When it came to my birthday plans this year I focused mainly on our trip to Chicago. I didn’t forget about my annual apple picking trip though and was really excited for it. Instead of planning a whole new adventure I just decided to do exactly what we did last year. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, you know?
So a whole mess of friends, John, and I went to Cider Hill Farm in Amesbury, MA.
God, I love New England in the Fall.
And Cider Hill Farm is so idyllic.
Their cider donuts are one of my favorite things ever: warm, sweet, and crunchy.
Onward to apples!
There were enormous apples to be had and very tiny ones.
It took some wandering through the orchards to find the apple jackpot (we went pretty late in the season so the more popular varieties were picked over) but we did find it and took home a bounty of Carousel, Suncrisp, and Spigold apples!
John and I:
Of course, we visited the chickens before we left.
Once we had our fill at the orchards we were off to the Flatbread Company in downtown Amesbury for pizza.
Apple cider sangria? Happy birthday to me!
I know pizza and salad are simple but Flatbread does it best. Their ingredients are fresh, local, and deliciously paired.
All in all, a great second birthday celebration weekend. I feel so lucky to have such an awesome group of friends who continually want to go apple picking with me every year. It’s something I’ve been doing for so long and has such good memories associated with it. I couldn’t imagine Fall, or my birthday, without it!
Stay tuned for a whole mess of apple-related recipes!
Domestocrat 
This always looks like so much fun every year you guys do it! :)
It is! Low key but exactly what I want to do.