If you ever need a socially distanced break that’s fun and easy to do, leave quarantine behind by taking a drive to your local apple farm for time well spent with the kids no matter what their age. Bay Harbor is in the perfect location for short drives to local farms that offer a variety of things to do for the entire family.

Last week, I was able to jump in the truck and take a couple of hours to enjoy a beautiful 70 degree day to our local Apple Farm, King Orchards in Central Lake. It’s an easy drive down 31 and then on to Rt. 88. My children are older – 16 and 20, both doing the on-line school option this Fall. It’s great to see how well they are handling this crazy time, but they both get a little
cabin fever after staring at screens for most of the day. Between technology delays, miscommunication with classmates, and the ever changing expectations even the most disciplined of students can find themselves needing a break. After their last class, we decided the drive would be a much needed respite, plus getting some of those yummy, fresh apples was
the ultimate goal. It only took us an hour to drive to Central Lake. The fresh air, sunshine and singing like rockstars with the windows down allowed us to shed any tensions we had before entering the vehicle.

When we arrived at King’s Orchard Farm, there were rows and rows of apple trees. The variety was astounding. We pulled into the parking area and looked out over the vast fields of produce happily growing in this valley of plenty. We surveyed the number of people in the area and thankfully, there weren’t enough to keep my seventy year old mother from picking apples with us. As so many people have realized during this pandemic, it’s not about keeping yourself healthy as much as it is about keeping the ones you love healthy.

Once our pre-purchased baskets were in our hands, we headed down to the Sugar Crisps, Macintosh, and Gala trees. These farmers know what they’re doing. There were so many apples! We couldn’t help but sample a couple while we were picking. If you haven’t eaten an apple straight from the tree, you are missing one of life’s most beautiful gifts. The juicy, sweet crispness that comes from a fresh picked apple of your favorite variety paired with the laughter of your children strolling through rows upon rows of plentiful apples, can only be summed up as one of the moments you need to just pause, soak in the taste, the smells, the beauty of this orchard and how taking an hour out of the day to go pick some apples was the best decision
that I made that entire week.

King’s Orchard is open 9 am to 4 pm for U- Pick and their little general stores are open later for those who prefer to shop. They have such a variety of things at their farm store. We even picked up some bacon from their neighbor that sells pork products.