As incomes have risen, it's important for Americans to find new ways to spend ever-increasing amounts of money. I propose that we spend some of it traveling to pick and eat fresh fruit that doesn't travel well.

Content Warning: Knowing how delicious fresh fruit can be is an infohazard for your wallet.

Free Lunches Everywhere For Those With Eyes For Blackberry

It's blackberry season in Seattle, and the bike path to work is lined with blackberries. There's an excellent selection, with multiple varieties^[1] and varied growing conditions^[2]. They're also completely free!

But, there's one thing more important than all of that: You can pick them at the absolute peak of ripeness.

This berry was so soft it was hard to pick without crushing it. Half the time when I pick one like this, it falls apart in my hand. But that's fine since I'm about to eat it anyway. Once it gets this ripe, it's sweet, not sour at all, and has a hint of cinnamon. It was delicious.

Good luck ever finding a berry like this in a store.

$20 Bills on Another State's Sidewalk

You might think it's impossible to buy a blackberry this delicious, but for a few hundred dollars, you can have as many as you want!

• Hotels in Washington^[3]
• Flights to Seattle

People take flights to sit on the ground, to avoid cooking, and to see old things. Why not take a flight to stuff yourself with delicious blackberries?

Diversifying Your Fruit Portfolio

Some other foods that I expect would also be more delicious this way:

• Tomatoes, especially heirloom. These can be surprisingly decent in (fancy) stores these days, but right-off-the-vine is going to be better. Of course, if you can't afford a few hundred dollars to go eat tomatoes, you can always spend a few hundred dollars and grow them yourself.
• Peaches seem like they'd be extremely good ripe off the tree. Visit Georgia for some peaches?
• Pineapples in Hawaii, papayas in Mexico.
• Some fruits aren't available at all outside of where they grow, like pawpaws and salmonberries^[4].

Of course, before traveling, you should check what you have locally too! But then you should get a ticket to Washington and eat some blackberries.

1. ^{^}

   I've noticed substantial variation in how long the berries are, how big each druplet^[5] is, and of course, flavor.

2. ^{^}

   Different soil types, drainage, amount of sunlight.

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   These are not affiliate links.

4. ^{^}

   Salmonberries actually grow in the Seattle area, but I haven't seen any. If you know where to find them please let me know!

5. ^{^}

   I had to look up what these are called. You're welcome.