An Apple A Day.......

Last Monday Pat and I and the girls headed south on the very windy Hwy 49 to Placerville to visit Apple Hill. Made up of more than 50 ranches, there is everything apple as well as wineries and Christmas tree farms. We had never been so we thought it was high time we got over there.

We were armed with only a guide book included in the Reno Gazette Journal newspaper and the various descriptions of each ranch. Our first stop was at Abel's Apple Acres. Being a Monday (one perk of a firefighter's schedule) there was no crowd and we were able to browse freely. A nice little gift shop helped me get started on some Christmas shopping.

Enjoying apple struedel

After the long drive there we were hungry of course so what to start with. Something apple!! We decided on the apple struedel and were not disappointed. Afterwards the girls were able to run around in the field a bit.

Unfortunately, since it was a Monday, the hay maze was closed. I'd rather deal with a few things that weren't open since it wasn't a weekend and have the freedom of no crowds. After talking to a few of the locals it sounds like it can get pretty crazy on the weekend.

Our next stop was Boa Vista. They had a wide selection of apples and we picked up some for an apple pie in our future. We kept the kids fortified with a couple of hot dogs then headed off to the next stop, Honey Bear. What an absolute treat.

This one's for you Aunt Anne

For our lunch we had turkey sandwiches on croissants with potato salad and WARM apple pie. Delicious. Seating was in a wonderful grassy area on picnic tables under apple trees. The girls busies themselves by picking up and stacking the apples that were on the ground. The above picture shows a book called "How to Make An Apple Pie And See The World". It's from Caitlyn's Aunt Anne and she absolutely loves it. She was showing it to everyone and explaining how to make an apple pie.

Shoulda had the pulled pork

There was a small pond with Koi fish that the girls were able to feed and trees to climb.

After Honey Bear we decided to call it a day. The weather was perfect, no crowds, and the girls were terrific. We had picked up a couple of caramel apples as a treat which we enjoyed after dinner.

Caitlyn had never had caramel before and was not disappointed.

All in all it was a great day and I highly recommend getting over there if you have the opportunity.