This weekend we had a fun visit with our friends Rafi & Rachel. They came on the train and tested out the NYC- Meriden route on Amtrak. They had to change to a shuttle (short train with maybe two cars) in New 
Haven, but it was very straightforward and much cheaper than renting a car. From our perspective, the Meriden train station was close by and easy to find. Good on both counts. Happily, we now can attest that train is a viable option for those looking to visit.What did we do? We went to Lyman Orchards to pick our own peaches. It was a little tricky to find the place since the directions we had were very wrong. But, once we finally arrived, it was a lot of fun! We also learned that this place has several seasons on their "picking calendar." We can return to pick pears, apples, pumpkins, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and (we've never heard of them until now...) jostaberries! They also have a sunflower maze in the late summer and a corn maze in the fall.
As usual, Xavier had four adults at his beck and call. You can see a great example of this in the big picture
above. Chris is holding and feeding him. Rafi is actively admiring him. Rachel is shading him from the sun and I am photographing his every move for posterity. He sure keeps us minions on our toes. :)They had several types of peaches and nectarines ready for picking. Between us, we picked over three pounds of fruit! Luckily, the orchards were giving out sheets of "Recipes with Peaches" for folks whose zeal for harvesting outpaced their ability to eat peaches before they go bad. Whew!
Xavier was tired out by all the sun and excitement. Awww. On a less adorable note, so were we.
