Sky Top 2017

The truth is that, even though I grew up a within an hour of it, I'd never heard of Sky Top Orchard until I was a teenager and started babysitting. Somehow, I heard of it then and started spending many an Autumn Saturday there, chasing children, while the kids' parents were at a Clemson football game or something.

Now, I can't imagine a fall without a trip atop Flat Rock. Whether or not we pick a single apple (and, SPOILER ALERT, we NEVER do), running through the orchard - or at least through the playground at the mouth of the orchard - is the official start of our Fall.

Today was that day this year. It was blissful. For the first time in a long time, we went on a day that didn't coincide with field trips of half of the elementary schools in Greenville County, so we had the playground, largely, to ourselves. Also, there was no line for Apple Cider Donuts - speaking OF "blissful" ...

The weather wasn't cool, but it wasn't hot, either, and Sky Top's brand new bathroom facilities made up for the fact that the place is LITERALLY overrun with every form of stinging bee.

Our visit concluded with a tailgate picnic of donuts and apple juice, and our countdown to this time next year officially commenced.