GOING UP THE HILL... with the notion of going back down the hill with a backseat brimming with shiny orbs of crunchy fruit goodness is a pursuit many a SoCaler takes part in each autumn. And while we have a few hills in the region, only a special few are especially laden with fruit. Citrus, yes, and the occasional stone fruit, but we have apples in mind, come the fall, and when one puts apples and the fall together, and hills and trips, one naturally thinks of Julian. The town and the stem-topped fruit bowl staple are a longtime duo, and whether daytrippers venture into the wilderness northeast of Julian to enjoy pie or picking, it can be a big day out. Really big, and sometimes too much for mere daytripping. Enter the Julian Hotel, a mainstay of Main Street, a building hailing from another century with the comforts of now. Autumn and the holidays make the historic inn bustle, that's for sure, but the hotel is nice enough to host a stay-over special right smack dab in the middle of all of the apple-based doings. So if you're planning on going up for picking or pie or gold-panning or strolling or craft-shopping or ye-old-West-y enjoyment, consider booking a room for...
NINETY FIVE BUCKS... a night. For sure, there's some fine print to know, as there is with all things, such as minimum stays and such, but if you're bent on reveling in all of the area's apple-o-sity for a day or longer, this could be your bed-down spot for your trip. The orchards in the region are in full come-and-pick time, but you can also just meander about Main Street, poking into shops and pie-ing it up, if pie is your favorite food. (Or even your 20th favorite food; surely pie is in the top 20 for most people?) Apple Days, the full-on festival, falls over the final weekend in September, but the autumn-meets-apple-time fun stretches before and after Sept. 26 and 27. Need a dose of fall with a hotel deal to boot? Start here, apple aficionado.
