Fall fun outdoors: apple picking and a movie

Last Saturday, the we went apple picking, a first for us all, to the Warwick Valley Winery & Distillery in Orange County up in the Hudson Valley. It is, first and foremost a winery where everyone was eating, drinking and, well, being merry (live band), but it also has a beautiful apple and pear orchard. We grabbed a bag and headed immediately towards the apple orchard where we could be merry all on our own.

Apple-picking season here begins in early September and lasts in some places up to early November. We made it just in time to pick Jonagolds, Mutsus, Cameos and Red Delicious. We all got a chance to pick and marvel at the deliciousness of freshly picked fruit. Liam surprised us by eating almost all of an enormous Jonagold apple the size of a grapefruit. Bill got the shots he wanted as the sun was setting. And I did most of the picking and got to lug around the heavy bag of apples all around the orchard. Yay.

And if that experience wasn't just the best, we left there and drove some more to the famous Warwick Drive-in Movie Theater nearby. Once again, it was a first for us all. We saw UP and munched on all sorts of movie theater goodies. Liam loved the movie and his first experience at a wide assortment of junk food both equally. He kept saying between mouthfuls, "I'm driving!" and "BluRay" as he pointed to the big screen. (BluRay?? We don't even own a flat screen TV and only get to see the occasional BluRay on Bill's laptop.) As predicted, he conked out before the movie ended. Despite our having to juggle the messy junk food and the wiggly two-year old up in the front seat of our compact car, and of course the constant wiping down of the foggy window, who knew a drive-in movie theater could be so much fun?

We can't wait to do it all again. What a beautiful day and evening with my boys!