This morning, Bradley and I toured Bramble Ridge Orchard. They have around 3,000 apple and peach trees, with many different varieties like Fuji, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, and Honeycrisp. Don’t those sound gooooood? I happened to break my jar of applesauce last night as soon as I got home from the grocery, so I’m glad I was able to go to the orchard and take a look at all their goodies. And that I can still make some Crock Pot Applesauce Chicken for dinner this week.

When we got to the orchard, I told Jan I had never been there, so she better show me everything. They had just picked all the ripe apples, so we missed out on that, but there was still plenty to do—and all free! (Except for shopping in the gift barn, of course.) First we sampled the cider slushies and looked at some of the bees making honey.

Then Cindy, the owner, sent us packin’ on a little hike. We walked through the orchard. A great place to let the kiddos run free!

We played in the rope maze. Bradley cheated by going under the ropes.
 

We said hello to the resident pets, like Apple Jack and Fuzzy Pants. They were very friendly.

We played with Kentucky’s largest apple slingshot.
 

And sat at the picnic table enjoying the breeze. I could have stayed there forever. Such a beautiful day!

Then we walked back and took a look around the gift shop, drooling over the fresh apples…
 

…and the cider donuts–which I may have sampled before I took this picture. You’ll notice in the gift shop that they come in boxes of SIX.

We saw other apple-related items, like this slicer,

and this cider laundry soap.

Then we drooled some more, wishing we had made reservations to eat at the tearoom. I didn’t know there was a tearoom! We almost tagged along with the group of ladies who had made reservations.

Cindy came up with the great idea of a train ride for a theme this month. She based her meal plans on foods from different cities. So each day is a different city. If you eat 12 meals on their journey, you get the 13th one free. Today’s menu was based on foods from Billings, MT, and featured:

• Wild Bill Hickok Apple Cider Spritzer
• Calamity Jane Rolls & Ginger Cream
• Big Sky Braised Beef with Dijon Cider Sauce
• Yellowstone Horseradish Mashed Potatoes
• Glacier Apple Bars and Chai Ice Cream
• and Orchard Coffee, Teas, & Water

The next city on their stop is St. Paul, MN. I’m going to try to convince my mom that we need to go. I don’t think it will take much convincing.

It was a very fun way to spend our morning, and I hope to go back to get more apples. (There are also 2 adorable little coffee mugs that were tan and had a cream band pattern around the middle, and they were calling my name. Even though I don’t drink coffee. Or really anything besides water and milk. But I can put water in them, and it’s just as sophisticated, right?)

Bradley enjoyed rocking in the rocking chair while I talked to Jan. He was red-cheeked and plumb tuckered out by the time we left. But as soon as we pulled in the driveway, he said, “Go to the apple orchard again!” I tell you, I almost turned that car right around and went back! But I restrained myself–and went inside and ate some donuts instead.

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