Joyfully Retired

The purpose of this weekly feature is to share some of the places we’ve been. They are places that stay with us for one reason or another.

This week’s Favorite Place is: 

Apple Orchards in Northern California

Most people don’t think of California when they think of growing apples. If asked, most people will tell me Washington State. But here I am driving the back roads in Northern California and I see apple orchards. What’s the story?

 It turns out that Sonoma County (about an hour north of San Francisco) used to be covered with acres of Gravenstein apple trees. Back in the 1950′s we visited a great aunt and uncle on their apple farm in this area. I remember those Gravenstein apples. They were very juicy with a slight tart taste. I recall canning jars of applesauce that we brought home with us. Gravensteins are also good for pies and cider.

Gravenstein apples are wonderful but  there is a problem – they don’t keep well. They ripen here in July and August but must be used in season. As a consequence, today there aren’t very many commercial orchards left like the one picture above. Sadly, there are abandoned orchards like the one below.

What has moved in to replaced the Gravenstein orchards? Vineyards – miles and miles of grape vines that crawl up and over the hills. This is Wine Country, although not as sophisticated as the neighboring county of Napa. The town of Sebastopol is the heart of Sonoma County and it still holds an Apple Festival every year to celebrate this special apple. That’s a good thing so if you are going to be in Northern California during July/August, keep this in mind. It’s a beautiful rural area with both orchards and vineyards. It’s one of our Favorite Places.

*If you would like to join us in this weekly feature, please do. Post a picture on your blog, go to the comment section here and leave your link. Visit others who share their Favorite Places. Feel free to borrow the button.