Since I can't be in NY and California, I have sent my crew, Nancy and Barb to explore further areas in the Gold Country. "It has been almost five years since I moved to the Sacramento area and I have always heard of many people talking about taking a trip up to Apple Hill during this time of year. Barb and I planned to find out for ourselves what the positive talk was all about on Sunday, October 25th. Our itinerary had us meeting Jody from the El Dorado tourism bureau at 10 a.m. Rainbow Orchards...one of many Apple Orchards in the Apple Hill area.
We drove East towards Lake Tahoe on Highway 50. Apple Hill is just East of Placerville, CA which is on Highway 49, part of Gold Country. There are several exits you can take depending upon what part of Apple Hill you want to visit first as the roads mainly intertwine at some point. To make more of a direct route to our destination we took the Cedar Grove, exit 54. I had picked up an official guide to Apple Hill and thought that was the best route and it was, Rainbow Orchards being about 5 minutes from our exit. The guide is also available online at AppleHill.com
On our way to the Orchard we got a little taste of the picturesque view of Apple Hill: the rolling hills of grape vines, apple trees, and rows of pine trees for the Christmas Season. Wow..it's it almost Christmas?
If I had closed my eyes I would have still known we had arrived at Rainbow Orchards. The smell of freshly baked goods mixed with the smell of Apple Cider donuts waft through my nostrils. Our dog Bailey was excited to stretch her legs while Barb took her to the grassy area. PHOTO OP!
The three of us walked into the barn and again the smell of freshly baked goods captured both our nose and eyes. A long row of apples, jams, gourds and pumpkins stood there is all it's fall glory! What a wonderful idea! There's a table with sliced apples each listing the variety of apples available at the Orchard. A feeling of the holidays arose in me when I spotted the hanging white miniature lights from the ceiling. Jody, our tour guide of Apple Hill for the day, treated us to a taste of warm Apple Cider and Apple Cider Donuts. Will this keep the doctors away? We met Christa, the owner of Rainbow Orchard and her dog Sasha greeted our Bailey. Christa explained how apple cider is processes.
I guess that working for a journalist gave us privy to a tour of the kitchen and today was the final day of their making Peach Cobbler. mmmmm....then we saw the process of the Apple Cider donuts being made as well as a lady mixing the topping for the cobblers. I noticed the line starting to stretch out towards the door with families eager to purchase the goodies of Rainbow Orchards.
Outside of Rainbow Orchards there are artists were selling their arts and crafts, as well as a quaint wooden stage with hay stacks for sitting...if there was a performance to be held there.
Since this was our first stop along the Apple Hill Scenic Route I already knew this would be a great and enjoyable day with tasty samples along the way. Hey, that rhymes! Off to the next stop!" Photos by Nancy Kozicki
Tech by Barbara Coletta
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