A Day in the Apple Orchard

After Evan's soccer game last Saturday (in which he played like a champ), we decided to take advantage of a free afternoon to drive to an apple orchard.  While I wished for the cooler, crisper temperatures of fall for this outing, we settled for a warm and sunny day since it could be raining.  The best area of North Carolina for apple picking seems to be in Hendersonville which is about a two hour drive from Charlotte at the edge of the mountains.  The mountains here are a lot more like large tree covered hills.  Apple orchards and country stores are very plentiful so it is a great place for some fall fun.  The best way to get to this area is actually to take I-85 South into South Carolina and then go back North on I-26.  It is an easy drive for someone who does not do well on curvy mountain roads.  My ears only "popped" once each way!  Haha!  When we arrived, we followed the GPS to the address that I had found online for our orchard.  Unfortunately, I mistakenly plugged in the address for the owners' home instead of the store and orchard so we just went a bit too far and had to turn around.  It was a nice drive though, and they live in a beautiful spot surrounded by their orchards.  We got to the store and picked up our basket and a wagon for the boys to ride in and headed out behind the store to the orchard.  It was nice and cool in the shade of the trees, and there were two varieties of apples for picking:  Golden Delicious and Rome Beauties.  While my husband and I had hoped for something a little more crisp and tart, we were happy with these lovely sweet gold and red ones.  Now, I have a fridge drawer full of apples that I need to do something with.  I am thinking of making some apple sauce since Brody eats a lot of it, and I already tried an apple pie which looked good, but I need a bit more practice on my crust.

Evan and Brody prepare for the short ride to the orchard. 

Daddy pulling the wagon loaded with little boy cuteness. 

Sweet boys being good. 

The apple trees were filled with sweet, juicy goodness.

Daddy and the boys searching for the perfect trees. 

Evan learning how to pull the apples from the tree. 

Evan showing his first sweet find. 

Brody wanted one too!

Brody was very proud of his find. 

Sweet golden apples shining in the sun. 

Evan wanted to get a high one. 

Who needs a ladder when you have a daddy? 

Handing the apple to mommy for the basket. 

Sweet little apple picker. 

Daddy and his little apple pickers. 

Searching for more. 

Mommy helping Brody find some more. 

He really liked pulling the wagon. 

And being pulled in the wagon too. 

There were lots of really good ones way up high. 

Brody checking out all his apples. 

Sweetest apple picker. 

Cutie pie. 

Me and the boys with our favorite apples. 

Brody says, "One apple up on top!"

Brody tried to pull his big brother in the wagon.  

Lots of delicious red apples. 

A long row of apple trees. 

Some of the newest additions to the apple orchard were blooming. 

What a beautiful day in the orchard!

The boys had some fun posing with the fun painted signs.  Of course, this one was not accurate for measuring as Evan is almost 4 feet tall. 

Brody found some pumpkins. 

One of the cutest pumpkins in the patch. 

And the silliest!

Apple of my eye!

And this one!

This one?  Haha!

Evan found a John Deere. 

At our next stop, the boys found a giant gorilla. 

King Kong!

A beautiful view of the corn fields and mountains. 

Evan got to ride with his sister on the cow train. 

And Mommy and Brody rode too. 

Waving bye to daddy. 

Back from our ride through the corn field. 

It was a bumpy ride!

Pumpkins!

Sweet little pumpkin. 

Brody likes sitting on the pumpkins. 

The sun was very bright. 

Trying for a shot of Evan driving the pumpkin truck, but the sun was in their eyes.