The Fennels: Edward's

This past Sunday, Matt and I were finally able to do something that we had been looking forward to for months: We went to Edward's!

Not that Edward (although that would have been awesome)

This Edward's!

(which is just as awesome)

Now for those of you who are not from the Rockford area (my Sconnie friends) --- Edward's Apple Orchard is the king of all apple orchards and to someone who loves Fall as much as we do -- its nearly the best place on Earth. Its the Disney World of all Apple Orchards and I challenge anyone to find one that's better. Its, in fact, so amazing that people will wait in traffic for over thirty minutes on a country road just to get there. (we waited 25 minutes on Sunday).

Its so popular that the sheriff's department has to come out to direct traffic for parking.

Its that kind of feeling of knowing where your food came from -- ran by the same family that opened it over fifty years ago. And we will never, ever, ever stop going.

Its a staple in the Fennel family and our kid's kids will look forward to going to Edward's one day. (Just like their Grandma and Grandpa did since the first year they started dating).

(circa 2009 --- Look at his face!)

(2010? Maybe 2011?)

Matt's family introduced me to Apple Picking at Edward's (in 2009). And for Matt, its been a family tradition since he was a kid. Now the apples are amazing, don't get me wrong, but what really makes this apple orchard stick out from the rest (in my opinion) is the store. <--- Of course it's shopping for me, duh!

But seriously, this food is delicious: homemade, organic, fresh....

How could I not shop here?

From the entrance, through the aisles, getting the cider donuts, tasting the fudge, and etc. you are constantly in line, but its so worth it. Every single food item on the shelf makes you want to stop and taste it (yes, they have free tasting!) And they even sell candles, gifts, so on, and so forth.

Like I said, its amazing.

You're lucky if you can leave without spending over fifty dollars. You'll want everything.

(Has anyone noticed that Matt is wearing the same shirt as he did in the picture from 2010?)

We definitely spent over fifty dollars.

If you have kids, there are farm animals, mazes, and miniature tractors.

They even have a band!

Certainly last, but not least, they have the best mouth-watering cider donuts. (We bought two dozen --- Hey!! We live out of state ya'll. Don't judge!)

They're warm and they're fresh and I bet you can't even leave the grounds before digging in the bag and eating one.

I sure can't....

Going once a year (for us) just isn't enough and we intend to go back before the month is over. I mean, we still need to go to the Pumpkin Patch down the road to get our pumpkin! (That's a whole other post)

Our food that will have to last until we get there again in two weeks:

^ YUM!!!!!!!!

Last year we even dragged our friends (originally from Minnesota) to the orchard.

I heard a couple years back from a Little Gym mom [that is originally from Rockford] that her friends from L.A. [that she introduced to Edwards] fly to Illinois every year just to visit Edward's Apple Orchard. I mean the shear success, money, and popularity that this family owned orchard has experienced is enough for Matt and I to say (when leaving the orchard every single year.........)

"We should start an apple orchard!"