Last weekend we took part in a popular Autumn tradition – apple tasting at the Portland Nursery. Of course we didn’t realize just how popular it was until we found ourselves standing in line for 30 minutes just to get to the “tasting” part.

It was definitely worth it, though. I had no idea that apples and pears had so many wonderful flavors and, after tasting more than 100 of them, let’s just say that I was glad that we took notes along the way. We left with a big bag of Comice Pears and Honey Crisp Apples – the sweet crunch appealed to all of us and they can apparently be stored for up to 5 months, although I doubt they’ll last that long in our house.

I was only able to grab a few pics here and there because it was very important to maintain a decent tasting speed to keep the line moving.

Batman was there of course (best $20 spent on a Halloween costume, ever!)

After the tasting we spent a little time checking out the Scarecrow contest (my favorite below), listening to a couple of numbers from Boy and Bean, a band that took me back to the 30s (in the best way possible) and, of course, some running around the Nursery.

It was a fun, and healthy, way to send a sunny October day. I think we’ll add Apple Tasting to our list of annual Autumn traditions.