This past weekend, Chuck and I went to Charlottesville – home of Monticello and the University of Virginia – to join some friends and family for Top of the Hops Beer Festival. Although the festival was a great time, I am not particularly a fan of beer, so we made it a point to go apple picking as well.

It turned out to be the most beautiful weekend, and we got to roam apple orchards and farmer’s markets in warm golden sunshine. We were able to picnic alongside old Virginian architecture and browse the orchard’s country shop. It’s fun to go back to my “home state” and get a taste of mountains and hills in comparison to the endless flat land of Coastal Carolina!

As I type, I’m actually enjoying one of the crisp, juicy apples that I hand-picked myself. We got so many – I’ll have to make a cinnamon apple crisp this weekend! Yummm. 🙂