Apple Hill!
So, this month has clearly gotten away from me... We've been having lots of fun as a family, and I can't wait to share all the fun with you! Last weekend we were finally able to make it up to Apple Hill. I've been nagging Mark to go for the last ten years and this year we just couldn't resist! My sister and brother-in-law joined us for the fun and it was a great day. It was warm and sunny (I wish it had been a bit colder and felt more like fall) and very crowded. Husband said he wished he could rent all of apple hill for the day so it wouldn't be so packed with people. But it was very festive! Crowds of people, little kids in their Halloween costumes, everyone eating apple-flavored food and drink. So fun!
Our first stop was at Rainbow Orchard for some hot apple cider donuts and apple cider. They make the donuts to order, so they were warm and fresh and delicious! And the cider was great too. We got a half gallon and drank it all day long. I'd love one of those donuts right now!
We were so glad these two could join us!
Our next stop was the Jack Russell Brewery for some hard cider. The boys were going to get beer also, but the line was crazy long and there wasn't anywhere to sit with the baby. So we found a place to stand in the shade, quickly drank our ciders and then moved on. But it was a great-looking place and we'd love to go back another time. Along with their beer and cider (and mead and mulled wine) they had some delicious smelling barbecue. There were also several tents set up around the perimeter with vendors selling items and serving other food and drinks. We could easily have spent the afternoon there if it wasn't so crowded.
Next up was O'Halloran's Apple Trail Ranch. We tried to find an orchard where we could pick our own apples but were told there were no more apples to pick (and after trying two different stops, decided to just stop at the next place we could find). O'Halloran's was a cute little place that wasn't crowded at all. It's a smaller orchard with a large barn area filled with barrels of apples to choose from. They also had a pumpkin patch, although there were slim pickin's left there.
Family photos in the apple orchard!
Our last stop of the day was at Denver Dan's Apple Patch. They have a bake shop filled with handmade pies, dumplings, turnovers, caramel apples and strudel! We shared a piece of strudel and it was really good! I was super tempted to buy one of their pies (they all looked amazing and were giant!), but knew I planned on making my own later. We'd love to come to this orchard earlier in the apple picking season. They have more than 50 varieties of apples that you can pick from and their orchard was beautiful. We settled for taking a walk with Auntie Katie instead.
We had such a great time at Apple Hill! We'll definitely be going back every year at the very least for some of those hot apple cider donuts. It'll be fun to partake in the petting zoos, craft fairs and face painting when Becks gets older. Since we've been home, I've made an apple cake and I plan on making loads of other apple goodies (applesauce, caramel apple pie, apple crisp, etc.)!
I hope everyone's having fun getting ready for Halloween! We're carving pumpkins tomorrow night, then watching a Halloween movie. Becks' costume is all ready to go, and we can't wait to dress him up on Thursday! There will definitely be lots of photos...
