Apples. They have a special place in my heart.

I grew up in a town with an Apple Blossom Festival. Every year we made a trip to the Farm Market for apple cider and other yummy treats. I was told we were the “Apple Capitol of the World” and loved driving up and down the rolling hills Apple Pie Ridge Road and seeing all the orchards. Now I live in a state that invents new apples (hello, honeycrisp!) and even though we live in the city, orchards aren’t that far away for a fall adventure.

I’ve been on a quest for a great apple orchard since Mariah was born.  One where we could pick our own, the kids could play, and we’d find apple treats galore in the little store. The one closest to us was almost what I was looking for, but overcrowded and it sat right off of the freeway. Another one we tried wasn’t quite “perfect”, but the store was impressive – you can watch the apples turning into cider.

This year we found “the one”. A 35 minute drive and clearly out in the country. A huge playground, animals to pet and feed, hayrides, and most importantly – LOTS of apples (and fall strawberries and raspberries too). The store is a little small, but they make up for it in all the free samples – yum. And all the staff are so friendly.

I wanted to stay all day. Seriously. I was just as bummed as Mariah when we had to head out for lunch and naptime. The weather was perfect, I wasn’t stressed like I usually am when we go out as a family, and the new Zestar apples (a Minnesota invention) were AMAZING.

It was one of those picture perfect days you imagine before you’re a mom. They don’t happen that often, and we still had a few little snags along the way, but my heart was so happy.

The rest of the day was happy too… We stopped in a little town by the St. Croix River and ate delicious food by the boat dock (I felt like I was in Dawson’s Creek actually), we took long naps and then made apple crisp. Seriously, a dream. A real dream.

We plan to go back every year. Next year I’ll pick berries too and maybe I’ll try my hand at making raspberry jam.

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Just so you know, while it was picture perfect in my heart, it was not picture perfect in my camera. I had dreams of how our photos would turn out. This was not in my dreams.

Last time we went apple picking as a family: