Our Trip to the Strawberry Farm

Strawberry Season

We arrived in Florida just in time for strawberry season. We got there less than two weeks before the Strawberry Festival. I would have loved to attend, but we are not ready for crowds. The strawberry farms in Florida are primarily for commercial strawberries, but the farmers open the fields up to the public for strawberry picking at the end of the season. I thought strawberry picking would be a great alternative to attending the festival.

Chris was not as thrilled with the idea of spending the day in a potentially crowded field. While researching places to get fresh strawberries, I noticed that a few of the farms were not allowing picking due to Covid. Instead, they offered fresh-picked strawberries at their produce stands. I was willing to compromise and buy the already picked berries at the farm. Most of the farms were 30-45 minutes away. We chose one further north to avoid traffic around the festival area.

The Search for a Toll Transponder

We have a North Carolina E-Z Pass that we have used for years to pay tolls while traveling. We love how convenient it is. The last time we traveled in Florida, they did not accept the pass on most of the toll roads. I looked into purchasing a SunPass, which is valid on all Florida highways. As our route included using the SunCoast Parkway, we attempted to buy a SunPass at Publix, but they only had the sticker and not the actual transponder. We decided to use the toll-by-plate option until I could order the transponder online.

The drive north was lovely, with many different types of birds along the way. We saw an exciting crane with red feathers on its head. As we zoomed by, it looked like the bird had a red mohawk. Wondering what it was, I looked it up on the Merlin app to find it was a sandhill crane. As we followed the dirt road into the farm, we suddenly saw two sandhill cranes right beside the road. There was a car waiting for us to pass on the narrow road, so we had to keep going. I could only hope the birds would still be there on our way out to get some photos.

The Farm

When we finally arrived at the farm stand next to the strawberry fields, we noticed other u-pick plants behind the farm stand, including jalapenos and baby eggplants. I needed jalapenos for the chili I would be making for an upcoming chili cook-off. We decided picking our own while we were there would be a great idea.  We walked around the farm stand, looking at the various fresh-picked vegetables available. I was happy to find maple cookies as well. The only strawberries we saw were the small containers like what they sell at the grocery store. I saw buckets of berries, but they were only available if you picked them yourself. I looked at Chris. Only a few people were picking berries, so he decided we could go ahead and pick some after all.

There were several fields of berries with different varieties. We went for the sweeter berries. We each picked a row and worked our way down, looking for only the best berries. A man drove by and suggested we would find better berries if we went to the middle of the field. He was right. There were many more ripe berries there. I guess the ends of the rows get picked more than the middles. The man, who turned out to be the caretaker for the entire farm, talked to Chris about choosing the best berries.

About 20 minutes later, we had a whole bucket of beautiful, luscious strawberries. We dropped them off at the farm stand and went into the eggplant and jalapeno gardens. Chris worked on eggplants while I picked peppers. I was only planning to get the five I needed for the chili but then decided to get extras for pickling. After all, I would need pickled peppers for the pimento cheese we always take to the festival in September.

With our vegetables in hand, we headed back home. I couldn’t wait to create all the fantastic things we had planned for our stash from the farm. I was thrilled to see the cranes were still hanging out for a photoshoot.

A Right Outcome

As we headed home, I received a notification that our credit card for our E-Z Pass needed to be updated. Most of our traveling when we purchased our transponder was down south. We wanted a pass that was interchangeable with Georgia’s Peach Pass, so we went with a North Carolina Quick Pass. It was good anywhere E-Z Pass is accepted, as well as on Georgia’s toll roads. As it turns out, our Quick Pass is now interchangeable with Florida’s SunPass as well. Sometimes, things work out the way they are supposed to.

While this was not one of our more adventurous trips, it was a relaxing, enjoyable day. We enjoyed the strawberries, making strawberry shortcakes, strawberry ice cream, and ice cream sandwiches. Now I am looking forward to blueberry season.