I was able to cross lots off of my Fall to-do list with our annual apple picking day (here is last year’s Fall day!) recently, and boy, was it fun! A couple years ago, when we were apple picking beginners, my friends and I realized a little too late that prime apple-picking season is in September and early October in Northern Virginia… whereas we had assumed it would be later in October. So since then, we kick off Fall by going apple picking in September, and the weather on this blissful Sunday was a whopping ninety degrees. Now you know why I was wearing shorts on that day! Despite it being an unseasonably hot afternoon, it was great to get out of the city and drive out to the mountains of Virginia for a day filled with apple picking, pumpkin choosing, apple eating, and winery visiting. The apples, of course, are so fresh and crisp, and it’s such an inexpensive option to pick your own. I’m pretty positive they taste better that way, anyway! We love visiting Stribling Orchard in Markham, Virginia, and there are also several great wineries (Chateau O’Brian and Naked Mountain Winery) right down the road, too.