Apple Picking at Tougas Farm

 Is it even Autumn in New England if you don't go apple picking?  

Not in my book!

Last weekend, we drove just over an hour to go to a great orchard called Tougas Farm.  We had been there about six years prior, and it is a huge orchard with lots of varieties of apples, very clean, and lots of fun things to do.

We got there right when the place opened, and it was a beautiful sunny day.  The air was just starting to feel like fall, perfect!  Grandpa and Phil picked up some apple cider donuts for the tractor ride and off we went.

When you get off the tractor, you go to a table and see what apples are picking at the moment.  The farm had a new variety this year called Ambrosia apples, and they are delicious!  We picked mostly honeycrisp and ambrosia and my mom picked some macouns as well, for baking.

There are neat rows and rows and rows of apple trees.  All clearly marked and perfect heights for kids of all ages.

Me and my honey(crisp).

After we filled up our bellies and our bag, we headed over to the tractor for a ride back to the playground/farmhouse/petting zoo area.

Look!  Four horns!  His head must be so heavy!

These goats had lots of ramps and forts to climb on, but they all kept climbing the fence instead.  Silly goats :)

We had to buy some fresh and hot kettle corn for the ride home.  Oh my gosh, so good and I don't even like popcorn very much (the kernels get stuck in my teeth).  

I was a little disappointed when planning this outing to realize that we would be missing three kids (one in college, one had to work, and one had religious ed) but those big guys have been apple picking with us plenty of times before the younger set was even born.  It was actually very nice to enjoy it with the littles and see it fresh from their eyes.  These kids had so much fun picking and playing and eating and spending time with their parents and grandparents.  How lucky are we to get to experience all this childhood wonder again and again?  Very lucky indeed!