Placerville and Apple Hill

I really shouldn't complain about the sunny weather around here, but as a child of the Midwest there are certain things I miss. I miss a good thunderstorm, weather extremes, and I really miss autumn. Leaves around here just shrivel up and fall off eventually after they can't stand the dryness anymore, so I'm not expecting any sort of lovely fall foliage, but I did find out about an apple growing area near where gold was originally discovered in 1849, bringing a rush of 49ers to California. Placerville, CA and the Apple Hill area provide a semblance of autumn due to the prevalence of apple and pear orchards situated in the Sierra foothills. We decided to take a couple of days and explore the area.

After driving north on 99 to Sacramento and heading east on 50 toward Lake Tahoe, our first stop when we got to Placerville was the historic downtown. There were cute shops, tacky shops, and people dressed in period gold rush costumes (which led to a discussion of whether they just dress like that in general and hang out in downtown Placerville so as not to appear too strange or whether they are some sort of volunteer or paid re-enactors.) It was much too hot to leave the huskies in the car, though, so we headed to Carson Road, the start of the Apple Hill area.

The first Apple Hill merchant we visited was Boeger Winery which offered lovely, shaded picnic tables and welcomed dogs. Sean and the huskies hung out in the shade and I acted as runner, bringing each of the 6 tastings Sean and I sampled, as well as a complimentary snack for the pups. We particularly enjoyed their Pinot Gris and Tempranillo. I also sampled some figs right off the tree.

Munching the free doggie treat from the winery staff.

Sampling the Pinot Gris in the shade.

 

Next stop was Abel's Apple Orchard, but it was basically a disappointment. Stalls of crafts and too sweet apple crisp along with the saddest turkey sandwich Sean has ever seen (but which the huskies rather enjoyed - they're not picky). Instead of sticking around we decided to try another winery, since they rarely disappoint. On to Lava Cap, where we enjoyed the Muscat Canelli and they welcomed the dogs for a walk up and down between the vines.

Sniffing around and watching out for prickers in the paws!

Lovely views in the Sierra foothills.

Grapes ready for harvest.

Finally we headed to Dedrick's Cheese in downtown Placerville which was even better than expected from a pre-trip visit to their website. We tasted cheeses and salami and walked out with a bag full of delicious goodies. Back at the hotel we opened a bottle from Lava Cap, chilled in the ice bucket, and dined on yummy cheeses, La Brea Bakery bread, olives, Marcona almonds, and lime cookies for dessert. The only sad thing about the feast was that it left us too full for dinner out, as I had been looking forward to trying a restaurant in town. 

Day two began with a hike on the Fleming Trail System in El Dorado National Forest. There is a lovely lake and nice trail system that we shared with mountain bikers and horses. The huskies were pretty excited to meet the horses. Kodi marched down the trail as if he had no idea he's approaching 14 and just finished 6 months of chemotherapy. It was lovely, but dusty!

Thirsty hikers!

Satisfied Kodi.

Dusty sneakers!

Since we had a cooler full of ice only partially filled with cheese and salami, we decided to make two more stops in Apple Hill on our way home. The first was Willow Pond Organic Farm where we met some nice folks and bought delicious plums, pears, and eggs. Then we stopped at Smokey Ridge Farm and Charcuterie for homemade sausages (both apple and jerk chicken varieties) and some delicious apples. It's still early in the season for many varieties, but I purchased a bag of Winter Banana apples, which I had never tasted before. They were a pleasant, sweet surprise and I will enjoy snacking on them in my lunch all week as a reminder of our fun weekend in Placerville and Apple Hill.

Visitors!

I have been derelict in my blogging as of late, but there is an excellent reason. We have had visitors! From Memorial Day to the 4th of July we had 4 sets of visitors spend time with us and it was marvelous!

Kim and Aaron
First up were my sister Kim and brother-in-law Aaron. They came for a long Memorial Day weekend all the way from Washington, DC, and I believe we showed them as good of a time as they have shown me on my many visits to the nation's capital. We visited Yosemite where a late season cold front dropped snow at 5000 feet. Viewing Mariposa Grove with snowflakes falling through partial sunshine was magical. Wine tasting in Lodi and a visit to the Modesto Farmers' Market was a highlight, as was the meal we created that evening with our purchases. Our planned pool party turned patio party due to the cool weather, but we enjoyed it nonetheless. A day on the coast in Carmel topped off a wonderful visit.

