apple pickin' kids

There are so many elections that happen in this country on a very regular basis. This merely contributes to voter fatigue and an overwhelming apathy about the election process. One upside however, is knowing far in advance that the kids will have a day off school on the first Tuesday of November, every two years! Just in time for apples to be picked.

Of course, as a Melbournian, the first Tuesday in November has always held significance for me: being the day the Melbourne Cup is run. As it is the 'race that stops a nation' the Cup provides a perfectly legitimate excuse to partake in Champagne, some cooked chook, a picnic/party/celebratory lunch and an annual flutter to back a winner. 

We drove to Charlottesville to pick apples at Carter Mountain Orchard. Unfortunately, all the Pink Lady apples had been picked out before we arrived. The kids were however, very happy with the abundant sweet Fuji apples available. 

An apple a day...

The kids had a vacation day today due to it being election day. As Paul will be away on a conference, we took this as an opportunity to celebrate Nic's birthday a little earlier (he will turn 6 on Friday). The weather was superb - so we decided to go to Carters Mountain Orchard in Charlottesville to do a little apple-picking. I had taken Paul's parents here when they visited last year - during peach season. I had also visited the orchard with the kids last year and they really enjoyed picking apples. So... off we went! A little later than hoped... as I have succumbed to Paul's latest virus - BLAH! And we were delayed somewhat when Mietta had a bout of carsickness and we were forced to go in search of some new clothes!

After finally reaching the orchard, we had the obligatory cider donuts and apple cider to give us strength to pick some 25 pounds of apples! The kids LOVED this and took more than one opportunity to bite into crisp and delicious Pink Lady apples. Yum. Interestingly, this is a modern variety of apple and was developed in Australia.