Riley's Los Rios Rancho in Oak Glen, California

At the base of the San Bernardino mountains about an hour and a half east of Los Angeles sits a small apple growing community that gives meaning to the phrase "as American as apple pie". One of these apple farms is Riley's Los Rios Rancho, a historic apple farm in SoCal, and this was our destination on a lazy Saturday afternoon.

Once you start heading up the lower slopes where Los Rios Rancho is located, you start finding yourself transported into a different world, that of one of a time when things were much simpler. The air is chilly up here, the folks friendly. I wanted my kids to experience the essence of autumn, and I found it here. If you want to pick your own apples, you can come here around the end of August to mid-November, but I wanted the kids to come when the leaves have really changed color. The trees in the orchards were bare at this time, but don't fret even if you come now as the farm's shop have plenty of apples of many varieties to sample.

There's also apple butter of many, many varieties to try out. I couldn't find the white egg and jalapeno one, but I will continue looking on my return trip here. Next weekend is actually the Apple Butter Festival here, so this would be a good time to go if you're interested.

Fresh baked apple pies abound.

C and J got some caramel apples to take home. They were Granny Smiths which are not my favorites, but the kids loved them.

We sampled some cider.

And then we really wanted to press our own apple cider as this handsome hunk was demonstrating, but alas, they had already taken the last group in.

So we settled for fresh already-pressed apple cider. It was absolutely delicious and sweet.

I saw this hound sitting there at the apple cider demo area and just had to take a photo. His little owner said that he's not that bright, but just look at him. By the way, there is a petting zoo and also hayrides offered at the farm, but we didn't have time to do these.

Cooking up some tri-tip just outside of the bakery. Smelled wonderful, but the lines were too long.

Now, like I said we didn't just come here for the food. After a lovely picnic, we took a nice, two hour hike on the trails of the adjacent Oak Glen Preserve. Both this preserve and Riley's are maintained by the Wildlands Conservatory. They've done an amazing job, because look at this beautiful picnic area on the trails that is just beyond the apple orchard itself.

You'll also pass huge Sequoais, pretty ponds full of birds, one of which has this floating dock.

Then as you follow the seasonal stream, you'll enter this deciduous forest. Doesn't it look like something out of a fairy tale or Anne of Green Gables?

On the return trail, you'll walk along a boardwalk through wetlands, which I'm planning to return to in the spring because I've read that there will be butterflies then. We spent a bit of time here on the return trail.

We had our picnic under gorgeous red Japanese maples. In a nutshell, I was in heaven.

How do you and your family celebrate autumn in your neck of the woods?

Riley's at Los Rios Rancho is located at 39611 Oak Glen Rd. #13, Oak Glen, CA (909) 797-1005

Pumpkin Patch at the La Verne Heritage Park

Those of you in SoCal still have time to get to this little gem of a pumpkin patch in La Verne. Today is the last day they're open. If you can't make it, there's always next year.

I was tipped off to this event by my friend, so when she took her kids to go, I took mine along. This pumpkin patch is sponsered by the La Verne Heritage Foundation and is located at Heritage Park in the city of La Verne east of Los Angeles. At the park sits the historical Weber House and its citrus groves. For a few weeks in October, the pumpkin patch is open to kids and adults alike. It's much less crowded than that of Cal Poly Pomona's, and more fun, and entrance is free!

Want a pot belly pig? They're on sale here for $150 and are suppose to make very good pets. Can we say George Clooney?

The kids had the best time feeding these friendly goats. There is hay nearby to feed the goats with, but we found out the goats loved the citrus leaves more. They (the goats) were very tolerant of the wild (human) kids.

C and J were afraid at first, but they did end up holding these adorable baby chicks.

For two bucks a person, you can ride on this tractor that takes you on a five minute trip around the grove.

Of course we had to buy a pumpkin to support the foundation. They have them in all shapes and sizes. There are also photo ops with giant pumpkins, cut-outs, scarecrows, and opportunities to pet bunnies and hold larger chicks. At the park itself is a cute playground for the children.

If you check their website, the La Verne Heritage Foundation also has other events here throughout the year. Have a great Halloween, everyone, and keep safe.

The Pumpkin Patch at Heritage Park is located at 5001 Via de Mansion, La Verne CA, 909-593-2862

Fullerton Arboretum

A little known gem in SoCal is this little arboretum located on the campus of Cal State Fullerton. The entrance fee is donations only, and the grounds are beautiful with a pond full of ducks and turtles and sometimes other wildlife. There's a cute children's garden, a historical building to tour, and a gift and garden shop. And there are fruit trees and plants galore.

Now, a few years ago, I was admiring the fruit on the trees when I noticed the do not pick sign nearby. But my friend tipped me off to the fact that that policy has been changed, and you are allowed to pick a few fruit. The day we came, the caretaker actually helped us pick some of these gorgeous persimmons. My middle son, J, and I went with my friend and her daughter, and it was fun for both adults and children. Here's our loot from left to right: pomello, pomegranate, a non-astringent persimmon, and an astringent persimmon.

I didn't pick them, but we also saw tons of oranges, chestnuts, and guava, and my friend told me there were apples there a week ago, but they were all harvested by the time we went.

These next two photos are from a previous visit, but here's the historical building next to the pond:

A bird getting its food from the pond (yeah, that's one dead fish):

This year's crop of pumpkins from their very own pumpkin patch:

The Fullerton Arboretum is located at 1900 Associated Road, Fullerton CA (714) 278-3579