The trip began beautifully, because the drive along Route 20 is gorgeous this time of year. Hillside after hillside was covered in bright reds and oranges, and we tried to soak in as much of the fall colors as we could (the morning frosts that have been covering the lawns have been an ominous warning that these colors will not last much longer).
I had not picked out O'Neill's as our apple picking destination from the beginning; I only knew that East of Lafayette was Orchard Valley, home to many beautiful upstate New York orchards and the famous Lafayette Apple Festival. See http://www.lafayetteapplefest.org/ for a better idea of this miraculous annual event. O'Neill's stood out to us because you could smell the apple fritters from the road-- we got right in line.
Our apple picking venture started out rocky-- the orchard's owners explained to us that a snow in May had wiped out much of their harvest, and that the trees were pretty picked out at this point. However, we weren't discouraged. We found a whole bag full of apples, and relished in the challenge of getting the only ones that were left, which hung at the very tops of the trees. Once we had exhausted ourselves climbing and picking raspberries in the raspberry bushes that line the trees, we sat down at a picnic table to a delicious dinner of hot dogs, apple cider, apple fritters, and cider doughnuts. So satisfying.
At the end of the day, I walked away from O'Neill's U-PICK apple orchard with a bag full of huge, delicious apples and the satisfaction that I really knew where they had come from. I had shaken the hand of the man that grew them, I had seen them on the trees, and I had picked out the most beautiful and the best for my apple bounty that day. Sodexo, it'll be a long time before I need to eat any more of your shiny California apples.
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