Too much of a good thing

Today was Grinnygranny's flex day, so I took a day off and we went up to Dixon's for apples. It was their first day. The apple orchard is just past the Cochiti Golf Course fifty miles from Albuquerque. It's down in a valley between two towering bluffs and the area is magnificent. Atn nine thirty in the morning about five miles from the small cinderblock building where you get the apples we hit bumper to bumper gridlock. It took two hours to get to the dirt road that leads down to the orchard. Auntypesty and I joined many others in hiking down to get in line for the apples. By the time we walked the three miles down, waited in the hot sun, got our apples and back up to the gate where the parking is, Grinnygranny and E's girlfriend with her child had finally reached it. We then turned around and went home. Four hours to get four bags of apples (half bushel bag for fifteen bucks). These are Champaign apples, and they are fantastic. There were still cars stacked up at the spot where we hit gridlock four hours earlier. Last year when we went on the second weekend they were out of Champaign apples after the first weekend. This year everyone decided to be there on the first day. It was nuts.

We've been going to get Dixon's apples for twenty five years. There have been years where they had a late frost and didn't open, but most of the time it's always been a nice drive, get the apples maybe have a picnic by the stream that runs through the area under big cottonwood trees then head back. It didn't take more than three hours from the time we left home and got back. Add two hours travel time to the four hours sitting in the hot sun and wasting gas it's just not worth it anymore.

Such a shame. Golden Delicious apples that you get in the grocery store come close to the Champaign, but not quite. We'll have to savor these while we can.

I don't think we'll go back again. Such a shame.

Penni's husband is posting on her caringbridge site. His posts are not encouraging. Please keep her in your prayers.

This was in the Saturday paper.