Yesterday I finally got to do what I’ve been dying to do all Fall: Apple Picking! Apples are one of my favorite fall foods, and I love going out into the country, so this was a win-win situation for me! I headed out there with my cousin Allie, my sister-in-law Lauren, and her friend Sarah.
Allie found the Country Line Orchard in Hobart, IN after a little research. She like the farm because they don’t use regular pesticides. I liked it because the website made them look like quite a big business! They had the orchard, a pumpkin patch, bee hives, a Kids Farm, a Moo-Choo train (we were too big… ), corn mazes, and a ton of other products for sale in their big barn!
You might be wondering why in the world we went all the way to Indiana for an apple orchard, but it was actually only 1 hour away! Chicago is very close to the IN border, as well as pretty close to Wisconsin as well!
When we first arrived, we went to pay our general admission for apple picking (set me back a whole $1, haha), grabbed our apple picking bags, and hopped on a tractor! Since the orchard is so large and they don’t want every picking right next to the barn, they have tractors which take you out into the fields. We actually had to transfer tractors at the pumpkin patch – I felt like I was traveling the bus in Chicago! Although much prettier…
The orchard was gorgeous, and the weather was perfect! Once we got off the tractor, we tromped through the fields and just started picking at random! We were wondering why there weren’t any signs, but after a while we realized the tractor dropped us off in the middle, and the signs for what kinds of apples were there was at the end of the row… Oh well, apples are apples!
Allie and I got a little carried away in our apple picking… I think we enjoyed the process so much that we had to start limiting ourselves! I came away with about 10 apples… for one person. As did she. We’ll see what I do with all of these.
I also asked if anyone minded me taking a few random shots of them for the blog… Allie promptly went into an “apple picking pose” for the camera. Thanks for the candids, Allie.
After we’d covered most of the area, we hopped back on a tractor and headed to the big barn to pay for our catch. Mine was a little over $8 for all the apples! Pretty good deal.
Then we wandered around looking at all of the stuff they had for sale. It was a little overwhelming! However, I knew exactly what I wanted: A caramel apple! I promised myself I’d get one for my birthday (next week!) so I thought this was the perfect place! I got one covered in crumbled Heath bar!
Right before we left, I also got a cup of hot apple cider for the drive home. It was the perfect end to a fun day!
What is one of your favorite fall activities? Have you ever been apple picking? What kind of caramel apple is your favorite?