Apple Picking in Crozet, Virginia

Over the weekend we drove up near Charlottesville to go apple picking. We'd been planning to meet up with Brandon, who's in his 3rd year at JMU now (where has the time gone?), and Tim discovered Chile's Peach Orchard at about the halfway point between Richmond and Harrisonburg as a fun meeting spot.

While named for its peach offerings, the orchard was ripe with apple trees and a pumpkin patch. We were there for apples, so we hunted down a wagon and made our way opposite the pumpkins over to the rows and rows of Granny Smith & Fuji trees.

One of the best parts of outdoor activities like these is the fact we can bring Basil along for the fun. While Basil will happily laze around the house with us during the week, this dog is in his element in wide open outdoor spaces like these.

He's also no stranger to fresh apples:

Getting him to smile directly into the camera is another story...

As you can probably gather, we had a wonderful afternoon spending time together, walking around and breathing the fresh air — and gathering a bushel of mixed apples as fresh as they come. Of course, we could not leave the area without lunch at Blue Mountain Brewery in Nelson County!

We're now swimming with apples back home, talking through all the recipes we want to try with our new bounty — apple pie, apple chips and apple vinegar are among the top of the list this year.

For now, we'll leave you with a new favorite snap:

P.S. For those interested, here's a fun to look back at our first orchard trip with the "kids" back in 2011, when Stephanie was a freshman at JMU. Time keeps moving forward — Stephanie's since graduated and Brandon's soon to follow. It's days like these that remind us how quickly things evolve, yet remain the same in many ways.

Discover More:

Make Apple Vinegar from Scratch | Homemade Apple Dog Treat Recipe