Making Fall Memories During A Pandemic

Autumn is here! I love this time of year because, as a “Winter Baby”, I get excited over the cooler weather. Not to mention, I get to pull out the hoodies, sweaters, and boots. Fall is also the beginning of a season where my family gets to make so many memories in such a short period of time. We enjoy doing “all the Fall things,” like going on hayrides, drinking apple cider, and picking apples. Does your family do something similar during Fall?

Recently, my family took a trip to a local apple orchard for our annual apple picking tradition. Due to COVID-19 this year, this was the first “big outing” that my husband and I took our kids on. We had to take precautions by wearing masks and maintaining a proper distance when others were around, but it wasn’t too bad. The kids did pretty well with it all. I appreciated the fact that the orchard encouraged social distancing and safe practices by establishing multiple handwashing stations and other appropriate changes. 

The apple varieties that were available for picking during our visit were Honeycrisp and Pixie Crunch. Now, Honeycrisp apples are my absolutely, hands-down favorite apple variety! They have the perfect balance of sweetness and tartness, and they are so juicy and crisp — just delicious. However, I had never heard of Pixie Crunch apples. They have such a magical-sounding name, something that my kids truly enjoyed. And they actually taste really, really good! Pixie Crunch apples are actually very similar to Honeycrisp. They are quite sweet, yet mildly tart, and also have a nice juicy crunch. A big difference between the two types are that Pixies are a little more sweeter and smaller. You can’t go wrong with either!

The orchard had plenty of signs posted with clear instructions. There were signs on which rows were okay to pick and which were not. There were also really tall ladders on each row to allow for picking the apples that were high up on the trees. We all took turns climbing a ladder and picking those high-up apples. My Mommy Anxiety definitely started to kick in a little during this part, but I quickly realized that the kids were all safe, especially between my husband and I took turns holding them and the ladder tightly and securing as they climbed up. No injuries, only fun was had. 

When we were all tired from walking, climbing, and picking, we went to the Market to pay for our apples and also buy a few of the must-have-Fall-apple-products. We ended up picking about 20 pounds of apples and buying a gallon of apple cider, apple cider slushies, and warm apple cider donuts. Lord, have mercy! So good.

Before we left to return home, the kids got the chance to just run around and play on the wooden train structure for children. It turned out to be a great day with really nice weather for Fall. Going to the apple orchard was such a nice mini-getaway from the monotony of our new lives due to COVID-19. It was great to have a change of scenery, both at the orchard and during the car ride there and back. And in typical Homeschooling fashion, we made every opportunity a chance for learning, whether it was with the music we played in the car, the historical sights we saw, the rivers and lakes we passed by, the bridge that we crossed over, and of course, the apples we picked. Apple Picking was a success and many memories were made to kick off the Fall Season! Have you ever gone apple picking? What are some of your Fall “must-do’s” for memory-making? 

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