A couple of weeks ago we had the chance to meet some semi local cherry farmers. After sampling some of the goodies they had to offer we bought a bag of cherries and inquired about picking our own. They told us they would love for us to come out and visit them and pick as many as we wanted.
Suhh-weeet!
Just one thing…
…we had never picked cherries before, it was a two hour trip one way, and it was JULY, which translates HEAT.
No Biggie. It couldn’t be that hard and the weather was sure to be nicer since it was in the mountains. AND…. we wanted those cherries.
So last Friday we packed a picnic and loaded up the truck.
Brandon and I had just been through the area where the farm was located so we knew somewhat where we were going. However when we turned on the road to take us to our destination we soon realized that we watch way too many scary movies.
We were beginning to wonder if we had actually stumbled across the set for The Hills Have Eyes or Wrong Turn. And I was beginning to hear the song… Jeepers Creepers…spooky!
Even though I would never have admitted it to them at the time I immediately began picturing us being kidnapped and forced into some underground cherry picking slave ring… I was getting a little scared.
Had I told my Mom the town the farm was in? Would they separate us or leave us together? Would my hands be forever stained purple from all the cherry juice?
And then…..
We arrived and there were no signs of anyone until we drove down to the barn…you guys have seen those scary movies too, right?
Well, this barn wasn’t filled with pitchforks or hooks, and there were no hockey masks or chainsaws in sight.
Instead it was filled with buckets of cherries. The sweetest cherries. Ever. Some of the same cherries we were going to get to pick as many of as we wanted. And eat.
Wanna see?
It ended up being a great afternoon. The weather was so nice. Especially compared to the 110 degrees we had just left. The cool breeze filled with the scent of cherries was perfect.
After we had tasted and filled our bucket full we were hungry. For something other than cherries. So we headed down the road to a more familiar place, had our picnic and did a little shopping.
Brandon and I discovered this cute little place on our previous trip to Cloudcroft, NM and I wanted to take the girls back to check it out. It’s a good thing we did too, because I found the best cherry pitter. LOVE it! Brandon and I both agree that it was super easy to use. So now we have cherries in the freezer minus the pits 😉
I know, I know…my imagination got the best of me. But, it’s a good thing there were no hockey masks in that barn or we would have been making a run for it. Although in my defense you’ll see in the pictures of some of the things we passed on the way up there that my imagination is totally justified:
HOW FUN! Why does some of the most delicious fruits need to be harvested over the summer?? we went to pick blueberries and it was HOT HOT HOT! i mean, Louisiana hot. we did eat about a gallon… while trying to fill our own gallon bucket! lol
Laura, I would love to pick blueberries, but have resorted to buying those at Sam’s instead. We’re stationed in the desert so we’re limited on what will actually grow around here…..that is of course unless we risk our lives to drive up to the mountains 😉
My parents live in Louisiana so I know what kind of HOT you’re talking about…..humid, sticky, takes your breath away and often filled with bugs, lol.
I think Lexie ate as many as she put in the bucket so it’s no wonder she hasn’t wanted any cherries since we brought them home.
Those cherries look AMAZING! I’m drooling all over my screen over here. What a fun day! Um, yeah, the drive in looks really creepy. I have a very overactive imagination too and would have been running through escape scenarios in my mind 🙂
Caroline, we ended up having a really good time, and I think Lexie and I are going to go back in the Fall and pick apples. That is IF I can work up the nerve to drive up there because the pics I showed were mild compared to what it was really like.
I think I’m going to lay off the scary movies for awhile and quit watching all the ghost/paranormal shows while B’s gone. I don’t know what came over me during the last deployment but I was brave enough to watch them, alone in my room with the lights off. Then I couldn’t sleep…for days. I’m boycotting them this time since it’s just Lex and I once Caylin goes back to school, you know…the whole power in numbers sort-of thing to fight off the psycho’s, zombies, or ghosts? yah, because 3 girls could so take on all of them at the same time, and when we’re down to 2, it could ever happen…LOL!
Ha ha, nothing like an over active imagination to get your pulse racing!
Bridget, if the plots for those movies hadn’t already been taken I would be making millions, LOL!! I always seem to let my imagination head in that direction 😉
Thanks for stopping by and I hope you’re having a great 2012 so far!
HAHAHAAHAHHA. This cracked me up, especially the pictures at the bottom. So VERY The Hills have Eyes (which I have never actually seen). I can think of plenty of places that seemed very Wrong Turn to me too. Just makes it all the more exciting. (Maybe my next horror story will be inspired by this post. Who knows?! LOL).
I have only watched the first few minutes of each of those movies…too chicken to finish the rest. I’m sure some of it has to do with the fact that we’ve lived in areas that the plot in both of them could be TRUE!! LOL!!
Sometimes it adds to the excitement…and sometimes it makes me wish I had a port-a-potty in my car, you know, so I’d never have to actually stop to go the bathroom 😉
Thanks for stopping by!
Hmmm. Me thinks I need to take some travels out your way in the near future for inspiration. That’s my greatest set back as a writer. I have only traveled via books and movies for the most part.
Love these pictures – they remind me of summer. We picked cherries last year, but were really too late for the good ones. Most had been picked over. This summer, I’ll get there early.
Thanks Kelly 🙂 We got lucky in finding them when we did, they we about to go through and pick the last ones for the season. I can’t remember how many pounds we ended up with but it was enough to fill a 5 gallon bucket! If you were closer I’d share (we still have some in the freezer).
Hope you’re able to pick some this Summer and I’m glad you stopped by!