I’ve wanted to go apple picking and leaf peeping since fall began a few weeks ago.  We’ve been trying to plan a weekend trip but with busy schedules it just hasn’t worked out. With our schedule getting rearranged, my girlfriends and I decided to take a last minute trip upstate. We had all the fall activities on our minds and with just a two hour drive away, we began our journey bright and early.  The drive went by quickly as we were catching up and reminiscing of our childhood memories.

Our first stop, and the main reason of the trip, was Storm King Art Center. I’ve heard great things and I was excited to see what the hype was about.  With sprawling grounds and fall foliage galore, it was impressive right off the bat.  We walked around for about two hours, viewing unique sculptures and beautiful scenery. It’s always nice to escape the city every once and a while and experience the peace and quiet of nature.  You can definitely get lost in the lovely views for hours.  Next time, I plan to bring a picnic and enjoy the outdoors for that much longer. With the gloomy weather slowly breaking, the sun began to beat down and we were all ready to indulge in a hearty lunch.

Next on the list was lunch.  We didn’t know where that was going to be but we knew we wanted to add apple picking and pumpkin patching to our list so we drove in that direction.  With google and yelp as our best friends, we found Lakeview House right in the middle of both Storm King and the Orchard. Sitting outside, we enjoyed the fall weather with a beautiful view of the lake.  We needed our energy for the next phase of the trip!

Lawrence’s Farm Orchard was about ten minutes away from the restaurant and as we approached, our excitement grew.   We grabbed our wooden wagon, apple bags, and walking shoes and quickly went on our way to the apple trees.  The grounds were so big that it did not feel crowded which is always a concern on a nice fall day.  Even though it’s towards the end of apply picking season, the trees were still abundant with crisp, juicy apples.  We went from tree to tree, variety to variety picking our favorite flavors and kinds we’ve never heard of.  Once our bags were full, we strolled over to the pumpkin patch and marketplace. We worked up an appetite again for some apple cider doughnuts, always a good idea.  This orchard is great for families as there are also animals to pet, a corn maze to run through, and little houses to play in. I am already planning our trip back next year because I know James will have fun! Unfortunately, due to a time crunch, we didn’t make it to the vegetable gardens where you can pick fresh veggies to bring home.