I have found that the best trips are the ones close to home. Look in your local newspaper for family seasonal events. In our area, we are just an hour or two from the mountains. We have made it a tradition to take our grandmother for a day trip in early Fall to stock up on fresh delicious apples.
We pack up the car with a cooler with water and snacks for the road, remembering to leave plenty of room for the produce. Then we head out to our favorite apple orchard. Visiting an orchard is always fun for the children, and the bushel price is much better than paying by the pound in the grocery store. For several years we have visited the same family owned business at their packing house. We are welcomed with a smile and invited to come inside for a quick tour. We all enjoy watching the apples being brought in and sorted on a conveyor belt and put into boxes. The cooler where the apples are kept is our favorite place. The smell of all the fresh apples is priceless. While enjoying the aroma, we play a quick game of name that apple, which is always a learning experince for me, since there seems to be a new variety available each year.
Apples keep for several weeks in the fridge, so we stock up to make the trip profitable. We usually by at least three different varieties and share them with Grandma. She still believes the familiar addage, "an apple a day takes the doctor away". They are also great to have around for holiday baking, or to make a pie to take to a friend or loved one. Of course we always take our pairing knife along to sample a few in the car on the trip home. Upon leaving the packing house, we stop at the side of the road market where we pick out a few pumpkins, new crop pintos, and maybe even some country ham.
So, next time you are looking for a fun field trip, think of your favorite fruit or vegatable. If it is in season close to home, Viola, a new tradition waiting to happen!
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