Places where you can pick your own apples

The best apple I ever ate was pulled off a tree at Kiyokawa Family Orchards in Oregon's Hood River Valley. I remember that piece of fruit well. Is was a rose-colored Honey Crisp with a dense, juicy flesh that was the perfect balance of sweet and tart. I actually picked that apple myself at the Kiyokawa "pick your own" orchard. The beautiful setting amidst an orchard spreading across a valley overlooked by snowy Mount Hood only made the apple more delicious.

On a clear, cool fall day my kids and I filled a bucket with apples, and ate nearly half of our harvest on our drive back to Portland. We didn't even have enough leftovers for pie!

Across the country you'll find orchards where you can pull apples right off the tree. Here's a list of places to help you find a pick-your-own orchard:

About.com: Apple picking in New England

All About Apples: Online resource for Apple Varieties, Orchards, and Health

Apple Hill Growers Association, California

Massachusetts Department of Agriculture: Pick-Your-Own Apple Orchards

Mommy Poppins: Apple Picking Orchards in New York and New Jersey

New York Apple Country

Ohio Apples

Pick Your Own: Online database of pick-you-own orchards

Time Out New York Kids: Pick your own apples and pumpkins in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut

USA Today: 10 Great Places to Pick Your Own Apples

Virginia Apples: Guide to Pick Your Own

Photo: Courtesty Hilltop Orchards

TSA relaxes rules for screening kids

Good news for traveling families: Today, the TSA announced that it's relaxing rules for screening children.

The organization is beginning to pilot programs that don't require children under 12 to take off their shoes or endure thorough pat-downs, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano shared before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee.

"There will always be some unpredictability built into the system, and there will always be random checks even for groups that we are looking at differently such as children under the age of 12. But I think the travelling public will begin to see some of these changes really in the coming months," Napolitano said.

Last year the TSA made headlines when a father videotaped his 3-year-old daughter screaming and kicking as she was inspected by officials at the airport in Chattanooga, Tenn. Months later a man tweeted a photo (above) of TSA officials feeling a baby's diaper at Kansas City International Airport. After the incidents, the TSA said that it would consider changing its policies around children.

Where to eat in New Orleans?

This fall I'm going to New Orleans with two girlfriends for a long weekend. Eating will be the focus of the trip and we're immersed in coming up with an itinerary outlining where we'll have morning coffee, where we'll go for po' boys at lunch, and where we'll splurge one night on a special dinner.

Here's a look at some of the places we're considering and we're looking to add more:

Fancy restaurants
Restaurant August (fancy, probably the best food in the city)
Cochon (assuming no vegetarians among you)

Old-world restaurants
Arnaud's
Galatoire's
Antoinne's
Bayona
Stella!

Casual dinners
Bacchanal
Jaques-Imo's

Po Boys
Mahoney's
Guys

Breakfast
Brennan's

Coffee
Cafe du Monde

Music
Maple Leaf Bar
Rock n Bowl