A Trip To The Franklin Cider Mill

It was a beautiful September day today....I mean November...The sun was shining, it was sweater weather, and I got the wanderlust. So we went to the Franklin Cider Mill in Bloomfield Hills, MI to get some cider before they shut down for the season.

The apples were HUGE this year. We have had hundreds of apples from our two trees but we had to bring some of these monsters home!

They make Apple Cider Vinegar and have maple syrup, honey, jams, condiments, cheese, sausage, and baked goods galore!

 The mill dates back to 1837 so it is as old as the state of Michigan!

We brought home Honeycrisp Apple Cider, made with handpicked apples and unpasteurized.

 The river is full of Mallard ducks. The kids like to feed them.

We also picked up Apple Butter and Pumpkin Butter made with sugar, not corn syrup. My hubby enjoyed a Cider Dog and I had Blueberry pie from the food stand. 

What a nice way to spend a warm November day. 

.

Michigan 101: The Cider Mill

We have been having wonderful weather and so we took a ride to the cider mill where my family went when I was a girl. At least 52 years ago I visited Yates Cider Mill in Rochester Hills, MI. It was established in 1863 and in 1876 began pressing cider for the local apple farmers. They still make cider on the premises.

 

When I was a girl you could buy cider and donuts. Across the street was parking and train tracks were we'd poke around for interesting looking rocks.

Today there are pony rides and train rides and fudge and apple pies and apple butter and donuts and a lot more. It was teeming with families. Most of the folk there had been born way after my first visit 52 years ago! The traffic congestion rivaled rush hour in a major city. And the line for a glimpse of the press and to buy the goodies was long.

 The cider press.

 The goodies.

It is located on the Clinton River.

On the way home we found a huge thrift store and what do you think I found? A biography on John Quincy Adams--that I have not read yet.

I have my artists statement, and the John Quincy Adams quilt is complete, but I need a photograph of myself. The President Quilts will be included in a book on patriotic and political quilts written by Sue Reich. So I need a photo that 1) was taken in the last decade 2) does not make me look dorky and 3) is not a selfie in bad lighting. I sure don't want my quilt to be straddled with an awful artist's portrait.