For a week straight, our son kept asking me if he could go to an “apple barn.” Yes, an “apple barn.” So ridiculously cute. He really had his heart set on picking green apples and having Isla pick red apples since she “loves red apples.” That was news to me, ha!

After our son’s skate class on Saturday morning, I mentioned to my husband that Hudson kept asking to go to an apple farm and I had my heart set on taking him over the weekend. Knowing that rain was in the forecast for Sunday, my husband said, “Let’s go out to breakfast and then head to the farm.” We told our son the plans and his eyes got so big as he shouted, “Yes! We’re going to the apple barn!”

When we arrived at Catoctin Mountain Orchard, my daughter and I looked at the wildflowers while my son and husband paid for a bag to collect the apples. We hopped on a trailer that was pulled by a tractor and I watched my son as he was mesmerized by the tractor’s wheels. We went up a hill and had an amazing views of the mountains while we were surrounded by countless apple trees.

When we were dropped off at the rows designated for picking, we were given instructions on how to pick apples properly. My son loved learning about how to pick apples and it was so cute to hear him say “twist three times and pull” when he found apples he wanted to pick. Our daughter loved picking the fallen apples off of the ground and tossing them back onto the ground when we said, “Isla, yucky.”

When our bag was full, we picked up cider doughnuts and apple cider and hopped in the car for another adventure. In our area of Maryland, we have quite a few covered bridges. So, we drove through a few covered bridges before finding our way back home.

What better way to welcome the first day of fall than to go to an apple farm, drink cider, enjoy doughnuts, and drive through beautiful covered bridges? I think we started a new family tradition. I told my son that his plan to go apple picking was a great idea. I asked him if he wanted to go again sometime soon and he said, “Mama, I think that’s a great idea.”