Apple Run


Fall is in the air and one od the things that means is it is time to ride to Ellijay and buy a fried apple pie with a scoop of ice cream at R and A Orchards who are celbrating their 60th year of operations. I've been making the trip for many years since from friends introduced me to the whole deal back in 1987. And as seems the custom, we bought a gallon of apple cider for hot cider on cooler nights and my wife bought half a peck of rome beauties for baking an apple crisp and and apple pie.

I always wondered why Ellijay ended up the apple capital of Georgia. It seems in the 1920s when the cotton boll weevil killed the entire cotton crop for the county and left farmers devistated. Some had been growing apples as well and offset some of the losses on the cotton crop with the income from apples. By the mid 1920s, the county had given up on the troubles trying to grow cotton and turned its attention to apples.

Now days, Ellijay has 19 businesses selling apples on GA Hwy 52, 515, and 282.



On the return trip, we stopped in Dawsonville and finally tried a spot that has been recommended to me by several motorcycle buddies, Dogs and Hogs BBQ. Everytime I have ridden past it, I've always paid close attention to the wonderful smells from the smoker. So, it was good to finally get to sample their cooking. We were greeted by a line that was outside the door and lined along the building waiting to order. Standing in line, we wondered where we would sit as all of the plastic patio furniture inside were occupied, but suprisingly tables were available by the time we had food.

Dogs and Hogs cooks smoked bbq (apply your own sauce) and the flavor was good especially after I gave it a topping of their hot bbq sauce. We give a nod to another good place to eat in Dawsonville.

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