Last weekend we drove up to Apple Hill for all things… apple! My cousin called me and said she wanted “all of the fall things”… so she and her husband drove up from the Bay Area and we made it happen! This is the time of year when I miss living on the East Coast the most. Those fall colors, apple picking, Upstate New York especially–it’s all just quite magical. And I tell everyone, if you’ve never been to the East Coast during the month of October you have to go. Apple Hill, just some 45 minutes north of Sacramento, feels like a mini version of Upstate NY with all of the same fall activities. It was actually funny remembering as we drove out there in my husband’s big ol’ truck the year we took a taxi from New York city to go apple picking an hour or so outside of the city. Can you picture us rolling up to the orchard in a yellow NYC taxi cab? It was our only option at the time but thinking back on that memory makes me laugh.
Our day of “all things fall” started with hot apple cider and apple donuts, but of course. If you’re heading up that way I highly recommend making Rainbow Orchards your first stop of the day for this donut fix. (But be sure to get there early. We left our house around 9am and I wouldn’t recommend leaving any later.) The donuts are warm, melt-in-your-mouth crazy good! And in my opinion, are some of the best I’ve ever had. Now the boys all told me I’m not a donut connoisseur (okay so maybe I haven’t had quite as many donuts as they’ve had in their days)… but they were so worth the splurge that I had two.
Our local Sacramento Magazine had a cute feature on Apple Hill this past month and so we stopped at a few the article recommended along our drive. Another must–Jack Russel Brewery, for a cider tasting and yummy barbecue. I highly recommend the pulled pork sandwich.
Our all things fall day wouldn’t have been complete without farm animals and a fall picnic. The only bummer? It’s a little late for actual apple picking so we missed out there. The orchard that we picked in last year had already been picked over so note to self–go in September next fall. Although my cousin’s husband Matt did pick one apple off a tree (that was actually tasty) so we all called the apple picking a win.
For our fall picnic we brought along this backpack cooler from Barebones. It’s the perfect size for a day trip with a couple people… just large enough for a couple sandwiches, snacks and a few drinks. Note: Barebones is my latest cool outdoorsy brand find! We want everything.
What to wear…
