To our family, October only means one thing. We get a visit from Auntie Shell! My sister-friend Michelle drove down to spend a weekend with us, then visit her mom in Palm Springs, then spend the following weekend with us again. This is what we did on the first weekend.
A day trip to Apple Hill, a series of farms near Placerville. Whenever we go, we always pick the same places. This time I wanted to check out some new ones.
This weekend was probably the busiest of the year. We had to deal with terrible traffic and crowds, but we still had fun!
First stop was O’Halloran’s Apple Ranch. This turned out to be one of my favorite stops. What intrigued me to want to check them out was that they have a tree that was grafted from one of the original Johnny Appleseed trees! They also had a few varieties of apples that we had never heard of. We bought a few and tried them.
They had a bunch of huge sunflowers. Unfortunately, we were too late and they had already turned to seed. It was still kind of neat to see the seeds up close though and the boys tasted them in this raw state.
Second stop was Bodhaine Ranch. They had BBQ and a bakery here that we wanted to check out for lunch. The line was so long and slow moving though, we ended up moving on.
Third stop was Mill View Ranch. This was a nice place and a place I would like to return to when it was less crowded. They also have a BBQ, but again, the line was sooooo long.
We walked through their gift store and the artisan tents outside. Here is a picture of Alex being silly in the gift shop. Ryan is testing some of the grapes on the vine out front.
Moving on to stop #4 Rainbow Orchards. The bakery line was so long there was no way we could get anything, but the BBQ line was manageable. We stood in line for the BBQ for about 30 minutes and finally had lunch.
As we were heading out, Michelle noticed a sign that said they were having a fundraiser for a local youth group. Pay $20 and they will have “doughnut thieves” go back to the kitchen and bring you a dozen fresh apple doughnuts and you don’t have to wait in line. We totally took advantage of that. They were still hot and sooooo good!
Our last stop was a lovely discovery. It was at the far end of the route and away from all the main traffic. It was not crowded like many of the other farms. This is where we ended up picking our pumpkins and also some other fresh produce they grew there…
24 Carrot Farm
