Apple Picking & Fall Harvest Festival!

NOTE: I'm trying out something new this year! We have a Discord community with a channel called "9-21-apple-picking" to help people find the group, coordinate carpools or recover lost items!

https://discord.gg/S7rn3SAk

Let's kick off Autumn the right way by going apple picking at the Swans Trail Fall Festival!

This is peak season for apple picking, but there will also be other fall festivities and snacks to try out! Their website mentions that they are currently offering Honeycrisp apples, but I suspect based on last year that they will have one or two additional varieties that are ripe for picking when we go.

Admission to the apple orchard is free, but you must pay for the apples you pick, at $3.50 per lb. A bit pricey, but you are also paying for the experience. There are also several additional activities like the pig races that are all included with the purchase of the carnival general admission ticket. We don't usually do that though.

https://www.swanstrailfarms.com/events.aspx?nv=396621&id=396621

Everything below relates to carpooling:

The farm is roughly a 45 minute drive northeast of Seattle. We'll meet at the Starbucks in the long narrow public parking lot along Westlake Ave at 9 AM and split into our carpools at around 9:15! Let us know before 9 AM if you are on your way. We generally wait 15 minutes for people to arrive.

Please coordinate carpools in the comments or better yet, the discord or google doc!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kstBpRWKuudc1hvOLjfGy4tJFjnypH5XBQyDyqZUQ_M/edit?usp=sharing

Please post/comment/message if you can drive or if you need a ride!

Riders are expected to (at a bare minimum) split the cost of gas evenly between the driver and the other passengers, as well as a reasonable amount for projected wear and tear on the vehicle.

Sometimes if we have a large number of RSVPs, the carpool comments get a bit messy. In that case, for those who are concerned, we have never had a meetup where we didn't have enough seats, so if you show up to Art Marble on the day of the event, we can probably find a seat for you. Usually, other people are willing to drive but forget to post before the event.

If you are going to arrange your carpool to meet somewhere OTHER THAN Art Marble, I suggest a park and ride such as Greenlake, Northgate, Eastgate, or Tukwila/SouthCenter. Passengers, please do not ask to be picked up at your home; drivers, please don't offer to do so. It usually creates problems and makes the timing and logistics much more complicated, since people often aren't ready on time, cancel last minute, or just plain don't show up. On the other hand, dropping people off at their home after the event is much easier.

I strongly discourage meeting at the farm unless you need to, especially if you haven't already been to one of our meetups before. People who drive themselves often arrive earlier or later than us, don't recognize us, go to the wrong place, and/or get stressed out.