Sometimes, you just need to take a day off work and get out of town, so I chunked all of my duties on Friday and headed north to Blue Ridge with my friend Angela for a day of apple-focused fun. I came home with lots of apple goodies, including this apple cinnamon bread and mulling spices that I enjoyed in my breakfast tea on Saturday!
I'd long heard of Mercier Farms but had never visited. I was expecting a smallish fruit stand like the one I used to go to on the way to Dillard, but this place was huge—and the scenery was gorgeous! We didn't actually pick our apples there at the orchard but instead chose to snap up the pre-bagged ones in the factory shop, which were plentiful.
The bakery was quite popular, and I was stunned there were so many lines (orderly and fast-moving) just to order from the bakery! We both got the apple cinnamon bread and fried pies, and I also came home with apple butter, apple cider jelly, and of course, apples! I got the EverCrisp variety, as I'm told it's a cross between Fuji and Honeycrisp, which are my go-to varieties at the grocery store.
We had a delicious lunch at the Twisted Tomato, and on the way home, Angela humored me by stopping by several antique malls. At one in Ellijay, another popular apple-picking town in Georgia, I found this bicentennial plate and love that it says "Boston Tea Party" at upper left. I'm looking forward to seeing how our country celebrates its semiquincentennial next year, and I plan to be ready with the red, white, and blue. It was a great souvenir of a much-needed getaway day!
Angela! I wish i had known you were that close to me (25 minutes!), I’d have come over and said hello in person! Mercier’s is a fun place, their apple cider doughnuts are my favorite. I’m glad you could enjoy a beautiful fall day in the mountains.
ReplyDeleteThat sure sounds like a fun excursion on a gorgeous autumn day!
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