Today was a beautiful fall day to go to Oak Glen for some apple-picking. We had never been before, so we did not quite know what to expect.
It took about 1 hour, 15 minutes from our house to get there. Once you exit the highway, there is plenty of “apple signage” to guide you.
Our first stop was Snow Line Orchard. They are famous for their mini apple cider donuts, so of course we had to try some.
12/$3.60. We arrived just after they opened at 9 a.m., so we avoided the long lines. The donuts were good, warm and fresh out of the fryer, but I could not discern any apple flavor. But for cinnamon sugar donuts, they were a nice snack. We also picked up a bag of small honeycrisp apples for $4 (my favorite variety). They are also known for their apple cider, but I was weary of buying any for the kids since it is only “gently pasteurized”. D and I were able to sample the raspberry cider, which I would have liked to have more of.
We made a stop for the bathroom at Riley’s (which had nice facilities, by the way). However, we drove next door for our u-pick adventure at Willowbrook Apple Farm.
My research had revealed that this was a nice family-run farm, less commercialized than its neighbors. It is small, but the compactness was perfect for the kids. The only downside is that there is minimal parking along the road, so arrive early (it opens at 10 a.m.).
Apparently, last weekend was really crowded (lines of 40+ people), so most of the apples that were left were higher hanging fruit. This was not a problem thanks to the handy dandy apple pickers that were provided.
D put the kids on his shoulders and they were able to pick some apples by hand, which they got a real kick out of.
This farm only produces one variety, Winesap, from trees that are 100 years old. We chose to pick a 5 lb. bag for $10.95. It is a flat rate bag, and we were able to fit 14 apples inside.
The farm also features a miniature horse, rabbit, and chickens.
Cool tree house
k started whining because “I got dirt on my shoes”. Hmm…I think we need to get out of suburbia more often.
For lunch, we we went to Riley’s at Los Rios Rancho
We shared a couple of tri-tip sandwiches ($7.95) and brought home a crumb-topped apple pie ($12).
The tri-tip was good…smoky and flavorful, and not too fatty.
While D waited in line for the food (it took a while, even at 11 a.m.!), the kids and I hung out on a bench in front of the band.
It was a fun outing, and it seems like a lot of people go every year. I’m thinking for us maybe it will be an every other year thing, but we’ll see. We passed by a few other places I wanted to try, such as Oak Glen Village and Law’s coffee shop for a slice of pie a la mode.
