Can I get an apple Red Bull with my apple cider, apple muffin, apple pie, apple donuts, apple...

We met some friends at Pine Tree Apple Orchard today. Pine Tree is definitely kid friendly, but I think their core audience is more the 70+ crowd. At least, that was the most heavily represented demographic when we were there. The hay-free "hayride" was a fun little tour of the orchard with some nice views of the surrounding area from "the highest hill in the county" and there was plenty of room for the kids to run wild. The highlight for Q was the close proximity of the train that went by.

In the end, the visit felt a bit too much like a factory tour and not enough like a visit to a family farm. I'm not saying it was a waist of time. The kids still enjoyed themselves and that's pretty much the whole point. It just wasn't what I was expecting I guess. Maybe it was just the surrounding skyline of McMansions that put me off. Or maybe I'm just crabby from not getting any sleep the last few nights because Ozzi is fighting off a little ear infection. He was feeling much better today thankfully.


...and I still think my guy at the St. Paul Farmers Market has the best damn Honey Crisp Apples out there.