Autumn is my absolute favorite time of year. By the time June rolls around, I'm ready for the cooler weather, the crisp autumn leaves, the smell of pumpkin pie spices and apple cider, the lure of the County Fair (EVERYTHING is better when it's fried and served on a stick!), our annual family trip to the mountains to go pick apples, and of course, Halloween and Thanksgiving.
It's been a fantastic week for leaving the windows open at night and letting the cool breezes flow though the house. Soon, it will be time to start up the fireplace in the living room and drink hot mulled apple cider together as we watch 30 days of scary movies to prepare for Halloween. (Note: all "scary" movies will be appropriate for 12-year-old Future Marine. Nothing overtly violent of sexual. He does love the old Hitchcock stuff, and the old Universal Monsters, so we watch those every year.) Big E has a phenomenal collection of DVDs for our entertainment, and he sticks to mostly classics.
This morning, I made pumpkin-spiced waffles for breakfast. The whole house smells incredible! Also last night, Big E went out and started hoarding Halloween Candy. I doubt any of it will survive past the next week or two, our family has a serious chocolate addiction problem. But I thought it was incredibly sweet that he started preparing.
Saturday is our annual family trip to The County Fair, so I'm running out to get Maalox and other assorted G.I. stuff, since everything there is deep-fried, on a stick, and usually smothered in something (either cheese or chocolate.) It's tradition. We ride the terrifying rides and eat the terrifying food, then go home, elated. Except no one will ever ride The Zipper with me. No matter how hard I beg, plead, or pout.
Also, apple-picking and corn maze season have both arrived as well, signaling the official start of Fall, despite the fact that it's still in the high 80's/low 90's here in The South. This will be the first year that Big E has gone apple picking with us, and Future Marine and I are thrilled! Normally this is crazy work schedule time for Big E, but he's taking off to do family stuff now and I can't even tell you what that means to us. If you're in the Carolinas and you're looking for a great pick-your-own Orchard, you have to go to Skytop. They've got an old Cider Mill, acres and acres of trees to climb (and in my case, fall out of every year! lol), and an old-fashioned Country Store where they sell Apple Cider Donuts by the ton. They are fantastic and well worth the wait on line to get a few. We've never had anything like them! Also they are dog-friendly, provided your dog is on a leash and not totally insane, and you clean up after them. So Ace comes with us. His late sister, Blue, used to LIVE for apple-picking trips. But she would get into the fermenting apples on the ground and we had to keep an eye on her, or she'd get a little tipsy. In fact, Blue's last family outing was apple picking at Skytop. After she passed away, I kept her tags to tie around some apple trees we planted for her in the back yard.
Also if you're in the Charlotte area and looking for a fun and unique way to spend an autumn day with the family (or a pretty cool date idea,) there's The Amazing Maize Maze at Rural Hill. After September 30th, they do Flashlight Mazes after dark, when the air is just starting to chill, and you can get hot cocoa, and it's just a really fun time all around!
HAPPY FALL, Y'ALL! I don't care what the calendar says, Autumn starts today for our family! :)
No comments:
Post a Comment