things to do: virginia apple picking

Tony and I woke up on the Columbus Day holiday, hopped in the car, stopped to pick up Camille and Matt, and headed out on I-66 West for a day of apple picking and wine tasting. We got to Stribling's Orchard in Markham, Va., around lunchtime and grabbed a picnic table at the top of a hill, which had this spectacular mountain view:

What a view to see when eating a picnic lunch. (The food, by the way, was delicious. Camille and Matt packed falafel and hummus wraps with feta, tomatoes and cucumbers. And a baguette with cheese and grapes. And pumpkin bread. And there may or may not have been a little wine in red plastic cups.)

Once our bellies were full, we started roaming the orchard, scouting trees that were still picking. We're well into apple season, so some of the trees were already all gone. But there were still plenty of apples left, especially York, Rome and Golden Delicious.

The picking technique required the use of a contraption on a long stick that's capable of reaching the tops of the trees. Which was fun to use, clearly.

(Yes, I am wearing my awesome jean jacket in that photo. I finally broke it out -- it's officially fall.) 

You know what else is awesome? Hot apple cider.

So once we had our fill of apples, the four of us got back in the car and drove just down the street to a winery called Chateau O'Brien. We had our wine on the patio in front of a fire, again overlooking the mountains. It was a good daylong escape from the city and a nice way to spend the holiday.

Apples cost $1.50 a pound at Stribling Orchard, and it's about an hour and 15 minutes from D.C.

<3

From the archives:

things to do: maryland berry picking

day trip: fredericksburg, va.

In theory, the trip to Fredericksburg, Va., was supposed to be a little over an hour. A quick day trip from D.C., right? But I-95 never cooperates with my plans. It's stop and go, any time of day, for no apparent reason. 

So Tony, Camille, Matt and I finally got to Fredricksburg about lunchtime. It's one of those cute downtowns. Reminds me a lot of Old Town Alexandria. 

First on the agenda: food. Specifically, Foode. Tony had scoped out this cute little restaurant, and we had brunch. It was about a million degrees in the restaurant, which didn't have AC, so we ate outside in the nice courtyard. 

Tony's raved about his chicken salad sandwich and potato salad: 

As did Camille, over her chicken and egg on a biscuit: 

 

I have to keep my eyes peeled for wide-mouth Ball jars that I can use for glasses. Aren't these the perfect things to drink iced tea out of? 

Second stop: antiquing. Fredericksburg has a handful of pretty nice little antique shops and malls. But it also has a few less-than-impressive stores. I had to leave a couple of them right away because they just smelled so bad. Part of the fun for me at antique stores is discovering nice pieces and then getting a good deal on them. I found a lot of nice pieces in Fredericksburg, but I didn't spy any good deals. Everything was about 30 percent more than I would pay. 

And third agenda item for the day: a Civil War battlefield. The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought here in 1862, and it was one of the big victories for the Confederates. We took a several-miles-long drive through the battlefield, stopping at a few spots to read the signs and take photos. Confederate trenches were visible right next to most of the road. Here's a photo of the trenches, taken at the spot where the battle ended. It's kind of amazing these things haven't eroded away.  

And then, we got back on I-95. Seriously, someone should do something about this road.