autumn festivities

andy and i have been attempting to enjoy our days off by taking advantage of the cool crisp weather. and what better way to spend a lovely fall afternoon than a leisurely bike ride through the Pocket?

safety first!

we're also trying to create new "family traditions". andy and his family used to go apple picking every year back in michigan, and i have vague memories of hay rides and apple cider from my home-school days... so we decided to take a trip to apple hill. it's this amazing stretch of orchards in the mountains, just about an hour's drive away.

we started out at rainbow orchards, for lunch. having no prior knowledge of the area, we pretty much followed the crowds, lemming-style. this place was PACKED.

we soon discovered why.

fresh apple cider (with some unremarkable bbq-fare)...
and
hot, crispy, moist and delicious apple cider doughnuts.
as you can see, i took a few rapturous bites before remembering to take a picture.

we wandered for a bit, researching the different bake shops and U-Pick orchards. sadly, we visited too late in the season, so no fruit for us.

we happened upon a small stretch of a "nature trail" transformed for halloween (see the little hanging ghosts in the back?).

all in all, quite a beautiful afternoon and definitely a tradition we'd like to continue in the future.

and yesterday was andy's birthday. took the hubby to dinner at bandera, one of the hillstone group restaurants (cousin of rutherford's grill, for all the PUC fans).




cornbread!
[insert sound of Homer-esque drooling here]




it was our first "date night" in a long time. our interactions have become so routine with our work schedules... twas very nice to have an evening out to celebrate the man in my life. :)