I know what you are thinking. After Strawberry picking, why would I subject myself to another round of manual labor, followed by the challenge of trying to consume a huge vat of the same fruit again?

The answer? I have no idea.

I must admit I approached today (which was well over 90°), with trepidation. I envisioned another day where I not only did manual labor, but over paid for the privilege in expensive fruit.

Well, I was delighted to learn that blueberries, unlike strawberries, do not grow on the ground. You do not need to crouch over in the heat to pick them. Much nicer to stand and forage than squat. Although they don’t fill a bucket as easily as an apple, they don’t cost an arm and a leg either.

Ben ate every blueberry he could pick, even the green ones.

Our friends, the Hutchinsons invited us on an annual tradition they have with a group of lovely friends of theirs.

The Hutchinson 4, soon to be 5...

They organize a trip to State Line Blueberries in Michigan City, IN. It took about 1 and 1/2 hours to get there, or in kid terms, the length of one movie.

In the end, after a chat about our upcoming vacation and the fact that we completely over picked with strawberries, we ended up with a 10 pound bucket of blueberries. What I learned from this is that we don’t learn from past mistakes, even after we talk about how we should learn from them.

The cost? $15 for TEN POUNDS! And that does not include all the free ones we stuffed in our faces before we paid!

State Line Blueberries

After all the doubt I will say we had a lovely time. Living in big cities for over 15 years can really make a person appreciate fresh air, open space, and the simple pleasure of gardening. Best of all, big city or not, it is always a joy spending the day with friends.