Autumn Fest

A couple weekends ago, we had so much autumn fun planned that we dubbed the weekend "Autumn Fest". Three days of reveling in the delights of the season for which New England is most noted!

The first day, a Friday, Colette and I took off to the western edge of New Hampshire and the eastern edge of Vermont. There was a lot of food in this three-day fest, and we began it with lunch at one of our favorite restaurants, Burdick's, in Walpole. Their French onion soup and truffle pommes frites are THE best!

Then we drove down the road to Alyson's Orchard where we admired the sweeping view of Vermont to the west. Such a crystal clear day! We were grateful for sunny weather, because we've had a lot of rain this autumn.

Alyson's Orchard, in addition to growing a wide variety of apples, is our go-to place for pumpkins. We must confess that this is our second trip there for pumpkins this season.

Then it was a short drive, down meandering lanes lined with trees in full autumn foliage, through small town, and past farms.

First stop was achingly beautiful Scott Farm. They make the best cider this side of the Mississippi. I say that because our dear friends in California make the best west of the Mississippi! It took us years of disappointment to find a cider here in New England that we really loved as much. Scott Farm's is fabulous, because they use a mix of apples, with all the subtle nuances and complexities of flavor that come with that.

Next stop was Green Mountain Farm, which is known for its incredibly delicious cider donuts.

Last stop of the day was Walker Farm, where we bought one last pumpkin of the day...a really unique one that the clerk said "looked like an antique". Sold!

All these goodies coming home with us! A box of autumn...our "antique" pumpkin, three quarts of Scott Farm's cider, a Winesap apple, two Hudson's Golden Gem apples (taste like a pear-apple), a bi-color squash-gourd-thing, and some Indian corn.

The next day was another gorgeously clear day with cool, crisp air. This time, all three of us headed east to Applecrest Farm & Orchard, the large and oldest orchard in New Hampshire.

We enjoy the energy of this place, with lots of families there to enjoy the apple picking, pumpkins, farm animals, and more. We were...surprise, surprise...there for the food! This place has a fabulously delicious farm-to-table bistro! We got there just before they stopped serving breakfast, which made me so happy, as breakfast is my favorite meal to eat at a restaurant.

Bonus points to Colette for accidentally coordinating her sweater and the table!

I had the French toast with vanilla whipped cream, apples, and pecans, applewood smoke bacon, and tea. Yum! I love how they cut the apples into little rounds instead of traditional slices.

The next day, the grandkids came over for the whole afternoon and evening, and we had plenty of autumn fun planned for them too. First up was decorating cookies with frosting and sprinkles. I thought this might be challenging with four kids age seven and under. But giving each child their own cookies and their own three colors of frosting with a knife in each color gave it enough structure to keep the mayhem to a dull roar, and yet everyone had fun! Win, win!

Then we moved on to carving jack-o-lanterns. They did a great job of scooping the goop out with nary a complaint or groan. And we got some fine faces for Halloween!

We hope you are enjoying the delights of autumn too! Sometimes the days go by so quickly and we forget to really enjoy those precious, fleeting moments. Take time!