An Apple a Day: Indian Ladder Farms

I don't do donuts (except in rental cars).

OK I take that back. If the line wasn't so long I think I would have LOVED to snarf one down. The air last weekend out at Indian Ladder Farms in nearby Altamont smelled delicious: sugar and cinnamon and hot oil and grass and damp and earth and a bit of fall spice. BigSis and I each took a deep breath, parked the Zenamobile across the street in the Pumpkin Picking lot, and started to explore.

Take out line for cider donuts. A picnic area is up the hill on the right.

It was only11:00 a.m. and already there were cars coming at the place in both directions, parked in the lots or on the grass.  I generally hate crowds, noisy kids make me cringe, as do doting parents, but still it was pretty exciting, like a fair almost, with bins and bins of squashes and apples and gourds and the band setting up for live music and BBQ at 12:30.  No zombies to worry about, so I could just relax.

Lots of pumpkins - you can also pick your own

The store was fun to poke around in, but the checkout line was pretty long. TIP: Go into the adjacent barn area with apples and dairy stuff and pay the cashier there instead.

Lunch bombed. We waited almost 15 minutes at the sit-down dining area, the Yellow Rock Cafe, and nothing was moving. There were folks all crammed around the entry way, yet no one came to the door to organize those waiting, and so we said forget it. Maybe next time.....

OOOOH but I DO love apples, and it IS apple season. Indian Ladder has a load of varieties to choose from. I bought a basket of McCouns - crisp, not too tart, white flesh, juicy (like me) - the best that fall has to offer for eating out of hand. BigSis got a small basket of Honey Crisp. We both crunched into one as we wandered back to the car.

Yes, the farm was overrun with visitors - Indian Ladder is THE place for many families to return to year after year, and ILF has tried to keep up, including a new brewery and a tasting room (very cool!), and there are plenty of staff on hand to help out. Right now they are doing U-pick pumpkins and raspberries, as well as apples. Loud and lively.

U-Pick Raspberries

So much for finding peace in the country. But it's still a lovely place, and not far from the big city (of Albany).

xxx Zena, Goddess of Fire, Devourer of McCouns

The squashes were $1.29 a pound, which I thought was expensive - we WERE at the farm, FYI...