Not since I was seven...

The last time I got to do this, I was seven. My sister and a couple of our distant cousins were there too. All this came rushing back a couple weeks ago when I was in Fresno for meetings and the World Ag Expo. A few of my fellow coworkers and I escaped one evening and went on an adventure to find the juiciest, freshest, sweetest oranges around, picked straight from the tree. This isn't something you can do where I'm from so it's definitely a treat.

Another coworker kindly led us to her family's orange orchard. She showed us how to properly pick oranges and let us wander the rows admiring all the trees. For country kids like us from the Midwest, Pacific Northwest, and Great Lakes areas used to seeing corn, soybeans, and treefruit like apples, this was a special treat. Right to left, front to back, as far as we could see - all we could see were oranges. Yum!

Sure, you've seen oranges in the grocery store. You've probably even seen photos of orange trees. But have you ever seen the underside of an orange tree? I got to, and just in case you're curious what the view's like, I took a photo for ya. Cool, huh?

Our expert guide showed us section after section of orange trees. Each section (called a "block") was a different variety, and ripens at different times. We decided we'd looked around enough and wanted to sample the wares to see if fruit ripe off the tree really does taste better than what we can buy back home.

Kristen showed us the proper way to eat oranges in the orchard. First, take a large jack knife out of your truck kept just for this occasion and cut the top and bottom off.

 Then cut generous wedges out of the orange and share with your good friends waiting patiently nearby.

Then watch as your friends enjoy the sweetest, juiciest, yummiest oranges they've ever eaten and try to stay clean as the juice drips down their hands and arms. Good luck trying to keep up slicing more wedges 'cause these friends are going to want more, and fast!

Dusk fell much too quickly and we knew we'd better pack up and head back into town.

Kristen and her family were super generous and let us pick a couple buckets full of oranges and tangerines to take back and enjoy in the meeting room the next few days. By the end of the week, there weren't many oranges left so we divvied those up and each took a few home.

If you get the opportunity to visit an orange orchard, do! You'll be amazed by how great oranges taste straight off the tree.