Apples, apples everwhere!

For those of you who don't know, Nebraska was home to J. Sterling Morton - the founder of Arbor Day. Every year during September, just as the weather starts to change and the mornings are crisp and cool - Nebraska City hosts the annual Applejack Festival. It's a great place to learn (at Arbor Tree Farm), to stay (at Arbor Lodge), to shop (Craft Shows), to watch a great parade, to feel the beginnings of fall, or to eat amazing food.

I'm reminded of Forrest Gump when Bubba is naming everything you can do with shrimp, only with apples (which seem to be much more versatile than shrimp!).

There's ways to prepare apples:
apple pie
apple turnovers
applesauce
apple cider
apple donuts
caramel apples
fried apples
baked apples
dried apples
apple wine
apple beer
apple brats
apple sausage
apple chicken salad

and there's activities to do with apples:
dunking for apples
apple pie-eating contest
apple parades
apple crafts
apple picking

and there's so many kinds of apples to eat or bake with:
jonathan
red delicious
golden delicious
jonagold
fuji
gala
granny smith
braeburn
pink lady
macintosh
cameo
and probably hundred more!

So even though I have homework projects piled up to my eyeballs, and I'm fighting a sinus infection (probably from losing sleep over the homework); I took a few hours on Sunday to participate in the annual fall kickoff craft show frenzy. We shopped our way from one side of town to the other, we had apple pie, we got rosy cheeks from the crisp fall breeze, we bought crafts (apple related and not), and we bought apples in many forms!

So if you're ever in the area, I highly recommend a few hours with the great people of Nebraska City. And if by chance you're in the mood for apples - there's no place better than Union Orchard (just north of town) - where I got the most wonderful apple pie to take home (it was still warm from the oven)!

Mmmm, apple pie a-la-mode anyone?