Dixon's Apples time again

Fall arrived with a big harvest moon. It's still in the mid, even high 80s during the afternoon, but it cools off at night. Balloon Fiesta is next week.

We took the boys out early from school on Friday to drive to the Dixon's apple orchard near Cochiti. When we first went to get apples years ago, it opened on a Saturday, and we'd get up early, arriving just as the gates opened so that there wasn't too long a line of cars to wait in. It was fun to arrive early. The boys would climb the trees and run around. It was still cool, and we'd get an order of apple fritters. In years when we sat in the car line, we'd watch for the first signs of people munching apples on their way out as we crept along the final stretch of road into the small canyon at the eastern base of the Jemez mountains.

It's a mecca, with a growing number of folks from Santa Fe and Albuquerque journeying to get a bushel or two of champagne apples and apple cider. The champagne, a sweet, crisp green apple that originally grew wild here, famously runs out during the first weekend, and the remaining apples are often gone by the second weekend. It's the champagne everyone wants. The orchard is the only place to get the apples. It's now a second (actually the third) generation operating the orchard, the founding couple having turned it over to a granddaughter and since passed away. Then they started opening on Fridays, and this year opening day was on Thursday. Jackson remembered that we missed last year to go to Nana & Papa's for Terra's wedding.

Saturday was going to be a busy day, so we planned on Friday afternoon, sneaking in before it closed. After we passed the dam, we made a game of seeing the first person in a passing car eating an apple. We were no worse in the car line as any time before, and no better. A half hour or more later, we parked and pulled our wagon to the next line to enter the shed.

This was our first time in the afternoon. It was warmer. There were some changes made, and that made me a bit sad. The line of people, with their wheelbarrows and wagons, no longer went down the dirt road next to the stone wall beside the orchard. They had removed three rows of apple trees for more parking, and the line went between the parked cars. There was a tent for shade near the entrance, with a Disneyesque queue weaving inside, and a ramp had been built along the side of the shed, where an old dock now served as the new entrance. Inside the shed, it was the same, except by the time we got inside the rows of bins filled with bags of apples were empty. And the cider was already gone, which is really very typical. The other change is that there was an area where you could bag your own.

Still, we were glad we came. We remarked several times while we were there and later the next day how much we enjoy the trip, even though when you describe it to others, you know you can't really give it much justice. It's like going to the balloon fiesta, Cyndi said. You have to go early and wait to get in, but it's worth it if only for the time it gives you to be together outdoors. It's a nice drive, too.

Jack and I got in another line for fritters and cold cider, and later the boys got in the line again by themselves, each clutching two dollar bills for cider. The cider ran out at the concession stand, too, and the boys bought caramel apple rings instead.

By this point, the champagne apples were arriving fresh-picked, and we waited as they washed the apples and bagged them, filling one bin at a time. We filled our wagon with three bags.

We drove to Bernalillo and stopped at the Range Cafe. We've had breakfast and lunch there before, but I can't remember having dinner there. The food was great. As usual, Jackson wolfed down the bean burrito and he loved the fried potatoes that came with it.

Saturday morning, we rushed to get Jackson some shinguards and cleats for his first game later that day. Jackson and Cyndi went to a special church preparation for Jack's First Communion, while Ry and I prepared snacks for the game. We drove straight from the church to the soccer game. Jackson got his uniform and we found a shady spot to set up chairs to watch the game.

Because of a uniform snafu, team uniforms for Spain were not available, so Jack's team is now Holland. Jack must have been the only soccer player to wear a baseball cap, not so good, maybe, for headers, but at his level, there aren't many headers. This was Jack's very first soccer game. He plays a lot of soccer at school recess, and he played well his first game. Not a lot of experience, but good intuition and lots of hustle in playing the ball. He plays the ball well, especially on defense.

Meanwhile, we enjoyed sitting on the sidelines, sitting in our camp chairs in the shade. Cyndi was happy being a soccer mom. We talked with the other parents, joining them in cheering the players. There were an even number of girls and boys on the team. One player on the other team was particularly good. The day was beautiful. Cyndi's sisters, along with Pete, Brendon and Lauren, came to watch during the second half. Ry played with his soccer ball on the side, and he commented how he wanted to play. We plan to get him in basketball later.

At half time, Jackson passed out the first snack...champagne apples, of course. The kids chomped on them, approvingly. Jackson ran off to make sure his coach got one, and he stopped on the field to chat with the coach of the other team and offer him an apple, too. I love that he thinks that way.

That's my Jack story of the weekend. I shared it with Ariel when she called back Saturday afternoon. She and Chris were on their way back from The Gunks, after a day of rock climbing, to the city. Chris got a position with a prestigious lab, and Ariel was very upbeat, even though she wasn't sure this was a good time in the journalism hiring market once she's finished with her program at the end of the year. She'll be here next month for a few days for a wedding of her childhood friend. I talked to Beth, too, and she's doing well, about what would be expected after her surgery.

Here's my Ry story of the weekend. He must have intently listened to David talking about Alaska during Dave's recent visit. His kindergarten class was talking about maps, and the teacher mentioned where Alaska fit on the US map. Ry told his class, yes, and sometimes it doesn't get dark in Alaska. He's a very good listener. Ry likes to explain things that he's learned and he's often chattering and making up songs and word play. I love to listen to him talk. We're playing some board games together at the moment, as Cyndi's working out and Jack went somewhere on his own with Don and Nicholas.

It has been a busy weekend, and more to do today, including a birthday party for Ry to go to. We came home from the soccer game and made hamburgers, ate apples, of course, and made brownies later for a treat. It's so fun to hear the boys play well together, lots of hearty laughing, especially in the mornings. They can be so loving. Jackson is a great hugger. He has a hug or a word for everyone. He's becoming the diplomat, even among his cousins. Ry will stop whatever he's doing and look around for me or Cyndi. When he sees us, he says, I love you.

They can fight, too, and Ry can get quite belligerent and hot-tempered while Jackson will amp the play level until somebody, usually Ry, cries. Ry's testing boundaries, but he can also be so quick to understand and accept things, with a "that's okay" or a "that's right", and then move on. Right now, he peppers a lot of "dang" in his speech. Jackson loves the time he spends with Cyndi one-on-one, and with me he loves the time he and I just have a talk. We just finished a talk.

Here's some shots from the apple trip, but before that there's shots from the day at the amusement park in ABQ.



...and here is some video Jackson shot...



For a comparison, try this link to a 2007 slideshow.