Apple picking is overrated
Going apple picking is a fun fall activity that I assume everyone feels obligated to do as soon as it turns chilly. While I have fallen guilty to this fall event, this year included, I do feel that there are many parts of it that are not as thrilling as everyone’s Instagram photos show.
Apple picking is something that seems so romantic when it comes to going with a significant other—you can walk hand in hand down the rows of the orchard and laugh and smile together. While much of which is true, there is so much more to it that is not seen by cameras. When I went recently with my significant other, he ended up hurting his back from reaching up and even lifting me to get the good apples that were up high in the trees. That is one of the annoying parts of going to pick apples—there is never a good time to go where there are apples at an easily reachable height. Now, I am five-foot and six inches tall, and I think in the five rows that we went down I was able to get five apples on my own, while my six-foot-one significant other was able to pick everything else to fill our peck of apples.
When going apple picking with just a significant other, it is very difficult to get any good pictures; you can ask a stranger, but they almost definitely will not take them the way you want. I have always felt that having a staged fall picture with apples or pumpkins is very cute, but are we all just falling into the trap of social media? My entire Instagram feed is couples looking adorable in trees, but I have never been able to stage a picture like that. Maybe my feelings toward this are personal grudges, but I would like to make it known that I am in a happy relationship—just without cute apple-picking pictures.
Ultimately, I think that the biggest reason that apple picking is overrated is that it is so expensive! I was lucky enough to get a good price for my apples and fun at a local farm in Rochester, at $20 per person getting a half peck of apples along with the corn maze and slides, but I know this is not the case for every orchard out there. I also hate when orchards have different prices for different types of apples. I would like to apologize to my parents for always liking the expensive honey crisp! I get that the economy is all about money, but how are we all supposed to eat an apple a day to keep the doctor away if they are so expensive right off the tree?!