Things have been a little quiet on the blog front recently. That’s mostly because my husband and I were in a car accident last Sunday. It wasn’t our fault and thankfully noone was injured, but with car accidents come rental cars, insurance claims, sore backs and stiff necks and all that fun stuff so we’ve been dealing with that. However, right before the accident, and I mean literally right before, we took a trip out to Chiles Peach Orchard in Crozet. In addition to peaches, Chiles also has a fantastic pick-your-own strawberry patch that I really wanted to check out.

It had been raining daily for a little over two weeks and last Sunday was finally a sunny, although windy day, so we took advantage of it. The patch was muddy, as expected, but the strawberries were plentiful. I was actually surprised how many there were. I guess the rain had kept many people from heading out into the patch. We were able to find tons of amazing strawberries, including some really large ones. As a tip, you want to choose the strawberries that are fully red. The slightly pink ones will have a bitter taste. I’ll also note that after picking strawberries both you and your car, and later your fridge, will all smell amazing. It’s better than any strawberry scented lotion or body spray that’s available. Plus, I really enjoy picking my own fruit and turning it into something fantastic. I’ve already made some delicious strawberry cupcakes and have plans for frozen yogurt and more. I’ll be sure to post recipes.

After strawberry picking is where the day took a turn for the worst. As we were heading home, not even back to the interstate yet, an oncoming car decided to make a left turn directly in front of us. We tried to avoid them, but that wasn’t possible. Needless to say we spent several hours stranded at King Family Vineyards which is where the other driver was turning into as we waited to be picked up. Thankfully my mom was able to come get us and graciously spent hours in the car since we were so far away. I’m incredibly grateful for that and I will say there are worse places to be stranded than on the beautiful front lawn of the vineyard. Plus, the King family was absolutely amazing, wonderful and so kind. We will definitely be back under better circumstances.

In the meantime, I’ll be in the kitchen making lots of yummy recipes with fresh strawberries. I may also be sampling a bottle of Crose graciously gifted to us by the King family. Didn’t I say they were amazing? As a side note, while you’re out driving around, please remember to yield before making a left turn. Your car and the other cars on the road will thank you!