Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Harvest Time Apple Orchard

I have written in the past about how our family visits County Line Orchard in Hobart Indiana every fall for apple picking, doughnuts, and the petting zoo.  County Line Orchard is a big operation with large crowds but we always have a great time and this year was no exception.  We had a lot of grandparent visits scheduled for this fall, however, so we decided to take them to try another apple orchard in the area.  To me, picking apples on a beautiful fall day with your grandchildren sounds perfect and everyone really did enjoy themselves.  We traveled up to Harvest Time Orchard (www.myharvesttime.com) in Twin Lakes Wisconsin.  The drive took approximately one hour and fifteen minutes so it was good that we had the grandparents to keep everyone occupied along the way.

Once you get there, if you are going apple picking, do not park your car in the parking lot when you get there.  We made that mistake and unloaded everyone, walked up to the sign that said you must enter the orchard in your car and had to get everyone back in again.  There is a $3 per person charge to enter the orchard but then your entrance fee is subtracted from the apples you pick.  So for example, there were six of us so we paid $18 to go in and then we picked a big bag full of apples that cost $25.  On the way out we owed them $7.  Basically we just paid for the apples we picked.  The apples were plentiful and delicious.  We have been baking with them and just eating them as is.

In addition to the apples, there is a store near the parking lot that sells yummy doughnuts with a variety of toppings from cinnamon and sugar to vanilla glazed to sprinkles.  There were lots of people stopping by just to buy doughnuts.  Plus you can purchase cheeses, sausage, and apple cider.  We also had lunch while we were there that included brats, hot dogs, and pulled pork sandwiches.  There are several places to eat including a terrace that overlooks the orchard.  We enjoyed our lunch but were having trouble finding a spot to eat where the yellow jackets weren't bothering us.  We kept moving but couldn't escape them and ultimately my younger daughter got stung.  She handled it better than I did when I got stung earlier in the summer in our backyard and the incident didn't end up putting much of a damper on our visit.  All in all a great autumn activity.

No comments:

Post a Comment