The whole point of going all the way to California to celebrate my 50th was for a big girls weekend in Tahoe. Me. My best friend Katie. My sister. Random other people. I woke up Friday morning, ready to go! And… it snowed snowed in Tahoe Thursday night. I had no winter clothes. No chains for the rental car. Tahoe was a no go. I was sad.
Katie to the rescue! Sonora was just down the hill, and Sonora is a beautiful, old town in the heart of California gold country. Even better? No snow.
We had a wonderful lunch at a local eatery, and then mosey’d through town peeking through windows, soaking in the sun & scenery. Not ready to call it a day, we hopped back in the car to drive out to Indigeny Reserve Cider Works and Distillery.
Indigeny Reserve is a lush 160 acre preserve and apple orchard set in the breathtaking hills of Sonora, California. We make hand-crafted hard cider and apple brandy in oak barrels.
It is beautiful. From the moment we drove through the wooden covered bridge, till the moment we left we were awe-struck by it’s beautiful location and gorgeously maintained grounds. Our eyes feasted on the scenery and our taste buds sprung alive with the delicious, cool, apple and blackberry ciders.
We wandered the grounds, cider in hand in red solo cups, my sister rebelling against set rules on drinking off property. The air was crisp, warm in direct sunlight, and everything smelled fresh and clean. We giggled and talked and relaxed and enjoyed. Honestly? I could’ve spent an entire day under the California oaks, sipping cider and just being.
But we finished our cider and headed back up to the mountain for a night of home-cooking, girl-talk and laughter till the early hours of the morning. Well, not so much me. My jet lagged kicked in and won. Not that I was sad, instead of Tahoe we had not just Sonora, but also Columbia gold town and Yosemite National Park on the schedule!
My adventures in the states, my extended birthday, have been beyond amazing. I wish I could bottled up all the smells, tastes, sights and take them out whenever I am a little home-sick. For now the pictures have to do, thank God for camera’s & photo’s. I am loving looking back already. It’s only been days.
Indigeny Cider Works and Distillery
A covered bridge!
side view
Katie & Manon enjoy blackberry & apple cider
Some people are rebels!
View of the distillery from the covered bridge.
Pumpkins are coming for the pumpkin patch
How to get 3 people in one selfie… stealth style
Someone may have had to much cider
My hometown. So glad you enjoyed your visit. The snow was a freak, one day thing, but it sounds like it didn’t ruin your trip any. I hope you enjoyed Yosemite, too.
We have a cabin in June Lake and traveled up there to enjoy the crisp fall air and see if the leaves had turned yet and what did we wake up to — snow! So I know how you feel. Fortunately it wasn’t enough to stop us from driving around and enjoying the beautiful mountains all covered with the first snow of the year. Unfortunately for a lot of people, they closed the east entrance to Yosemite. A lot of disappointed people. Hopefully it was just an anomaly and we are going to try again for the elusive autumn colors next week. Enjoy your time in the states.
I love girl’s time – this looks like a very good time!
I wish we had gotten home from our holiday sooner and could have met up. Looks like you had a fantastic time.
That would’ve been wonderful! I’ve seen so much, visited with so many…. and there’s so much I still missed.
[…] my two glorious weeks in California (The Golden Gate;Birthday!; Indigeny; Yosemite; Sacramento) and three amazing days in Minnesota (The Tale of the Squirrel), I flew to […]