How you like them apples?

It is apple season in Korea, so we took off last Saturday and headed for Yesan.  Yesan is famous for their crispy and sweet apples.  Apparently the soil in the Yesan area is particularly proficient at producing a certain level of sweetness in the apples.  Sort of like Vidalia onions, Bogue watermelons, and Champagne, if the apple is not grown in Yesan it cannot be called a Yesan apple.

We left with nothing more than a GPS coordinate (and extra underwear--always bring extra underwear).  We weren't even certain about where exactly we were going to pick apples, but hey, we wanted apples.  We arrived in Yesan around 2:30 in the afternoon.  After wandering up a few windy roads into the hills without seeing a big sign in English shouting "PICK APPLES HERE (you silly Americans)," we pulled up to a barn with a picture of an apple on it.  Lorri pantomimed picking an apple out of a tree to the nearest farmer-looking guy, who nodded and beckoned for us to follow him.  10 minutes later we were picking apples.  Lots of apples. Three bushels of apples.  How much do three bushels of Yesan apples cost?  Well, in Korean they cost hoblibitygibberish.  In English that translates roughly to, "Here's a pile of money, take what you want."  The farmer ended the day about $100 richer, and we ended our day with three bushels of delicious apples.

Oh, but the day wasn't over yet.  Not by a long shot.  The farmer's wife took the kids to a garden where they picked soy bean leaves, then led them to a barn where they fed the leaves to several dozen long-tongued and grateful cattle.  Boy, that was fun.  Should we head home yet?  Oh, no.  The farmers busted out their version of a hayride, so we took a quick "hayride" through the orchard.  Topped that off with several fun pictures with the farmers, then headed back to the van.  And just in time, too.  Literally as I closed the door to the van the first drop in a huge rain squall hit us.  A perfect end to a wonderful day.

Two possible translations:

1. Pick sweet, juicy apples here

2. Can you believe those silly Americans drove all this way

just to take a picture of this sign?

 Just part of the magnificent view.

 Junior apple picker.

 Apple-Picking 101.  The crash course.

 Anna Grace figured it out real quick.

 So did Jacob.

 Lorri seemed a bit dazed and confused.

Korean crop ying-yangs.

 A bit blurry, but this is all Jacob.

 I'm not sure who is more curious--Owen or the cows.

Of course Anna Grace had no problem making friends.

 Lorri made a friend, too.

 HAYRIDE!!!

Sheesh, what else are you supposed to do on a

hayride through an apple orchard?

Oh yeah!

And the Oscar goes to...

 Can you tell this is the same apple everyone else was holding?

 A row in a Korean apple orchard.

The apple farmers and the hired help.

Scenic orchard.

That's us!  In front of a 400 year old tree.

 That's Jacob and Ethan.  Climbing a 400 year old tree.

Argh!!!  Pirate Anna Grace says, "You all have a great day!"