Avila Barn and Gopher Glen

My husband, parents and I visited the Avila Barn and Gopher Glen Apple Farm this weekend to pick up pumpkins and cider.

Traditionally the Avila Barn is a great spot to buy the freshest locally grown seasonal fruit and vegetables, among other edible treats. During Halloween, you can pick your own pumpkin or choose one from the mounds of pumpkins piled high. There are hayrides, a hay bale maze and farm pets.

Besides our Jack-O-Lantern pumpkins, my husband picked up a couple of sugar pumpkins to make a soup he learned off of Alton Brown’s show. The original recipe called for goat cheese, but it’s actually much better with cream cheese.

After the Barn we were off to Gopher Glen Apple Farm, which has the hands down best apples on the Central Coast. Here, multiple apple products and several apple varieties are available for you to try samples of, and then you can select whichever is your favorite by the bagful.

Apples are amazing, but what I go for is the apple cider: sweet, juicy apple cider. Last year I bought a gallon of cider and between my husband and I, it was gone within a week. This year I bought two gallons, muahahaha!