A little tired of apples.  Note to self:  never buy a bushel of apples no matter how fun it is to pick them off the trees.

Took our bikes out on the Hampton Spur this past weekend.  The Hampton Spur is a bike path project that runs from the circle at Frederica and Lawrence Roads to Hampton Point on the north end of the Island – something like 6.5 miles.  It’s really quite nice… with benches along the way for little pitstops, markers to show you how far you’ve gone and what elevation you are at.  The St Simons Land Trust is currently trying to raise money for the final leg of the project, the first half being donated by some Sea Island resident as a gift.

The Hampton Spur runs along the Sea Island Stables (moved from the old location at the corner of Frederica & Sea Island Rd) and passes Frederica, Sea Island’s most recent development on the north end.  Both are apparently in foreclosure and due to be sold soon to a buyer waiting in the wings… so it will be interesting to see what happens there.  The path also will take you to the new Frederica Park.  20 acres of land was donated by the Sea Island Company, planned in conjunction with the Land Trust and scheduled to open soon.  It’s going to feature playing fields and nature trails along with parking and facilities… so you won’t have to pee behind the bushes, I guess.

Back to our bike ride… we ended up driving up to Oglethorpe Elementary and taking our bikes out from there… rode up about 3 miles before turning around and heading back.  I’ve been told there was a guy riding his bike on the path and saw someone he knew driving down Lawrence Rd… so he waved.  Apparently his timing was bad – he waved just as the path approached a street crossing where poles that been place to prevent larger vehicles from driving onto the path. He hit the pole and crashed and was seriously injured.  So even something as simple as our little back path, with no hills, no curves… and nothing that would merit it as being dangerous, can be a hazard if you feel compelled to wave at everyone you know… there’s something to be said about not being neighborly…

Anyway, I plan on taking advantage of the Hampton Spur… and looking forward to the new park!

Wrapped up another trip to Black Mountain… I think this is the most time I’ve spent at the cabin.  From Atlanta it’s only a 3.5 hour trip as opposed to 6 hours from St. Simons Island… and since I’ve been coming up to Atlanta a lot for meetings, it’s just awfully convenient to head on up there afterwards.

Well, it’s apple season so we went apple picking.  Jonagold, Mutsu, Golden Delicious and Fujis were the bulk of the apples we picked.  I also picked up some Arkansas Blacks at a farmer’s market, which I’d never heard of before, but was told they were good cooking apples.  I bought them more because we had seen them on the trees at the u-pick place but they were roped off for a school group to come pick… and they looked so bizarre… all these black apples hanging off a tree.  We though they were rotten at first.  Of course, the ones I got at the market are simply dark red… not even close to looking like black.

I’m always amazed by the food up in Black Mountain.  Local, fresh and delicious.  We asked around at a morning tailgate market for breakfast suggestions and were referred to a few places.  We chose Sprout, a little place that used to be a garden center.  The food was all locally grown, the coffee was locally roasted, and all of it was great.  While sitting down to breakfast, we began talking about what we should do that day.  A couple of ladies heard us and started to run down a list of things we could do.  So by the end of our meal, what looked to be a quiet Saturday in Black Mountain, turned into a busy day all over the area.

So now, I have a fridge full of apples.  So I guess tomorrow, I start making pies… and cakes… and perhaps a tart or two. Will post photos if they come out pretty enough.