Pace yourself Benny, we still have the Pineapple Park

We've been waiting for Jan. 24 to arrive for months. It's the day for our trip to Nago (city about 60 minutes north of us) to pick mikans at a local orchard.

This time of year is prime time for the mikan, a citrus fruit the size of a mandarin orange with a taste similar to a tangerine. And even though I could purchase this fruit at the on-base grocery store, the farm girl in me wanted a closer, hands-on experience. I wanted to see my first mikan orchard.

The weather was chilly with temperatures in the high 40s. But at least it didn't rain as expected.

So the way it works is you pay 250 yen (approximately $3) to pick the fruit for as long as you want. When you leave, the owners weigh your fruit and you pay a discounted rate for it. In the meantime, while you are picking you can eat all the fruit you want for free. This is where I had to tell Benny to pace himself.

In less than 60 minutes, Benny grabbed, pealed and ate 9 (yes 9) mikans. I think he set a new record in mikan eating. Here he is passed out from a Vitamin C overdose in the orchard.

After the mikan orchard, we visited the Nago Pineapple Park, where we sampled pineapple juice, pineapple cookies, pineapple cake, pineapple wine (for Benny, not me), pineapple vinegar, etc.

It was a very fruity Saturday for us.