Yummy Apple Hill

I need to confess something- I am absolutely HORRIBLE at remembering to take pictures! I really am... or I remember to take pictures of inconsequential things that I do not care about 1 day later. Thus being said, I went to Apple Hill this past Saturday and took zero pictures. I am a nerd.

I love Apple Hill! When I was younger, my family did not go up every year. But we went often enough for it to make an impact on me. To me, fall is truly starting once you have made a trip there. It is about 1 1/2-2 hours away from Manteca, up by Placerville. So beautiful! This is part of California that actually gets graced with snow every now and then! But not yet. Anyhow, it is just so much fun to go up there and be in nature. My mom, dad, Brad, and I were the ones on this wonderous trip. We kicked it off by eating some yummy food at Able Acres. Afterwards we perused the crafts. It's been a long time since the vendors have actually had things I want to spend my money on... so I was pleasantly surprised when they had items I wanted. Did I get them? No... I'm dirt poor.

Then we went to Boa Vista Orchards. They have delicious apples! I know, they ALL have yummy apples. But this is where we always purchase ours. And they have practically every type of apple you can think of. We also get frozen apple pies that are yum-o. The air is thick with the pungent smell of ripe apples. Again, I looked at crafts and goodies. Not as many cool trinkets here, but what they did have was this wicked cool artist! He was at the end of all the vendors and he had this canopy thing set up and these really neat pictures displayed. He was playing some techno-ish music and doing a painting right in front of us! This guy was t-a-l-e-n-t-e-d! He used this smooth paper- almost shiny like- that was on a rotating platform. Then he used spray paint and pieces of paper to create landscapes. The one he did for our crowd was a night sky with a waterfall, stars, and a silhouette of a leafless tree. He did this in under 5 minutes! Really neat.

Next up, High Hill Ranch. I have NEVER seen High Hill sooooo crammed with people. Usually we can park in the dirt that they designate for parking. Not so this time. We got to park in the orchards, right under the famous apple trees. I accidentally stepped in a rotten apple and it was gross. My dad got us some free REAL apple cider. Yummy!!! Cannot beat the real stuff. I didn't enjoy High Hill as much as I usually do because there were way too many people. I can handle some big crowds, but when you are outside and it usually isn't overly busy it just is wrong. So I tried to avoid the people and the kids and still enjoyed myself somewhat. Something that is always neat there is the wolves in the cage. It's a Wolf Rescue group and they had four full-grown wolves in a cage, just sleeping. Unfortunately they changed their rules and no one is allowed to touch them now. But they are still fun to just watch. At High Hill we always get apple fritters and doughnuts. Trust me, these will be one of the most delicious things you ever taste. They are hardly greasy and go down smoothly and have little bits of apple throughout. Oh, and my parents shared a chocolate-carmel covered apple. I bet you are salivating...

Sidenote events that I enjoyed: on the way we took Dilbert Road, that winds through the country. Behind a normal fence usual for keeping mules behind, we saw a ZEBRA!! A zebra!! I was so excited!! Alas, I was unable to take a picture of this exotic animal on a farm. But believe me, it was there. Next up, on the way home we took the 49 and passed fields and fields and fields. In one of the fields, there were at least 20 goats... all walking in a line!! Okay, some people probably have seen this before, but I have not and it was oh so cool!! Again, not able to take a picture. Gosh darn it. But yeah, they were totally walking in a line like elementary school kids do! Then we went through Clements and they have a chocolate factory there that we have never been to, called Chocoholics (how cute is that name). It's nothing like the Hershey's Factory that got shut down in Oakdale, but it was still really neat. My mom and I shared a brownie sundae... I love chocolate. I am definitely going back there to get some goodies because they had some really cute products.

Then it was homeward bound from there. I love spending time with my family, but it sure tired me out. I hope to go there one more time this season... and actually take pictures!!