Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Autumn & Apples

Autumn has always been my favorite season. Fall brings changing leaves, my birthday, the start of school, Halloween, apple cider, pumpkin roll, parades, scarves and gloves, corn mazes and a whole list of traditions. With Aiden, I like to relive favorite childhood experiences and this fall, I've set out to begin new traditions. The first of which was attending the 47th Annual National Apple Harvest Festival in a town which Aiden likes to call "AppleLand". 


We set off on Sunday afternoon bundled in scarves, winter coats, hats and gloves. While it's only the first week of October, central PA seems to be starting autumn off strong with low temperatures and a lot of precipitation. Knowing it would be muddy, I slipped on rain boots, a decision that would pay off later. Unfortunately, our planning didn't include bringing anything but money, my camera and ourselves. An umbrella and a camera bag would have been nice. (And oh so practical)


Instead, we spent our two hours at the festival dodging rain drops and hiding under pavilion tops. We visited the petting zoo, where Aiden was surprised to learn that pigs have tails. (seriously.) We colored picture after picture of apple pies, apple trees, bowls of apples. We played kids games and avoided clowns. The only thing we didn't manage to do was stay dry.


More than anything, Aiden enjoyed playing checkers. Most of all, he enjoyed that the seats and tables were hay bales. The highlight of my trip? Sweet potato fries with powdered sugar, fresh pressed apple cider and the funny faces that Aiden made throughout the day.


Our next fall plans include picking (and carving) pumpkins and getting lost in a corn maze. And perhaps, I might even attempt a gluten-free pumpkin roll.

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