Autumn Delicious

I was surprised to find the local sheriff directing traffic upon our arrival at Apple Holler. I had no idea there would be so many apple pickers. In fact, I somewhat expected the place to be semi-deserted on a Sunday morning in middle of nowhere Wisconsin. I was so wrong. We arrived around 10:30 am and already there were lines for all of the attractions, including not only the apple pickin' but also hayrides, corn mazes, the home cookin' restaurant, kettle corn, wagon rentals, and even the general store. Shrieking children grasped plastic bags yet to be filled with shiny crisp fruit and pointed with glee as they passed the mountain goat habitat. Later they would request some time in the bouncey house near the corn maze. We purchased our mandatory 1/2 bushel sack and headed out into the orchard. "There's a ton of Jonathans about ten trees down that row," shouted a mustached man while clutching a bag so full it threatened to topple over his shoulder. The man looked really excited about the Jonathans so we headed that way. We found them, packed a few, and rolled on to stock up Rome, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, and Cortlands. The weather was absolutely beautiful. Warm and breezy and sunny. We came across three tall rusty old silos where some visitors were hurling rotten apples, trying to make it into the holes at the top. Either that or just enjoying the "splat" of the fruit as it hit the side of the structure. Mike, of course, was eager to participate in this activity. When we decided to move along, a crowd had gathered and began cheering with each person's throw. Our bag quickly became so stuffed that Mike had to begin carrying it on his shoulder like a sack of cement. We now understood what all of the wagons were about. Next year we'll rent a wagin, dammit. Because Mike was handling the 50lb apple bag, and I am a wimp, we had to settle for some smaller pumpkins so that I could carry them all the way back to the car. But they are cute and I put them on our front steps when we got home. When we got back to the town center of Apple Holler, we were greeted by the sounds of the resident Reggae band. This was a spectacle. We quickly paid for our pumpkins, scored some fresh out of the kettle kettle corn and took off down the road to our next destination, Mars' Cheese Castle.