It’s strawberry season here in Virginia, and we decided to take advantage of it this past weekend by heading over the river to Surry for some pick-your-own fun.

Since it’s Mother’s Day weekend, we anticipated a higher-than-normal turnout at the farm.  We opted to catch an earlier ferry so that we would arrive at the farm by 9am.

There she is, the Williamsburg Ferry!  We arrived in time to catch the 8:35am crossing with just a few moments of waiting (which gave me the opportunity to snap a few photos).

The James River

It was a cloudy day but no rain.  Just riding the ferry was a fun experience for the boys.  We got out of our car and went up into the passenger cabin to explore.

There are bathrooms in the cabin and windows overlooking the river.  You might see another ferry passing by as it heads in the opposite direction.

The Surry

There’s no charge to ride, and the ferries operate 24/7.  For more ferry info, click here.

We made the short drive to the farm and grabbed some baskets (they provide them for you).  I ran into one of the moms that I know from MOPS, which was a nice surprise, and then Chris, the boys, and I headed into the rows.

I wasn’t sure what to expect in terms of stroller-friendliness.  I knew that if it were wet, pushing a stroller would be a chore.  Thankfully there was plenty of space between the rows and our Baby Jogger City Mini fit fine.

We filled our baskets in almost no time at all.  I was transported back in time to picking strawberries in my mom’s garden.  I found myself falling into the old habit of crouching down and sweeping under the leaves, pushing them aside to find the hidden berries that are so easily missed by a casual picker.  I’d barely advanced at all before my gallon basket was topped off.

I headed down the row to find Chris and Joe.  They were having fun, and Chris was letting Joe assist as much as possible.

Joe had so much fun.  So did I!  Jack wasn’t thrilled at beingin the stroller.  I think that he would have rather been scooting in the dirt, but he bore his disappointment well 🙂

We headed up to the farm-stand to pay for our berries and bought a kid-size cup of homemade strawberry ice cream for Joe and Jack to split.

We drove back to the ferry and realized that coming early was a smart move.  As we pulled away from the farm, other cars were beginning to pour in.  The fields were definitely more populated than when we got there.  There was also a longer wait for the return ferry, but thankfully we made it on-board and didn’t have to wait for the next one.

I washed the strawberries and cleaned them shortly after getting home.  My mom gave me a berry scoop spoon that makes removing the stem and hull quite easy.  I was finally able to put it to good use, making it earn it’s keep 🙂

The end tally was nearly 12 pounds of strawberries.  I did a search for strawberry jam and found a simple recipe that used nothing but strawberries, shredded apple, lemon juice, and honey.

The jam was great.  I modified the recipe a bit and, rather than using 3 3/4 C honey (that’s a LOT of honey) I used 1 1/2 C honey and 2 1/4 C maple syrup.  I think honey can overpower other flavors at times, and I wanted this to taste like strawberry jam, not strawberry honey jam.  It turned out well.  The jam isn’t as “jelled” as the store-bought variety (the recipe doesn’t use pectin) but it’s fresh and yummy.  Joe, Jack, and Chris gobbled it up on bread, and I had some over yogurt for my evening snack.  Delicious 🙂