Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Tuesday, July 26, 1994                 TAG: 9407270597
SECTION: DAILY BREAK              PAGE: E1   EDITION: FINAL 
COLUMN: DAY TRIPPING
SOURCE: BY ELIZABETH SIMPSON, STAFF WRITER 
                                             LENGTH: Medium:   83 lines

EVEN VERY YOUNG CHILDREN ENJOY BLUEBERRY PICKING

  Food ought to be the primary consideration when taking day trips.
   In our family's case, it is the only consideration. So it is on this hot 
July morning we find ourselves tooling down Chesapeake's Centerville Turnpike 
in search of a summer time treat. Blueberries.
   They are easy to find. First, look for the tall oak tree on the left, then 
wind down into a little hollow where the ivy is just starting to curl around 
the briers. . . .No, wait, this is the '90s, isn't it? Just follow the little 
signs that say ``Blueberries.'' Turn left when you get to Head of River Road. 
Go about a mile and half, then turn right into Hickory Blueberry Farm.
   There you will find rows and rows of bountiful blueberry bushes. The lanes 
in between are neatly mowed, so picking isn't the scratchy business it was 
when we used to scavenge through the woods for them.
   Blueberries are the perfect quest for our 1-year-old and 3-year-old. While 
they get frustrated picking strawberries -- they stomp around going ``But 
where are the berries?'' without once bending to shuffle the leaves -- 
blueberries are wonderfully obvious. There they sit, plump little balls just 
begging to be rolled right off the branch by chubby little fingers.
   The kids scramble from bush to bush plopping berries into their buckets by 
the branchful. The picking is fine for adults too. Just one berry tossed in 
your mouth -- the warm sweet juice coursing down your throat -- will transport
you immediately back to wherever it was you tasted your first fresh-picked 
berry.
   If you're anything like us, you'll pick and pick and pick to your heart's 
content, tossing berries in buckets, reveling at how fast the pails are 
filling, feeling virtuous about going back to your agrarian roots, all the 
while wondering, ``What in the world does one .MDUL/do.MDNM/ with 
blueberries.'' Other than throw them down your throat by the handful I mean.
   But don't worry. Charles and Sharon Patterson -- they own the place -- are 
way ahead of us here. At the little stand where you pay, they've provided a 
few pages of blueberry recipes and helpful hints about how to store the 
berries.
   For instance, they suggest freezing the berries without rinsing them so 
they don't clump together. Then pour them out like purple marbles, rinse them,
and pop them in your mouth for a blueberry Popsicle sensation.
   By the time we make our way to the cash register, the kids' teeth are 
purple, and we're looking furtively around for the berry police to arrest the 
whole lot of us.  But a sign inside says ``Taste-testing allowed (within 
reason).'' We sigh in relief, and hope we've been within reason.
   The berries are $1.20 a pound and we skate outta there with change from a 
five.
   The slogan ``Half the fun is getting there'' holds true for this berry 
farm. The roads there and back are Chesapeake at its undeveloped best. 
Cornfields shooting up tall on either side of the road. Green pastures casting
off toward the horizon. Horses, cows. Tractors plowing fields. Bulldozers 
breaking ground for sprawling housing developments -- no wait, ignore that 
part, this is a tour of farm country.
   We found this berry farm to be picker-friendly as well as close to home, 
but you can call your city's agricultural agent to find locations of other 
fruit picking places that suit your liking and location.


ILLUSTRATION: Photo
          STEVE EARLEY/Staff
          Hickory Blueberry Farm in Chesapeake offer plump berries.
          
          
          Graphic
             JUST THE FACTS 
             Destination: Hickory Blueberry Farm, 929 Head of River Road, 
          Chesapeake, 421-9398
             Travel time: About 30 minutes from Interstate 64. Take the Indian
          River Road East exit off of 64. Turn right on Centerville Turnpike. 
          Go about 12 miles, turn left on Head of River Road. 
             Hours: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day. Call ahead for field 
          conditions. Blueberries will be in season until mid-August.
             Cost: $1.20 a pound.
             Food: Fast-food places in Hickory and along Battlefield Boulevard
          in nearby Great Bridge. Or stop by Bergey's Dairy Farm, 2221 Mount 
          Pleasant Road, for sandwiches and ice cream.