the great apple debacle of 08
I told the boys it wouldn't take the whole day.
I explained that this apple orchard isn't nearly as far away as our usual orchard.
A shorter drive, I boasted, near the ocean, I offered - and they agreed to join us for what I hoped would be a fun afternoon.
And we did have fun.
We laughed and laughed...but it was really kind of miserable.
We hit a ton of traffic -

can you read that? It says: Get off the phone, lay off the gas, put down the bottle, and get off my ass. Friendly!
AND we got lost a few times - my nav system was asleep at the wheel!

We finally arrived at the orchard (it was pretty crowded) and discovered that there weren't really any apples.

It was pretty funny, except for the fact that I felt like crying...dragging them all that way.
There were rows of trees roped off with signs that said the apples weren't ripe yet.

See this? IT'S A LIE. THERE WERE NO APPLES IN ROW 17.
VERY FRUSTRATING.
Anyway, being a horrible parent and all, I convinced Middle to cross the rope and smuggle out apples which ended up being completely hilarious as we discovered, after we tasted one of them, that they had been sprayed, we think, with SOMETHING.

I'm not going to SAY what they may have been sprayed with but I will tell you that it rhymes with SPANURE. See him laughing? See him spitting his contraband apple out?

It was terribly scenic.
And terrifically expensive - but we had an awfully good time and were reduced, at several times, to tears of laughter.

It was nice spending time out of the house with some boys...

I had promised them dinner at a diner after apple picking and after getting lost three times we finally found it.

Hilarity pretty much ruled the evening at the diner too, I'm afraid. Some of the help was having an altercation, of sorts, when we arrived and our waiter was somewhat surly.
We were starving and ordered burgers and fries and beer. We laughed some more and did some people watching. (There was a woman at the counter in a sequined dress. At 5pm.) And, by the time we got back in the car, were exhausted.
We spent the ride home listening to my iPod playlist - an interesting thing to do with a couple of teens, and driving into the sunset.

The boys did their best to convince me that I didn't waste their Saturday and now I'm going to do my best to make it up to them by making lots of delicious apple things.
I explained that this apple orchard isn't nearly as far away as our usual orchard.
A shorter drive, I boasted, near the ocean, I offered - and they agreed to join us for what I hoped would be a fun afternoon.
And we did have fun.
We laughed and laughed...but it was really kind of miserable.
We hit a ton of traffic -
can you read that? It says: Get off the phone, lay off the gas, put down the bottle, and get off my ass. Friendly!
AND we got lost a few times - my nav system was asleep at the wheel!
We finally arrived at the orchard (it was pretty crowded) and discovered that there weren't really any apples.
It was pretty funny, except for the fact that I felt like crying...dragging them all that way.
There were rows of trees roped off with signs that said the apples weren't ripe yet.
See this? IT'S A LIE. THERE WERE NO APPLES IN ROW 17.
VERY FRUSTRATING.
Anyway, being a horrible parent and all, I convinced Middle to cross the rope and smuggle out apples which ended up being completely hilarious as we discovered, after we tasted one of them, that they had been sprayed, we think, with SOMETHING.
I'm not going to SAY what they may have been sprayed with but I will tell you that it rhymes with SPANURE. See him laughing? See him spitting his contraband apple out?
It was terribly scenic.
And terrifically expensive - but we had an awfully good time and were reduced, at several times, to tears of laughter.
It was nice spending time out of the house with some boys...
I had promised them dinner at a diner after apple picking and after getting lost three times we finally found it.
Hilarity pretty much ruled the evening at the diner too, I'm afraid. Some of the help was having an altercation, of sorts, when we arrived and our waiter was somewhat surly.
We were starving and ordered burgers and fries and beer. We laughed some more and did some people watching. (There was a woman at the counter in a sequined dress. At 5pm.) And, by the time we got back in the car, were exhausted.
We spent the ride home listening to my iPod playlist - an interesting thing to do with a couple of teens, and driving into the sunset.
The boys did their best to convince me that I didn't waste their Saturday and now I'm going to do my best to make it up to them by making lots of delicious apple things.
Comments
I empathize with them for being so supportive.
If you want to know, there are currently 83°F here. When is fall arriving???
Paola
There were plenty o' APPLEs when we got there.
Is Middle ALWAYS your partner in crime?
The sequined dress was just GRAVY.
ErinH
Also? I know I've said this before, but your boys have gorgeous smiles.
Make a crisp and post the recipe. Made one today, a bit disappointing. I must know how you do what you do!
I love that, like every good parent, you took the time to photograph and document that moment too. Fabulous!
That photo you sent me - I was certain that was youngest and the one closest in frame was middle - so there you go, I had them around the wrong way. Something I am sure would impress them no end.
Who the hell goes apple picking anyway???