Fall fun.....

Fall is here again which means our annual trip to Oak Glen to pick apples.  This year we were a little worried we wouldn't be making the trip with all the recent wildfires in the area but fortunately the apple orchards and all the farms were spared as a direct result of all the efforts of the fire crews.  One of the first farms we ever visited, Riley's, had fire directly across the street, but their 100+ year old orchards weren't damaged!  We figured it was eight years ago that we started the fall tradition of a picnic and apple picking.  It is so nice to go up to the mountains and enjoy cooler weather, the smell of fall (because fall does have a smell), the scent of apples and crowds of people!  Over the years our outing has evolved.  When the kids were little we'd get a late start, buy lunch, pick apples, go to the petting zoo,  and maybe get some old fashioned candy from the general store.  One year we even fished in the "special" pond and took home fresh trout for dinner at a hefty price tag!  These days since Matthew and Katie can put away more food than we the adults can, we pack a huge picnic basket full of food, take some quilts and have a picnic on the sprawling lawn at Los Rios Rancho.  There is a beautiful view down the valley and up over the pass.  It is nice to just relax, watch the little kids run around and spend time together.  After our bellies are full we head off to the orchards to pick apples.  This year there was a late spring frost which sadly resulted in no apples left to pick.  We did ok though - lots of different apples in the packing shed to pick from.  We wound up with:  granny smiths - nice and tart for our caramel apples;  honey crisp - crunchy, sweet and a little tart perfect for snacking;  and a box of gravensteins seconds for me, mom, to can apple pie filling!