Sky Top Orchard - A Family Vacation

Recently the Sullivan family loaded up the SUV and headed for North Carolina.  The weather had not turned too cold just yet and the leaves were just beginning to fall from the trees.  Sky Top Orchard was our destination.  Fun was our goal.  Mission accomplished!

Video Transcript

OK, so it didn't happen exactly that way.  It was a little more thought out than that.  It all started when we drove by a pumpkin patch or what is referred to as a pumpkin patch here in Florida.  A bunch of pumpkins stacked on some pallets in a parking lot with some straw scattered around.

I mentioned to my wife how I remembered walking through an actual pumpkin patch as a kid and we decided that was an experience we wanted our children to have as well.  However, we really don't have things like that here in Florida so we decided to go where the getting is good.

Oh and we decided to go for apples instead of pumpkins.  Yeah, I don't know how we jumped that river either.

Turns out my wife found this cool little place in North Carolina.  Sky Top Orchard.  Over 500 miles and a little over 9 hours brought us to this Utopia of apples and trees, fresh air and ear popping.  Yeah, lots of ear popping.

To get to Sky Top Orchard you have to travel what I call, the drive way.  Approximately one mile of vertical fortitude.  The altitude changed so much in just that one mile our ears popped all the way up and all the way back down.  It also adds to the excitement.

We got their early just as they opened and so parking was relatively simple.  Seeing the line on the way out made us even more thankful for getting everybody up and out the hotel room door early.  So my recommendation if you visit.  Go early, you'll thank me later.

Be warned, their is some walking involved with this.  It is a large orchard with rows and rows of apple trees.  Come prepared.

So back hear is where you park and then hear is where you go to get you baskets and wagons to go pick apples.  Sky top has a lot of things to offer other than apple picking.  Such as donuts.  Which reminds me, before you go off in search of that perfect ripe apple, go get in line for donuts.

Trust me.

Then you can eat donuts while walking the orchard.  Or you can just eat donuts.

Riding that tractor is something we wanted to do but did not have time.  When you have three children you prioritize what your going to do because if your not careful, morning turns into the afternoon and then you have crankiness and then it's just not good for anybody.  The children's play area was a must.  We decided to go their first.  That gave their mother and I a chance to sit down and cool our heels and actually look at this map that they give you.  It lays out where all the trees are and the different varieties of apples.

We made the trip in mid October just as the picking season was winding down so apples were kind of at a premium.  Here is a little tip for you.  The trees closest to the ends of aisles are going to be picked clean because everybody likes the low hanging fruit.  If you walk down the aisles to the trees that can't see, you most likely find a plethora of unpicked apples like this.

So that was our trip, the kids loved it, mom and dad loved it and we can't wait to go back.

Also, I got better fruit.

Til next time,

Happy DIY'ing.