So today is the first day of the strawberry picking season. We've been in Oregon for three picking seasons now (counting this year), and, we've not partaken in any of the fun the past two seasons. I knew that this year would be the year we'd start our new tradition of picking strawberries at the start of the picking season. A friend of mine suggested going to Sauvie Island, so, I did some research and found that Sauvie has a few different farms that you can pick your own strawberries. We choose Sauvie Island Farms (for no other reason than the farm is named after the island) and drove out 11/11:30a. The weather couldn't have been better...there was literally not a cloud in the sky! Some people might think this was not good weather - since no clouds means full sun and HEAT. But, coming from Southern California, I relish the days where the sun is shining and there are no clouds in sight.
After we grabbed a flat to stow all the berries, we got busy! There were three different kinds of berries to pick: Red Valley, Mt. Hood, and Shuksan. Once you walk out to the fields, you can pretty much pick in any section of the different fields of strawberries you want - however you want. The only direction we were given is that with the Mt. Hood strawberries, you have to pick from left to right. There were little pink flags sticking out the ground, sort of showing where the last pickers stopped. You start where the pink flag is and move it down the row and place it wherever you stop. Kinda neat.
It was so much fun picking the berries as a family. Isla was really into it and generally picked the strawberries gently, taking care not to mush them while she picked them. But, both Alberto and I had to repeatedly tell her not to eat every berry she picked! ha If we let her, I'm pretty sure she would've eaten every single one she picked. We did eat our fair share though...how could you not? It was interesting to taste the different varieties. You can actually tell the difference in the appearance of the varieties as well as the taste of them. They just kept getting better (we tasted Mt. Hood first, then the Shuksan, then the Red Valley), too! I think our favorite was the Red Valley berries. They were the biggest and seemed to be the sweetest, too.
All in all, it was a great trip! We picked 10lbs of strawberries...a whole flat worth. They were only $1.50/lb, so, we ended up only paying $15 - a STEAL!
Here are a few photos from our day :-)
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