Searching for Fall

Seth and I set out on Saturday in search of Fall. There have been few signs of Fall in Clemson. It wasn't until this past week that temperatures started to dip below the 80s. Fortunately we were able to catch a glimpse of Fall in Mountain Rest a town 45 minutes Northwest of Clemson.

We started the day off at an apple orchard. I love Farmers market and the apple orchard had the same charm as a Farmers market. We made our way to the central building and taste tested the different apple varieties. We were also able to see some of treats they make with apples. Then we ventured out into the orchard with one apple picker, two buckets, and two big smiles. With Seth's 6'4 frame and this picker we were able to get some apples very high up in the trees.


The trees were not very clearly labeled...so our strategy was to find trees that just had apples up high. A tree with only apples up top had to have good apples. We found out later that our first apples were golden delicious. The apples were enormous.

It took me a while to get the hang of the apple picker. It really looks like a lacrosse stick. You just stick it up and around the apple you want and then pull down. I loved the pop as the apple came off the tree and fell into the apple picker.

This was my first time picking apples. I absolutely loved it. I hope it becomes a Robertson Family Fall tradition.

We ended up picking three types of apples:

Ozark Golden Apples
Winesap Apples


Golden Delicious ApplesThe orchard that we picked at was Bryson's. Look at how charming their mailbox is.

Our next stop was Oconee State Park, located just 9-10 miles from the orchard. We drove on a scenic road. Luckily there weren't any other cars in sight so we were able to slow down, roll the windows down, and enjoy the fresh air.

After stopping in at the Main Office to plan our visit we headed down to the lake. Seth's former co-workers gave him this picnic set as a going away present. It has come in handy on numerous occasions.


After our lunch we walked part way around the lake and spotted some Fall colors. These pictures really don't do the leaves any justice.


Next we hiked to Hidden Falls. This was our first hike since moving to South Carolina...it will definitely not be the last. We ran into very few people on the trail.

We ran into even more wildlife...mostly in the form of bugs buzzing around our ears. Fortunately we were able to run into this turtle. We named him Freddy.





When we arrived home we started looking up recipes to use our apples in. After a quick trip to the store for nutmeg and ice cream I made Apple Crisp. I found the recipe in my American Test Kitchen Cookbook. I have never had an apple crisp recipe with nuts...I think I will never make one without nuts. We of course ate this delicious treat with vanilla ice cream.

Today we made caramel apple pork chops. We will post more of our apple cooking adventures soon.

P.S. Today is 10/10/10.