Apple Hill 2008

We made the trip to Apple Hill on Saturday. They say you won't find Apple Hill on a map, because it's not there, but it's located a little over an hour from where we live. It's officially part of a city called Camino, CA, nestled in the foothills of the Sierras. There are about 50 ranches, Christmas tree farms, wineries, a spa and vineyards. It was a beautiful day. I think we sampled everything you could possibly make or bake with apples over the course of the day.... apples themselves, apple cider, apple donuts, carameled apples, apple cake and of course apple pie...and everything was oh so good!

The temperatures were in the high 70's so it felt a little more fallish than the mid 80's we've had earlier this week. We even saw some trees with fall colored leaves. We enjoyed lots of good old fashioned fun. Petting zoos, pumpkin patches, musical programs, clowns, and magic shows, a tire swing, a pond with real fish (Abby was ticked that we didn't bring a fishing pole).... were just a few of the things the kids loved.

Of course, Aaron's favorite were the tractors all around. Look at that dimple!

Perhaps my favorite picture of the day. This just shows how passionate he was about driving that tractor.

A few of the orchards have trails that connect to each other. We went on a couple of little hikes through the forest with the kids. Abby became a little tired and tuckered out.....
She decided to just "park it" in protest! It's okay Abby, Daddy wears me out sometimes too. It takes lots of energy to keep up with all the energy he has and all he has on his agenda!

In the middle of the day, Aaron fell asleep, so I waited with him in the car (to tell you the truth, I needed a little breather as well) and the girls went with Dad for a little time together.

The pumpkin patch at this particular place was on a hillside. Some of the pumpkins had fallen off the vine and had started to roll down the hill, so Joseph and the girls took the liberty of rolling them the rest of the way down the hillside. Oh boy, the things you get away with when Dad's around. ;)

We finished the day at what must have been the hot spot of Apple Hill...High Hill Ranch, because there were tons of people there. It was huge and we enjoyed the beautiful scenery.

At the end of the day, we hadn't yet sunk our teeth into even a bite of apple pie, so we decided to get a piece to share. I waited in line for about 30 minutes (doing lots of people watching) while Joseph wandered around with the kids. The kids took the opportunity to persuade him into buying cotton candy, while mom wasn't around. They're no dummies! When I got to the cashier, I realized that they were only selling WHOLE PIES, no pieces at this Pie Porch...I wasn't about to leave after waiting so long....so, we all took a spork and dug in! The first thing Joseph said was, "If any of you fight over who is getting more, you are DONE, because there is way more than enough for everyone! " Their little mouths were too full to fight.....and this lovely pie....was our dinner! YUM!
As you can see, we left Apple Hill covered in dirt! But it was absolutely worth every bit of washing!