Our Little Baby Blog

Apple Picking

This weekend we traveled to Malta, IL, to pick apples at the Jacoma Apple Orchard with some friends and their little boy. The week prior had been rainy and gloomy and we were really crossing our fingers that the weather would hold up. Fortunately, it didn't rain at all on Saturday. Unfortunately, it was really cold. When we left it was barely 40 degrees. Anna and Abe don't even have winter coats yet. I could stick a heavy sweatshirt and vest on Anna, but it didn't quite feel right putting Abe in a big snowsuit. I don't typically care what people think about the way my family dresses, but that just seemed nuts.

Luckily, when we arrived the sun started to shine and it got a bit warmer. By the time we bundled Abe up in a sweatshirt, stuck him inside the moby wrap and then I put on a fleece over all of it, we were toasty warm. The apple orchard is really cute. Not only do they have rows of apple trees, but they also have a petting zoo area. (We sorta ignored it because it seemed like a muddy disaster in waiting) Most of the activity surrounds a barn where they sell all sorts of apple food (apple donuts, apple butter, and, of course, apples).

After we geared ourselves up for the cold, we headed out down the paths of apple trees and started looking for the trees that held Crispins (the best baking apples, according to the lady at the checkout counter). Each of the rows has the name of the apple and then some of the rows have blue ribbons. The idea is that you're only supposed to pick from those blue ribbon rows. However, we quickly realized that there were no apples left on the trees in those rows. The place had kinda turned into an apple free-for-all.

After determining we were going to be rule-breakers along with the rest of the crowd, we went a step further and grabbed a couple of Blushing Gold apples right off the trees to snack on while we walked the rows. Oh my goodness. Can I tell you that Blushing Gold apples might be the best apple I've ever had? And I'm not really that into apples. But as soon as we started eating them, I couldn't stop talking about them. Aren't these great? Don't you think we should get more? Would they make good pies? I mean these apples are seriously freaking good.

Once we got to a row that we wanted to really stay in for awhile, we told Anna to start picking. They aren't hard to grab, but Anna's so tiny she had to pull with all her strength. We tried not to laugh as she grunted and tugged and told us they were stuck. And then when they did come lose, she'd practically fall over. Her little cold red face, biting into an apple was delightful to watch.







I think we all agreed that this is something we'd definitely do again. The place was easy to get to - maybe an hour away - and once you arrive there's not a terribly long walk to get to the apples themselves. It was just the right speed for families with small children. I made an apple pie on Saturday afternoon (even the crust was from scratch - boo yah!) and we've been slowly devouring it. I'm making curry chicken salad tonight because it also calls for an apple and, of course, we've been snacking on apples for the last two days. I'm determined to make the best of our supply! Wish me luck.