Pandemic Week 30: Everyone Is Picking Apples

Hike at Sky Meadow State Park

 It as another week of lovely fall weather with temperatures in the low 70s.  Joe is still harvesting tomatoes from the garden (we plan to enjoy them while they last).  Unfortunately the nice weather did not last into Columbus Day weekend as the remnants of Hurricane Delta are currently saturating the DC area.  Nonetheless, we were able to take advantage of a rain-free Saturday and headed towards the mountains for a hike and some apple picking.  This was such a great idea that EVERYONE from Northern Virginia was doing the same thing.

The destination:  Sky Meadow State Park.  This is a place that we go a couple of times a year at the foot of the Shenandoah mountains.  It is quite lovely with a wide variety of hikes.  The first clue of what to expect was the traffic headed west.  Granted, we dos not get out for many trips these days, so there was some questioning as to there was really traffic or it was just something normal that we

had not been experienced for a while.  There was traffic.  Upon arriving at the park, there was a LONG line of cars.  Fortunately we were able to turn around and made it to a less used entrance (which was also busy).  We did get a nice hike in on a different trail (masks in tow).  Afterwards, the plan was to stop at a nearby orchard to pick some apples.  After traveling down a winding, gravel road we came upon an enormous line to get into the orchard.  The line was so long we couldn't even see the front.  Theresa managed to do some maneuvering to turn around.  We will be getting out fresh picked apples from Wegman's.

Other highlights of the week:

  • We said goodbye to the Suburu, which we sold on Monday.  Theresa is shopping for a car, which she considers a torturous process.  Fortunately there is no hurry since there is really no where to go at the moment.
  • Joe and Anna got their flu shots (Theresa is planning to get one at work)
  • We purchased a home-made chocolate cake from a neighbor who was selling them as a fundraiser.  Theresa and Anna particularly enjoyed this treat.


Happy Columbus Day!



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