Ok, not really. But, yes, back east this time of year wins the gold in my book for best location to enjoy fall foliage-and actually to enjoy fall in every sense of its glory. And, by back east, I am referring to Glastonbury, Connecticut, where I spent the first 13 years of my life.

I’ve asked myself a bunch of times already today why this town is stuck, lingering, in the forefront of my brain since I woke up this morning, and the best that I can come up with is the fact that I dreamed about my old house back there in CT last night. Only, they had made it into a Gothic castle hotel with lion statues that roared when you walked by. So wierd. And, if the lions weren’t enough, I couldn’t find my family anywhere at all once we checked in.

Ugggghhh.

But! On a lighter note, I think they had already made their way over to the Old Cider Mill just down around the corner on Main Street. The Old Cider Mill is the real reason for this post anyhow. And now that I’ve brought you along with me on the creeptastic dream journey to figure out why its all on my mind in the first place, I thank you very much for coming!

Here’s why I think the Old Cider Mill is fantastic. Oh wait!  Here, I conjured up some pictures of it from the nice folks that work for the internet:

Back in it’s day, and by that, I mean the decade of the 1980s and even a little before, because that is the time period in which I thoroughly enjoyed the offerings of this place. When I walked into the Old Cider Mill, the smell of apples was good and thick and I could hear the churning of the mill in the background as I watched the juice from the apples coming down the chute into a great big vat. My memory shows me images of mushed up apples after being squeezed, red apple peel in piles on the floor, even flies buzzing around my head. It was a completely rustic environment, but fascinating. The workers gave me samples of cider in little Dixie cups and I remember sipping it very slowly and carefully as if I were trying to maneuver around the pulp. Most kids think pulp is gross. I was one of them.

Not only did they make apple cider at the Old Cider Mill, they had a petting farm right next to it that I could get a handful of goat food out of the candy machine for a dime. And, I did feed the goats and I remember feeling appalled at the slime the animal left coating my small hand. I gave out a squeal of disgust and scrunched up my face real tight, but turned around and did it again.

You could stock up on your seasonal mums, pumpkins and stalks of hay at the Old Cider Mill. If I remember correctly, my parents always strung up stalks of hay (See, in this picture? They are just in the back, left of center) at the front door of our house. We had so many leaves, by the way! Gosh!

I don’t even know if the Old Cider Mill is still up and running. But based on the little research I just did, it might just be! Because here’s a cool fact: The Old Cider Mill is the oldest, continuously operating Cider Mill in the United States. And that came from a current site from the city of Glastonbury. So, up or not, thank you, Old Cider Mill, for superb fall memories!

I was reading another blog post recently that asked what I missed. Plain as that. “What do you miss?” I miss the Old Cider Mill.

What do you miss?