AN AUTUMN APPLE ADVENTURE

TALE OF TWO RUNAWAYS  Sometimes Monty and I like to run away. Sometimes we plan ahead. Sometimes it is a spur-of-the-moment, can't-take-it-anymore, gotta-get-away runaway. This week we planned the night before to run away and buy apples in the north Georgia mountains. Yes, we could have gone to Walmart to buy apples. But where’s the fun in that?

A RUBY RIDE  On this October morning, the skies were a brilliant shade of blue, not a cloud in the sky. The air whipping around us was warm and as the scenery flew past we saw splashes of orange and red leaves, a preview of the autumn color that will burst forth in the next two weeks. It was a perfect day for “A Ruby Ride”, which involves the two of us with our hair whipping in the wind, riding in our little red Miata – we call her Ruby – with the convertible top down.

Carmen, our trusty Garmin, (Yes, we do have a habit of naming inanimate objects.) guided us with her soothing voice through the back roads to Blue Ridge.  With Monty at the helm, Ruby hugged the curves of the road over scenic Fort Mountain. It was a glorious day!  It is true that if you are lucky enough to be in the mountains, you are lucky enough!

MEGA MERCIER  The 200-acre Mercier Orchards in Blue Ridge is not just an apple farm – they also grow peaches, nectarines, blueberries, sweet cherries and blackberries. Since it was our first visit to Mercier we weren’t exactly sure what we would find.  We quickly realized that is is not your roadside farm stand.  The place was buzzing with so many people and cars that they had someone directing traffic into the parking lot!

Once inside the retail market we were pleasantly surprised at the size of the market, the variety of items, and the smells assaulting our noses! The aroma from the bakery was that of apples and breads and fried pies.

CIDERS, JELLIES AND JAMS  As we delved deeper into the market, we realized that Mercier offers so much more than the ½ peck of apples we had placed in our cart. There were bottles of fresh cider – we chose Muscadine Cider over the traditional Apple Cider. There were shelves of jams, jellies, honey, spreads, and other gourmet items in dozens of flavors and sizes. We finally settled on a jar each of Applesauce, Apple Butter, and Corn Cob Jelly.

BAKE IT  In the baking section, Monty planned a future Bucks Mountain breakfast by picking out a package of Apple Cinnamon Pancake and Waffle mix. Since I couldn’t decide which one we might like best, I added both a bottle of Apple Syrup and another of Maple Praline Syrup.

There were many choices of dessert mixes, but I finally settled on an Apple Crisp mix along with a No-Bake English Toffee Cheesecake Mix and Key Lime Cheesecake Mix. The smells from the mixes positively made my mouth water. Later at the checkout, the clerk confirmed that I had made good choices. She said the cheesecake mixes were the best!

HOME DECOR AND GIFTS GALORE   Over at the far end of the market, I was pleasantly surprised to find a home décor and gift section to browse. There were kitchen items, farm toys, garden items, walking sticks, bee skeps, tee shirts, hats, and so much more.

BAKERY / DELI DELIGHTS  Once we filled our cart, we made our way to the bakery/deli – the source of all those tantalizing aromas. There were sandwiches and wraps made to order with Premium Boar’s Head meat and a variety of cheeses. To satisfy the sweet tooth, one could choose from fried fruit pies, donuts, pastries, and fresh breads. The fried pie flavors ranged from apple, peach, cherry, blueberry, sweet potato, dried apple, blackberry, apricot, to pecan cranberry apple. Did I mention the muffins, cookies, cupcakes, scones, and homemade cream horns? Oh, and the ice cream – cup or cone – with lots of flavors to choose from!

CIDER 'N PIE  At the deli Monty ordered a cup of hot apple cider and I chose cold apple cider. We took our cups of cider to a cozy little table in the café where we shared one of the delicious fried apple pies. We did our best to keep the moans of pleasure to a minimum at each delectable bite.  It might be illegal to go to Mercier and not eat a fried apple pie.  We're not sure, but that's the rumor.

SPOOF!  The last two weekends in October Mercier Orchards will be hosting their first annual S.P.O.O.F. – which of course stands for Spooky Pumpkin Old Orchard Fest - a Halloween Festival and U-Select Pumpkin Event!

Sat-Sun, October 23-24, 2010
Sat-Sun, October 29-30, 2010
10 am – 4 pm – U-Select Pumpkin Event - $6 for wagon ride and to selection your own special pumpkin!
4 pm – 8 pm – Halloween Fesitval - $6 for a wagon ride to select your own special pumpkin; or purchase a ticket for other Halloween activities that will be available such as Apple Fishing, Buncy House, Face Painting, Spook House, and more!)

HOW TO GET THERE  If you haven’t been to Mercier Orchards, you should plan to visit in October. It’s a great day trip and getaway to the north Georgia mountains!

Here’s what you need to know to get there:

Mercier Orchards
8660 Blue Ridge Drive
Blue Ridge, GA 30513
Phone: 706-632-3411
Toll Free: 1-800-361-7731
Fax: 706-632-2685
Email: customer.service@mercier-orchards.com
Web Site: http://www.mercier-orchards.com/

STORE HOURS:
OPEN ALL YEAR LONG! Mon-Fri 7:00 am TO 8:00 pm; Sat-Sun 7:00 am TO 8:00 pm; CLOSED New Years Day, Easter Sunday, Thanksgiving, and Christmas Day

DRIVING DIRECTIONS:
From Atlanta: Take 575 north to 515 north; follow all the way to Blue Ridge. Turn left on HWY 5 north, Mercier is about a mile and a half on the left.
From Chattanooga: Take US 64 Ocoee road to TN 68; turn right on HWY 5; Mercier is about 12 miles or so on the right.

Happy Apple Pickin' !