WIAW: Apple Festival and Gettysburg

Happy Wednesday!! You are halfway through the work week and/or school week, congratulations! Today and every Wednesday we are celebrating What I Ate Wednesday. This month's theme... Spooky Snacks and Healthy Halloween Treats :)

Thanks to Jenn at Peas and Crayons for hosting the fabulous party each week. This past weekend I went on numerous autumnal adventures. It was an exhausting but AMAZING weekend, and I didn't want to limit myself and miss out on awesome fall foods. So... I cheated on my new found vegan diet. Womp wompppp. I still avoided cheese and all dairy products, but I am pretty sure there was some butter in a few of my snacks. And hey... it's ok! My stomach did not die, and I had a fabulous time with my friends. Here is a mini recap from the weekend along with some fun eats!

On Sunday morning, I headed 2 hours west out to Biglerville, PA for the National Apple Harvest Festival. For the past four years, my college friends and I have gone to this apple festival, so it has become a beloved tradition. Graduating from college, was not going to stop us this year! Melissa and her family even drove 3.5 hours!

There are a plethora of apple foods and goodies at the festival. It literally feels like the stands are endless. The whole place just smells like fall and sweets and bbq. It's awesome.

It was absolutely freezing that morning, so our first stop was to get some scrumptious hot apple cider! Thanks Boy Scout Troop 89 :)

Next stop, hot homemade cinnamon applesauce at only 50cents! This was literally the best applesauce I've ever had (I say this every year...but it seriously is!!). Chunks of apples, spicy cinnamon, and steamy goodness.

Next we headed over to Bermudian Jaycees Desserts Stand to pick up some apple desserts to bring home.

Everything always looks so amazing, but my go to every year has forever been the apple dumplings. They're not too heavy, not overly sweet, and the perfect apple treat. There is literally a whole apple inside the pastry crust. It is always a feat of self control when I am able to refrain from devouring the dumpling long enough to make it home to warm the bad boy up in the oven. SO worth it. These guys need to be warm to be fully appreciated. I know the dumpling problem wasn't vegan by any means... but I ate it with soy ice cream sooo I think it kinda evens out ;) My tummy agrees.

Because we were saving our dumplings for home, Melissa and I were on the hunt to find something to satisfy our growling stomachs. She found these fresh caramel apple slices. A woman actually puts a whole fresh apple into an old fashioned apple slicer, slices it, and drizzles on the caramel sauce. This was her treat, but she offered me a slice which I gladly accepted! So fresh and sweet!

I, on the other hand, needed lunch. Don't get me wrong, I loveee all the sweet appley goodness, but I needed something savory to tie me over until I got home for dinner. As you can imagine, it is quite difficult to find vegan, let alone vegetarian options at a fair, but I found a stand selling sweet potato friesand was so excited I literally fist pumped in the air. YEAH! These were good. A bit  too greasy (mehhh) but still good.

We wandered around a bit more, but eventually had to say goodbye. I wanted to take advantage of the gorgeous day, so I decided to head 15 minutes further west to Gettysburg to take photos of the battlefields.

The Battlefields at Gettysburg still give me chills every time I visit. It is one of the most beautiful and tranquil places in the world, yet a horrible battle was fought and so many great men lost their lives on these fields.

The Eternal Light Peace Memorial, or Peace Light as we used to call it, holds so many memories for my friends and I from Gettysburg College. It was a place that we were able to go to in order to escape from the stresses of exams and college drama. It was a place for us to just relax and chat and be ourselves. The Peace Light contains an eternal flame which burns in honor of those who lost their lives during the battles of Gettysburg.

An absolutely beautiful and fulfilling way to end my Sunday fall adventure. Check back tomorrow for a recap of my Saturday trip to Peddler's Village and New Hope, PA! Here's a sneak peek:

Have a wonderful Wednesday!!!