The Inevitable Trip to Limington, Maine
Every year we take October and to spend some time in the great outdoors of Maine in the fall. One of the annual traditions, like many of you, is to go apple picking with the family. This is usually our last fall outing after we have visited all the fall festivals nearby. On the drive up we soak in the foliage and the beautiful small towns the fill western Maine. After about 45 minutes, we reach our destination. We pull onto a dirt road and slowly drive through tree after tree filled with little red globes. After a six hundred yards the little house starts to become visible on the horizon and excitement fills the car. We quickly park and run out to see the beautiful view over the hill the orchard sits on. It’s a moment we’ve been waiting on all summer. The Brackett Orchards tradition has finally arrived.
We readily walk up to the little house and purchase our bags for picking after taking a few pictures in the train out front. When we get our bags, the exploration can finally begin. We walk down the long aisle where signs display the names of our victims, and we carefully choose our target. Strolling down the chosen row, we see what look like piles of Courtland apples filling the trees. With this many to pick from, how could one possible choose. Overwhelmed, we take a step back to soak it all in, and then…we start picking. We are then on a quest to find the perfect apple while we fill our bag. We eventually started to spill into the Macintosh and Gala rows, and before we knew it, our bags were full. However, the trip wasn’t over.
If you are coming from the Portland area, on your way, not far from the destination, you may have seen a Brackett Orchards sign and farm stand. This is where we are headed. We pulled into the parking lot to see crate after crate piled high like lobster traps on a pier. We walked up to the beautifully aged cedar sided hut and poked our head in to get some goodies. There isn’t much but we always find something. If you spend some time taking in the scenery here, you may notice a small building across the street from the yellow barn towards your left. We start making our way down and walk through the wooden door of this historic home, and we were in another seasonal world. It’s time to start prepping for the Holidays.