We had a lovely family outing today to the apple orchard and Mt. Ascutney.  We made our annual trek to Wellwood Orchard, where I was overwhelmed with how many people were there and how big my kids are now!  While Alan waited in the donut line (there was a LONG donut line!), the rest of us visited the petting zoo. We discovered that visiting the animals isn’t quite the same when they’re overfed, not interested in the food or people, and it was hard to walk anywhere.

The goats would politely sniff at a handful of food, then walk away. No more greedily gobbling down the food, hanging around the feed dispenser, or bullying small children for food.

Chickens in trees.

Chickens in trees do NOT want to be touched.

The bunnies were hiding in their houses, probably trying to avoid getting stepped on.

This fat sheep was happy to eat any food you brought her. :)

We decided to just buy apples instead of picking our own, but the kids wanted to check out the big rock, so we hiked up there and climbed a giant rock for awhile. :)

King of the mountain!

I almost caught them both smiling. :)

We bought some apples, fudge (I can’t resist!), maple candy, and salsa, then headed off to hike Mt. Ascutney.  By “hike” I mean drive most of the way to the top, then hike the final 20 minutes, which was enough of a hike for my wheezy lungs!

On the way up they posed for a picture!

A closer cropped view. :)

The view from the watch tower was amazing! You could even see a mountain in Massachusetts! I think we still have a little more time before peak leaf colors though.

There was a guy on the top of this tower! Alan felt a little nostalgic for his own tower climbing days. I did not!

Eve did not climb the tower with us, so this is a modified family selfie.

She hung out at the bottom instead.

It was a beautiful drive on a beautiful day in a beautiful car with a beautiful family.

Life is good.