Blueberries and Dancing Ice Cream Almost Make the Long Drive Worth It Alone

Rather than write daily updates, I thought it would be good to just touch on some of the fun stories that came out over the course of the two weeks with the first one happening both on the way up and way down.

Let me start my saying that driving nearly 600 miles each way after flying somewhere is less than ideal. That being said, it does mean that we pass a lot of things on the way that if you are willing to take a bit of time to enjoy the ride… like the mighty Mackinac Bridge.

Korey will make fun of it, but my parents do often have the stops planned along the way (which may very well be arranged around the cheapest gas prices). We stopped both up and down at the Toledo Costco which served not only a gas stop, but it also allowed us to pick up some pizza for lunch.

On the way back two weeks later, the guy behind us in line said that his frozen yogurt was too big and asked if we would mind if he asked them to split it for the kids. Super sweet and the kids of course loved it. It could have been the long car ride leading up to it on the way back or maybe just the sugar in the frozen yogurt, but Crosby all of the sudden decided that it was “dancing ice cream.”

I don’t know where he comes up with it, but sure enough, he takes a bit and then starts dancing like crazy… arms, feet, legs, head, you name it, it was moving to the beat in his head. And if her older brother can do it, you better believe that Carlyn is going to as well. So there we are in the Costco food court with two kids dancing and eating ice cream.

That was really funny, but the real highlight of the drive for me is the fact that the timing is usually right to stop to pick berries. I love all fruit, but blueberries have to be at or darn close to the top of my list of favorites. We were smart enough to plan out the trip in advance a little bit more and figured out that our favorite picking place from last year was not quite ready yet.. as was the case with several others as well.

But all was not lost, Korey found a place that was right off the road whose blueberries were ready. And as we got there (XXX Orchard), it really was right off the main road. As another bonus, they also had both sweet and tart cherries available for picking. We started with the cherries and were taken to one of the last trees available for sweet cherries.

This one had the mother load of cherries as it hadn’t been picked at all, so literally, we were “cherry picking” which cherries we wanted to pick. The other great thing about picking cherries is that it goes really fast. We also learned from the owner that the Michigan cherries (as opposed to Washington ones where most of the grocery store sweet cherries come from) are supposedly much sweeter — and I have to admit, they were very sweet. We knew they would be pretty perishable though, so we only picked 3 pounds. We also did our fair share of sampling though. At the end, Crosby was on my shoulders getting some of the taller ones, and as he’d pull them down, I’d do the QC work. 🙂

We went and paid for those and then went on a short hay ride out to the blueberry fields where the bushes were nice a full which also made picking go well. I’ve always loved U-pick. I think it’s fun, and it’s also a tasty way to buy super fresh fruit.

But here’s where things got a little interesting. As the next trailer full of people were dropped off, the guy driving the trailer gives a set of instructions I’ve never heard before. He said, “Free free to take one, but only one sample.” Now I’m not a blueberry farm expert, but I’ve probably been to a dozen or two different places over the years and have never once been told that. Apparently, someone else found it a bit strange and they probed a bit, and the guy responded with a comment about “Well you don’t eat the food at the grocery store before you pay for it, so why would you do that here.” I guess in some sense I do understand it and maybe they’ve had issues with abuse or something, but to me, it still seemed really off — especially because their prices weren’t unfair, but they also weren’t cheap either. It just seemed to rub me the wrong way… especially the notion of a single blueberry — come on!

Korey and Carlyn went up to sample some of the wines that they had, while Crosby and I spent some more time in the fields and we ended up with nearly 8 pounds of berries to take up. The one last cool thing at the farm was the cherry pitter. It was a 100-year old machine that tore through the pie cherries in masse. We didn’t see if run, but you could see the aftermath of the clean pits right next to it that told you it was highly efficient.

Swapping forward to our other blueberry adventure on the way down, we checked again and our preferred blueberry farm (Azure Acres) had just opened for picking earlier in the week, so we made plans to stop there on the way down. We tore through the 8 pounds up North, so I wasn’t worries about them going to waste — even with our short stay in Pittsburgh.

Azure Acres is a bit more off the beaten path, and a little bit more out of the way, but the quality of the berries and the friendliness of the staff makes the few extra minutes worth it. The bushes there were absolutely loaded with berries — some really big and sweet and others small and tart — so that you could find a berry for all likings.

There was also a stark difference in opinion on picking. The friendly lady working, said on our way out to pick, “We normally encourage some sampling on the way out to the place to pick, but ask you to wait until you get out there this time because we recently sprayed.” Maybe it’s just me, but that’s half the fun of picking your own berries! Needless to say, I appreciated the approach.

The kids both did well picking (and Crosby even found some rogue blackberry bushes), and the weather to do so turned out to be just about perfect. There were storms in the area and rain that was nearby, but we seemed to be just on the edge of it, so we never got more than a light sprinkle. With those perfect conditions, plentiful bushes, and the desire to take some home with us, we ended up with 10 pounds this time! That should even help us deal with our blueberry junkie — aka Crosby.

What has been your experience when you go to a U-pick? Are my expectations no longer the norm? Let me know @TalkToErik.