Note: We catch the 10:07 AM train from Penn Station. Meet at the Amtrak Waiting Area, near the escalators, at 31 and 8th Avenue, where the NJ Transit ticket wndows and machines are.

This is our last chance for apple picking at Eastmont Orchards, along with some fall foliage, backroad sauntering, and a dinner at 5 (really a late lunch) at Jon Bon Jovi Soul Kitchen in Red Bank, at ride's end, where you pay what you want (a really novel idea). We will also make a stop, midway, at 4JG Vineyards for a tasting and tour. On this ride we are supporting family-owned farms and community-supported kitchens – all in one non-polluting ride! So bring along a happy face and panniers to take home your goodies.

The centerpiece of the ride is Eastmont Orchards,which has been owned by the Barclay family since 1923. “The first apple trees were planted in 1911 by Mr. Fred Lerch in consultation with the present owner’s great grandfather, John Barclay. Since Mr. Lerch had little farming experience, the orchard did not succeed and by 1923 the property was offered for sale. In 1919 John Barclay’s son, Carroll, married Ruth Applegate and in 1922 Ruth’s father, Charles, seized the opportunity and purchased the farm. In those days apples grown in this area were sold locally or shipped by barges out of Red Bank, down the Navesink River all the way to New York City. Later, as transportation improved, fruit was shipped directly to supermarkets or exported from the shipping ports of New York City and Philadelphia. Today we sell all of our products retail, direct to the consumer via “pick-your-own.” This allows us to offer you fresher produce at a lower cost."

That says it all

For those unfamiliar with apple picking, here is a video from one of the farmers at Eastmont Orchards, explaining. And for those who would like to preview the route as well as have it easily accessible, should you join us and wander off, email this link of our route to your phone for safe keeping, and it will -- hopefully -- get you home.