Two Sundays ago, Doug, Bri and I headed up to Ellijay, GA to go apple picking. We usually incorporate apple picking into our fall break in Sept, but we were in Colorado for fall break and then Doug had a business trip immediately following. So, no apple picking in September this year.
We decided to go on a Sunday in October. I assumed it would be crowded. I just didn't realize it would be really, really, really crowded.
What is cool about going on a weekend is that you get all the bells and whistles available ~ apple picking, petting zoo, zip lining, apple cannon, pony rides and more. You can't get those things if you go during the week. What's not cool is that a million other people want to do all those things on the weekend too.
We've been to this particular orchard before but only during the week. It is usually empty when we go. What we didn't realize is that the orchard is so huge ~ it is actually on both sides of the main road. Some activities were on one side of the road and some on the other. We parked where we usually do, but then realized that most of what we wanted to do was on the other side of the street. So, we drove to across the street.
Below, the sign says U-Pick. The apples on this side of the orchard were actually picked over. I took this pic before we went across the street...
Once we got across the street, we found the only apples available to pick were Rome and Golden Delicious. I actually love Golden Delicious, so we were good.
We took a tractor to the back of the orchard ~ where the Rome and Golden Delicious trees were...
Selfie time...
We had to walk a short distance to get to the apple-filled trees. There really weren't all that many...
Just a few rows of apple-filled trees left...
This is what most of the trees looked liked...
I think apple season started earlier this year due to lots of rain. And we were there much later in the season than usual. I can't imagine the orchard having any more apples left to pick after the day we were there.
Besides picking apples, we bought tickets for Bri for zip lining and the apple cannon. Bri and Doug took the tractor back to where the zip line started and I waited in the orchard where the zip line ended (so I could get Bri back to the orchard entrance). Bri was going to zip line across the orchard...
Doug watched her get all geared up...
He also took video of her launch...
I took video of her arrival...
Getting unhooked...
They offered an ATV shuttle back to the entrance...
Once apple picking and zip lining were done, we walked back across the street for the apple cannon.
You can see the traffic trying to get into the orchard...
The line for the apple cannon was pretty long. We had to be patient...
Bri was pretty happy when it was our turn...
Shooting apples...
The apple cannon was our last activity. We stopped in the store for a few minutes to buy some food items (cider, donuts, apple pies). We were at the orchard about 2.5 hours and we were ready to head out. It was really fun (and Bri got to zip line - score!), but it was a little too crowded for me. I think we will head back during the week next year!
We were hungry after all that picking and playing, so we stopped for an Italian lunch...
We were hungry after all that picking and playing, so we stopped for an Italian lunch...
We did it! Bri and I hit strawberry picking (spring), blueberry picking (summer) and apple picking (fall) this year.
We love picking fruit. It just tastes better when you pick it yourself. :)
