It’s been nearly a year since we decided to move to Charlottesville and I can safely say that I’m very pleased with our decision. Every single thing that I thought I would love about this town is true. With each week that passes I become a little more enchanted by the area in and around Charlottesville. The town has a lot of character,  there are great restaurants everywhere, the nearby mountains are gorgeous and I love our new home. The traffic is nearly the only thing I don’t like about this place!

The arrival of fall has made me even happier about our move. September brought cooler temperatures and less humidity than Williamsburg (our old town) usually had. The weather in the last month, with the exception of occasional rain, has been downright glorious.

And the arrival of fall also signaled the arrival of apple season in Charlottesville.  I’ve already made two trips to a very nearby orchard with a lovely view of the city and the mountains. I don’t know that I’d ever been to an apple orchard before, but I’m kind of in love with them right now. This one, Carter Mountain Orchard, is only about a 15 minute drive from our home in downtown Charlottesville and the view from the orchard is out of this world. Picking apples on a nice autumn day is definitely happy making, especially when you treat yourself to an apple cider doughnut or two while you’re there!

My second trip to the orchard took place on a beautiful weekday, so I brought along the camera to snap some pictures.

Because this is a food blog, you’re probably wondering what I did with the apples I picked at the orchard. I made a couple of apple walnut spice cakes, an apple pie and 19 pints of canned applesauce. I’m heading back to the orchard again this weekend as I’ve agreed to make a couple of apple pies for other people next week.