As American as Apple Pie

I was never much of a sweet tooth as kid, not like most of my friends. I was always excited about Halloween, but I'd just end up giving ninety percent of my candy to my mom, picking out the boring Hershey bars and Three Musketeers for myself. And when my mom would offer to take me out for a sundae after a day of shopping, I'd usually agree, but when it came time to order I'd always ask for a hamburger and french fries instead. 

Thirty years later, not much has changed. I could easily go the rest of my life without having another piece of candy, and I still don't understand why so many people go all melty just at mention of the word chocolate. What I do like, though, are desserts. A simple piece of cheesecake is always good, and few things can top the hot fudge cake at Bob's Big Boy, but my favorite has to be apple pie. 

My mom -- just like yours, maybe -- makes the best apple pie out there. The apples are finely sliced, there's just the right amount of cinnamon and sugar, and the crust is crumbly and crunchy at the same time. It's the pie I grew up with, the highlight of Thanksgiving and Christmas every year, so it's the pie that I'll always love. 

I found a close second yesterday at the Julian Pie Company. Historic Julian is a tiny little town about thirty minutes from an only slightly-less-tiny town two hours south and east of Long Beach. Since we make the trip about once a year or so and my sister and her family happened to be vacationing nearby, we packed the kids into the van, slid SpongeBob into the DVD player, and hit the road. 

You can walk Julian's main street from end to end in about five minutes, which might make you wonder about the sense of the two-hour drive, but there's enough to do to make it worth your while.  Our first stop was for lunch at the Cowgirl Cafe, a tiny little place with a friendly woman who served up burgers, hot dogs, and chili with a smile.  She suggested a place down the street for wine tasting, the Witch Creek Winery. The four of us (Leslie and I, my sister and her husband) did our best to savor the bouquets and tastes of the various wines presented to us, but we were more than a bit distracted as Alison, Henry, Kate, and their two cousins bounced off the walls and eventually out the door.  We ended up buying two bottles, a white and a red.

After spending thirty minutes swishing wine across our palates, we had apple pie on our minds, so we walked five blocks to the other end of the main drag and bought pie and cookies at the Julian Pie Company.  (My slice is pictured above, if you're curious, you can order a pie through the mail.)  Sure, the pie was sinfully delicious, but the best part was the outdoor dining area hidden behind the pie shop.  Protected by the overreaching branches of dozens of mature trees, we sat sheltered from the ninety-degree Julian heat.  I'm guessing at least twenty to thirty diners could have sat comfortably there, but we had it all to ourselves -- our own private oasis.  

We four adults sat peacefully, savoring the quiet conversation as much as the pie, as the five cousins finished their chosen desserts and then actually played quietly for a while on a backyard swing before everything exploded into a raucous game of hide and seek.  Really, though, the day wasn't so much about wine tasting or apple pie, it was about these five cousins, laughing and playing and getting to know each other again after being apart for much too long.  Mission accomplished.

Comments

[Joann Ludwig]

This certainly warms a grandmother's heart. Love to you all.

[Julie Sundstrom]

What a wonderful story about our day in Julian. Our picture of the kids came out well, too and I have a copy to give Grandma Joann. I read this to Emma and Rett and they enjoyed reliving it through your eyes and seeing their picture on the computer. We had such fun seeing you all the many times during our vacation, and look forward to the next time!