PURCELLVILLE, Va. — Last Sunday, we took my son apple-picking for the first time. In fact, it was my first time too. Based on my wife’s research, we selected Crooked Run Orchard in Purcellville in Loudon County, the closest (45 miles away) to our home in Alexandria. We were pleased with what we found. The farm is located off of Business VA 7, just west of the intersection with VA 287. There was no admission to enter/park and there were scores of apple trees of several varieties, though we mostly stuck with the delicious ones, red and golden. Next time, we’ll find the other varieties. Our son tried picking a few, but was mostly interested in picking up apples from the ground.

[flickr : Apple-picking at Crooked Run Orchard /slideshow]

We wound up with two buckets full and gallon of cider for under $30. We have a lot of apples to eat now, but that’s the idea. We’ll do it again next year.