Aaron and Kim in front of Tunnel View

 

Melissa

My good friend Melissa, who I met as an undergrad at Winona State came to visit for part of a week and enjoyed sunny California. We spent a lovely day poolside with magazines and margarita freezee pops. The swimming was excellent and it was so great to catch up. We also showed Melissa the sites in Yosemite. Wine tasting in Lodi was on our agenda too and we enjoyed some of our purchases with dinner in the evenings. A trip to Modesto for some shopping, particularly to Stewart and Jasper for almonds in the shell, was fun. We have really turned a lot of people onto those almonds! We also had a delicious woodfired pizza at Bella Luna downtown Merced for our final dinner together.

Melissa and me in Yosemite Valley

Mom and Dad
We were able to convince my mom and dad to extend their trip to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons to join us for a long weekend at some tent cabins near Tuolumne Meadows. Our good friends Heather and Joe offered to dog sit the huskies, so we had peace of mind the entire weekend. The Tioga Pass section of the park is so gorgeous it deserves its own blog post, so expect more from that trip later.

Mom and Dad on Lembert Dome

Heidi, Barry, Ben, Leah and Grace
My sister Heidi and her family were able to spend their 4th of July week of vacation with us and we had a terrific time! We tried to break up driving days with swimming days to give the kids a break. We saw the classic sites in Yosemite and also spent some time near (and in - for the kids) the Merced River. We spent the 4th swimming and grilling and watched the fireworks in Atwater at the old Castle Airforce Base parade grounds. We cooled off on Thursday by heading to Monterey and Carmel, with a stop at Casa de Fruta for snacks. Carmel Beach was gorgeous and the shopping on Cannery Row was great. We even checked out the 17 mile tour of the Pebble Beach area and saw the Lone Cypress. Our last day involved more pool time, with dinner at In 'N Out and cupcakes from Little Pink Boxes. That has to be the most fun that has been had in our pool in one week.

Barry and Grace in the Merced River - Yosemite Valley

Ben could almost reach across the tree tunnel in Mariposa Grove

Leah and Heidi waiting for fireworks

The Danielsons checking out the Pacific at Cannery Row

The only remotely bad thing about having all these wonderful visitors is that I now think the rest of the summer might seem anticlimactic. Sean and I will just have to find some more fun things to keep us occupied in and around Merced. I think that list of Yosemite hikes is around here somewhere...

Madera Wine Trail Wine & Chocolate Weekend

Oh my, it has been far too long since I have posted on this blog.  What with the holidays, moving to a new house, and spending inordinate amounts of time at the veterinary specialists with the huskies as they were diagnosed, and are now treated for, cancer, we haven't had time for much exploring.  We have been having fun times with friends, but haven't really gone on any roadtrips until this past weekend.  We headed out on the Madera Wine Trail for their Wine & Chocolate Weekend with our friends Heather and Joe and their friend Andrew, who recently moved to Sacramento to take a job at a law firm.

The special event cost $25 and included a commemorative wine glass, tastings at all area wineries, and delicious chocolate treats.  Many wineries featured artists with work for sale and some had food and live music.  Our first stop was Quady Winery which specializes in ports and other dessert wines.  We enjoyed some of their wines, but one of them, Purple, was an "acquired taste".  The label reminded us of a frat party invitation and the taste was most similar to Grape Pucker. 

The crazy label for the crazier wine.

Basically, it was gross and we sought out the nearest tray of chocolate truffles to cleanse our pallets.  The moscato was good, though, and Sean particularly enjoyed their  Starboard Batch 88 port.

One of the best parts of the Quady Winery visit was the mobile wood-fired pizza oven onsite for the event.  I loved my little wild mushroom, tarragon, and goat cheese personal pizza, and the nutella, wild berry, and mint dessert pizza was fabulous!

The Nutella, wild berry, and fresh mint pizza!

Our next stop was Chateau Lasgoity Winery.  We sampled some wines and Heather treated us to chocolate-covered strawberries.I particularly enjoyed the Blanc duVal (white of the valley) which was light and crisp, and will make perfect sipping by the pool this summer.  Unfortunately at this point we had to leave our friends to head home and check on the huskies.  They enjoyed more tasting, with their trusty designated driver, Heather.  Once home we thought twice about cutting off our wristbands as they were good for the entire weekend, but since Ili was headed to the radiation center for the next week we wanted to spend as much time with her as we could.  There's always the Spring Wine Trail Adventure in May!

Waiting for our wood-fired pizzas.  Sorry I cut you off, Andrew!