Welcoming Fall: Apple Orchard Field Trip

I don’t know about you, but we’re heading into one of my favorite times of the year. Pumpkin Spice Lattes are back at Starbucks, long sleeves and boots are back in my closet, and apples are ready to pick! 

We missed the UCHS field trip to Reid’s Orchard last year (what with having a few-days-old baby in the house!) so I was especially excited to go this time around. We arrived at their store area to pay for our admission and meet up with our group; of course mom couldn’t resist a cute photo opportunity by the bins of pumpkins.

When everyone was present and accounted for, we took off into the orchard in search of the big sign marking the “Rome” apples. One homeschool dad remarked as we trudged, “Are you sure we’re not walking all the way to Rome?”

We finally found the rows of apple trees where we were supposed to pick. Each student picked two apples, which our group coordinator gathered in a big sack.

Abigail didn’t pick apples today, but she enjoyed the view.

After all the kids had climbed trees or clambered underneath for their pair of apples, we took another little hike through the orchards, past some old barns, to the wishing well. 

 Group picture!

We hiked back through the orchard to take a tour of the Apple House. We saw the cold storage area that keeps the apples crisp and fresh until Christmas, and then we saw one of the small machines which cleans the apples.

Then we went around the corner to see a machine which sorts and grades the apples by size – plus we watched what happens to the ones with spots from hail or freezing weather. (They taste great, even though they don’t look pretty, so those are used to make cider!)