Tehachapi Apple Show

For a couple of months, a sheet of paper in Stace's handwriting marked "Edwards Air Show - Oct. 17th" has graced center spot on our fridge.

The Air Force Base hasn't staged the show since 2006, so Stace was pretty excited. Apparently, so was the rest of Southern California.

We left the house around 10, got up near the correct freeway onramp about 11, and then waited in a long, slow line of cars for more than a half hour. When we got off the freeway and got nearer the base, traffic reached a complete standstill just in sight of a sign stating: "14 miles to main base."

With a line of cars ahead of us as far as the eye could see, we decided to turn around. Instead, we headed northwest to Tehachapi. Tehachapi this time of year is known for its apple orchards, and since I have fond memories of going to apple harvest events in Oak Glen, out in San Bernardino County, I thought it would make for a fun family day.

It was! My friend Allison from the Valley Press directed us to the Apple Shed restaurant, where we had apple pie and picked up a map of the various orchards. Tehachapi is an adorable town, and we really enjoyed our drive through. We stopped at two orchards, and bought apples at one and cider and apple syrup at another.

At the place we bought apples, which we chose from large boxes in sight of the apple trees, the family let Cora pick one of the crab apples from the tree in their yard. You can see her reaction to her taste of the fruit - yes, it was Stace who was encouraging her to bite into it. She said it tasted like lemon.

The next photo shows her trying the cider - yum! Not alcoholic, since we're in America, and alcoholic cider is called "hard cider."

Then, on the way back home, we stopped in Palmdale for a bite to eat (I was feeling pretty awful by this time) and a look at the airplanes at Blackbird Airpark. Since Cora had been told she was going to an airplane show, and then was sad when we turned around, this was our way to make it better.

Lastly, here's a pic showing how Cora fixed her laces while we were on our long drive to Tehachapi.