What's an audio postcard?
Audio postcards take you with the reporter to a place, whether there's news there or not. Reporters will bring you all around Hampton Roads with their postcards so you can experience our region with us.
Have an idea on where we should go next? Send us your ideas at news@whro.org.
It's a hot July weekend when my sister, Gabby McPherson, decides we'll take her two sons peach picking in Virginia Beach.
Gabby and I grew up picking primarily strawberries in the late spring. We weren't great harvesters, but it was one of my favorite activities as the weather turned from comfortable to too-hot.
Gabby is eight months pregnant, so I, the dutiful aunt, took the lead on corralling my 4-year-old nephew through the peach orchards at Cullipher Farm in Virginia Beach.
The farm's friendly workers tried to explain to us how to pick the perfect peach: They should give a little bit when you squeeze, and if you want them to keep for a few days, pick from the lower branches.
Owen and I didn't listen, more concerned with preparing our paper bags for all the peaches we hoped to pick.
At Cullipher Farm that day, we had three rows of peaches to pick from. Owen was anxious to get to all of them, but midway through the first row, it became clear we wouldn't need all three rows. There were plenty of peaches to fill up our four bags.
Cullipher Farm sells you the peaches you pick by the pound. Once our bags were overflowing with peaches (that Owen didn't want to pick, only direct us which ones to pick for him), we paid and went to the farm's market where we were promised ice cream and peach slushies.
Prime peach-picking season lasts through August.
