard so we never felt the need to go to an orchard since we had our own personal orchard right outside our front door.
So I was pretty excited to recreate some of my favorite childhood memories of picking apples and making homemade applesauce.
Stribling is about a hour outside of DC in Markham, far out in the peaceful countryside. Once we got out of the famous 495 weekend traffic, it was a really pleasant drive out there.
When we arrived, we parked the car and hiked up to one of Stribling’s picnic areas to meet up with our church folks. The great part about this orchard is that there are tons of areas to picnic and they don’t charge an admission fee. So if you aren’t into actually picking apples, you can pop in for free to experience the ambiance.
Because who wouldn’t love sipping a glass of wine with this view in the background.
A few peanut butter and banana sandwiches later, we were fueled for our apple picking adventures.
To help us reach some of those apples that were just out of our reach, we had crazy long poles with baskets attached.
Mr. A had a lot of fun using this brand new tool…until he accidentally pulled a few apples onto his own head.
We spent the rest of the afternoon picking a variety of apples. We got a few stayman, some rome, a couple jonathan, and a few golden delicious.
And of course we both competed for who could grab the largest, prettiest apple (you know because we’ll turn anything into a competition).
I think I won.
After sweating our butts off (even though we were doing a decidedly fall activity the weather wasn’t cooperating with us—it was a steamy 85 degrees), we decided to call it quits.
Luckily, we had picked our way over to the main entrance where we could pay for our apples and take a peak at their market.
The market itself had tons of delicious fall treats.
From caramel apples.
To jams and butters.
And even enormous squash.
After paying the 5 bucks for our apples (they only charge a $1.50 a pound—quite a steal), we stopped to take a few more pictures of the beautiful mountains.
We don’t get to see this kind of stuff everyday living in the city. It’s so nice to be able to enjoy a change of scenery.
If you are in the DC area, I would definitely recommend Stribling for apple picking. It’s one of the few orchards that doesn’t charge admission. Definitely get there early though. We arrived at 11 and by the time we left around 1 it was packed. And also make sure to pack some bug spray. There were bugs swarming everywhere.
And now that I have 5 pounds worth of apples, I scheming what to make with them. But I better hurry up because Mr. A’s been eating those apples nonstop since we got home. Think like an apple a day times 5.
What are your favorite treats to make from apples?
Do you go apple picking in the fall?
