Boston - Part 2

Welcome back to my second post from my trip to Boston.  You can find the first post here.

After the party, my oldest son flew into Boston, so we could spend the weekend together.  I suggested that we spend the next morning engaged in a very traditional New England fall activity....apple picking!  My son quickly told me "I'm not 6 years old, Dad."  So, I made sure that he had to go, as punishment for the sarcastic remark ; )

We joined the Balmforth family at Tougas Farms - a cultural icon in the area that I used to live.  It's one of the best farms in the entire area to go picking.

The summer at Tougas provided a lot of rain, and a ton of blackberries, raspberries, blueberries and strawberries.  However, the fall definitely belongs to the apples.  Here's a snapshot of all the varieties Tougas had in their orchards:

No complete apple-picking experience would be complete, without a "hay ride" to start things off.  It was the perfect way to embarrass my son.  We climbed aboard with the Balmforths, and were taken to the "active" orchards for that day.

Our objective for the day was pretty clear - to fill a bag with Honey Crisp apples.  How does one describe Honey Crisp apples from New England?  The words "sugary tear drops from an angel" come to mind.  These are the sweetest, most crisp apples that I've ever tasted.  My kids like to remind me that I talk about my days working as a teen-ager in a California product market...often.  However, that experience really helps when you either go to pick out a watermelon...or try apple-picking.

The farm was crowded that day, as the weather was amazing, and it was close to the end of the season for the Honey Crisps.  My son couldn't figure out how there would be enough apples for all of these people.  Here's a tiny snapshot of what was available all over the orchard:

I'm glad to report that my son had fun.  We all did.  The best part of having a son who is 6' 5" tall?  He can reach some of the best apples ; )

Another great part about apple-picking in an orchard?  You get to eat as many apples as you'd like...right from the tree:

In some parts of the orchard, they have ladders that you can use to reach those sun-kissed apples at the very top of the trees.  We decided to use them to our best advantage...putting the tall guy up high:

Some times, you find unusual apples in the orchard.  Here are a couple of examples:

That, my friends, is a mutant apple.  It looks like one apple has eaten another one...

Here is the result of all the hard work - I believe this is two "bushels" of apples...but how in the heck am I going to fit these in my suitcase???

On our way out of the farm, we passed the pumpkin patch.  Here are the Balmforth boys...with their dad, my son and I:

We had a great time - and so glad that the Balmforths were able to go with us.  We finished the exhausting work in the orchards with a few Apple Cider Donuts, courtesy of Tougas Farms.  My son also had a chance to try their fresh Apple Cider - delicious.  I think we'll have apples for the rest of the time in Boston ; )

Next up - a very special day of football....