Every year from the Labor Day weekend until about Thanksgiving, the sleepy town of Camino awakes as it opens its doors to visitors from all over California and neighboring states. Although I have lived in Sacramento for almost 4 years, it was only until last weekend that I saw Camino, more commonly known as Apple Hill in its full glory. My past visits, perhaps two or three of them, were all in the off-season. When my brother swung into town last weekend, we decided to get some apple pie there and boy was I surprised by the change!

The place is alive. People are everywhere and there's a lot of things to do. Following a string of cars who turned off at a particular exit on Carson Road, we found ourselves at the High Hill Ranch. There were staff in bright orange vests who flagged us to our parking spot, right smack in between 2 apple trees in the orchard.

It is typical in my family to first look for food whenever we hit any place. (Yeah, everyone is a foodie in mine) There we found some good eats, and good drinks too. The BBQ Chicken, which can purchased at the back of the main hut facing the pond, makes me want to forget any table manners and lick my fingers. Down that with some freshly squeezed (& *ahem* unpasteurized) apple juice, or if you like, an apple cider shake or even an Australian apple beer, and you get one heck of a satisfying meal.

There's quite a few dessert options to choose-apple pie (whole & slice), apple strudel, apple turnovers, as well as other fruity baked goods. My husband, a self-proclaimed caramel apple connoisseur, ranks their caramel apples above those found in grocery stores. It would make sense since the caramel apples are made fresh and most likely sold on the very same day. Me, I prefer a slice of pie, or fudge. The Fudge Factory is on the ranch as well, and calls out to my sweet tooth almost every time. My favorites there are their dark chocolate covered cherries & apple cider nut fudge. Recently, I tried their Raspberry White Chocolate fudge and found it pretty good, too!

Visitors to Apple Hill would almost always go home with something. While having lunch out on picnic benches, I couldn't help but notice the people walking by with bags of produce, boxes of baked goods and even items from the Crafts fair held on the grounds. Admittedly, the place, like a typical tourist trap, has inflated prices, but it also offers plenty of something for everybody. Its location on highway 50 between Sacramento (50 miles away) and South Lake Tahoe makes Apple Hill the perfect choice for weekend day trips. With more than 50 ranches on the hill, I know I'll be back in the next few weeks to check out a new ranch and discover more good eats.