Each year my friends and I look forward to our annual Saturday trip to Terhune Orchards in Princeton, New Jersey. It's a much anticipated day filled with photo shoots while munching on apple cider donuts and sipping on wine.

I like to consider Terhune a hidden gem that my friends and I absolutely adore but, in reality it's the complete opposite as the orchard is always blooming with visitors during its peak fall season.

This year we weren't sure how our trip was going to look as we were used to seeing a fully packed parking lot and walking around as adults and children wondered and ran amongst us enjoying themselves but, to our surprise, this year was even better than before.

Our time at Terhune felt more personal and ironically, it seemed as if we had the ability to do so much more, despite the visitor caps, social distancing measures, mask requirements and restrictions placed on activities due to the spread and nature of COVID-19.

The orchard felt like it was ours for the day as we were free to roam the flower fields, pumpkin patches and corn mazes while additionally getting to see the cute animals. To top of the day we had the ability to stop and shop in each tiny farm store on the property that held fresh produce, candies and cold drinks.

The trip was just what my friend group needed to get us off campus for a while and enjoy a positive and breathable environment where there was no stress besides finding the perfect picture to help pull our Instagram feed's into the fall aesthetic.

With all of the changes that have happened and continue to happen this year, we were glad one of our favorite traditions was left intact, even if it looked a little different than it did years before.