Apple Hill

Yesterday Bill would have been 69 years old. (He was my ex-husband and the father of my kids.) Since his death a few years ago, the kids here in CA have always made an excursion to Apple Hill. This was a place we found in 1984 when we were all living in CA, and we went back several times a year and whenever we had visitors. It is just east of Placerville, probably about 3000-3500' in elevation, and is the site of huge orchards, vineyards, and christmas tree farms. The farms all belong to a co-op and there are somewhere over 100 different farms involved in the tour.

We have always gone to two farms: High Hill Ranch, which has the best caramel apples you could possibly find, as well as great apple cider, fritters, and pie. Boa Vista Farm was our second stop, where we enjoyed the corn dogs - best ever! They also seem to sell a lot more produce, and you can find just about any fruit and vegetable imaginable there. All the farms I've ever been to are heavy on vendor booths, and sell every kind of thing you can imagine - books, wood carvings, glass, candles, and so much more. I usually browse for a few minutes but don't find anything I can't live without.

So the kids, their families and I met at High Hill Ranch yesterday.


After eating the requisite caramel apples and other delicious offerings (I had a slice of warm apple pie with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream), we sat around relaxing while the little kids enjoyed running in the grass and down to the lake. One of the guys always ran to the lake with them just in case one fell in and had to be pulled out.

There was a pony ring, and I feel so sorry for those ponies. What a life! The girls loved riding though.




As sort of a joke we all wore tie-dyed t-shirts. Donald and Joe were a little embarrassed at first, but they were good sports about it. While we were there a busload arrived and when the folks got off the bus most were wearing tie-dyed shirts!






As Donald was trying to set up his camera to take a picture of the whole group, a woman offered to take the picture for us. I didn't have my camera handy, but she took pictures with two of the cameras so I will post one if I ever get a copy.

This morning Jeannie and I walked for an hour at Mather Field, and we are planning to get back to a routine since fall will be here soon and, hopefully, some cooler weather. I feel a lot more energetic when I walk regularly.

I will try to get over to "Play it Again Sports" tomorrow to get some weights for my exercise program. The 10-3/4 oz Campbell soup cans just don't do the trick. I hate to buy them when I have 2 different sizes back in storage in NC, but they are plenty cheap at Play it Again, at least they were at the store in Asheville, much cheaper than Walmart!