FUN TRIP TO OAK GLEN

Every year, in October, I take a drive up to Oak Glen. It's about 1 1/2 hours from me. Oak Glen is a darling little town that is best known for all the apple orchards.

They have cute shops like the one above. Several resturants, petting zoos and lots of apple things.



This is one of our normal stops. I'm not sure but I think it used to be a big barn.

When we stop here, we do a little shopping and then we always get a caramel apple and sit outside to eat it.

This is Yodeling Merle. He sits outside and sings and yodels to entertain the crowds. He has been there for years and years. Some times when he isn't there we wonder if he is OK or if he has retired.

So, when we pulled up and he was there, we were happy. He is a very nice man and somehow our trip to Oak Glen just isn't complete without him.

I put on a cute little dress and went out back to pick up some eggs. A chicken found her way to my shoulder and a cute little bunny just wouldn't leave my side.

Everywhere had pumpkins. They made great back drops for families taking pictures.

Normally we go to shop and have lunch but this trip we were on a mission for apples. Lots of apples.

I wanted to get a lot of fresh picked apples so I could can apple pie filling, applesauce and apple butter.

What better place to get them. We didn't want to go pick our own. It sounds more fun then it really is. It was hot out and everyone was coming back looking like they were going to die. So we just paid our money and got the ones already picked.

They have lots of good cookbooks but this year we didn't get one.

I always make a stop over to say hi to this guy. Or girl. I'm not sure how to tell. It has beautiful long eye lashes and always tries to stick it's head out and take a bite of my hand. I think he thinks I have food.



If you ever wondered what the difference between the apples were, Oak Glen is the place to find out. You can try any and all the different apples. These people know their apples and can tell you the best ones for what it is your looking for. Could be for eating, canning, baking or making caramel apples. They know which one is best to use.

This is my favorite place to stop. It used to be a little hide away. But then, more and more TV shows have talked about it and now the secret is out.

People come to have picnics outside.

The reason these people are lined up and waiting is the main reason most people come here though.

It's fresh Apple Cider donuts are the best in the world! When we first started coming here they made them by hand and you would have to tell one of the workers you wanted donuts. They would then go pour the batter by hand and cook them up for you.

Now it's done with machines. But, the taste is as good as ever.

As fast as these babies were made, they were purchased and gobbled up. They coat them in sugar and cinnamon then put them in a little bag and sell them by the dozen.

They also have a shop filled with all sorts of goodies to buy. I was looking for sticks to use for caramel apples. I asked the lady if she sold them and she said no. But, she gave me a stack for free. That's how sweet these people are here.

They also have a little antique shop in the back.

We then moved on to the next stop. This place has a petting zoo. This has been added since the last time I went but seemed to be a hit with the kids.

Lots of people were here, listening to music and eating BBQ and grilled corn. Plus they had a bakery full of sweet goodness.

I purchased some Apple Blossom Honey, a small jar of apple butter, a gallon of fresh pressed Apple Cider and some items I'll use for canning.

Also new, was this area where you could press your own Apple Cider.

They gave you the apples and you would grind them up, use a hand crank to press the pulp down and squeeze the cider out.

The cider pours out and into this big bowl. All fresh, handmade and just like they used to do 100 years ago.

It's poured into your own glass bottle and capped off. Ready for your enjoyment at home. YUM!

So, we came home with pounds and pounds of apples that are now waiting for me to get to work on and turn them into yummy recipes to last through out the year.

I've been doing a lot of canning this year to give as gifts for Christmas this year. I'm sure the Apple Pie filling, applesauce and apple butter will make a great addition to the other items I'm giving.

THE PAST WAS JUST MOMENTS AWAY...

Every year, my two sisters, Trinity and I, take a drive up to Oak Glen. It's a darling little town with shops and restaurants. Apple orchards are the big draw there. You can go and pick your own apples, have apple pie, make cider and eat caramel apples.

It's always a fun trip.

But, this year, we took a different way into town. By doing so we came across a whole new area we didn't even know was there.

It is called Riley's Farm. This is so fun. It's like taking a step back in time. Sort of a mini Williamsburg in VA.

Riley's farm is set up sort of like a Colonial town. All the workers are dressed up in costumes. There are several workshops you can join in to learn what life was back in 18th Century.

Their gift shop is set up like a little store would have been set up. They only sold toys, hats, books and things that would have been able to be purchased in that time.

Lot's of schools go here on field trips. Here they can learn first hand their history lesson. Much better then reading about it or even watching a film.

The children are shown and taught about the toys from that era. Here you see the children playing with a hoop and a stick.

It was fun to see how these children of today, that have every kind of a toy available to them, getting so much enjoyment out of such a simple toy.

There was a blacksmith showing them how pans, plates, horseshoes and such were made by hand.

Then we noticed this larger white building and decided to go check it out.

As we got closer we noticed it was a resturant. Since it was lunch time and we were all hungry we thought it would be fun to eat here.

Here is one of the workers in costume just walking the streets of the town as they would have been in every day life.

We took a peek at the menu before we all agreed there were several items that looked interesting to us.

You can click on the photo to enlarge and see the menu better.

Inside there was fire going. Nice and cozy since it was a bit chilly out. There are no lights in here. Only candle light. After all they didn't have lights back then.

They even had a wall where the guns were hung.

This was our waitress. She was nice enough to allow me to take her photo.

I ordered a pot pie. Mine was a veggie pot pie but you could get a chicken or beef one if you were a meat eater.

All dishes came with sliced tomatoes and a piece of melted cheese. Turns out that was often done in the 18th century.

Both of my sisters ordered the open face Roast Beef. There was a slice of homemade bread, mashed potatoes and the roast beef was on top. Of course yummy brown gravy was poured over the top.

This was a common hearty meal often eaten in the Colonial times.

But kids can still order a meal common from today. Grilled cheese and chips was Trinity's pick. She also got a dish of fresh fruit but I forgot to put it back on the plate for the photo.

The drinks were served in pewter mugs. Boy do they keep your drinks cold.

Patty and Trinity ordered a mug of hot chocolate. It was by far the best hot chocolate any of us had taste before. Those were served in clay mugs.

Now of course, we were still in Oak Glen. Oak Glen is known for the apples. So for dessert there was apple pie, caramel apples, apple dumplings and french apple pie.

Sadly we were all to full to order dessert but everything looked great.

We then went to another area to pick apples and raspberries. After we paid we found out both the seasons were over so we got a refund.

We all agreed, next year we will go earlier so we can do some picking.

We then left Riley's Farm and went to the part of town we normally do. Where we shopped and walked around for awhile before going home.

We all agreed that Riley's farm was the best part of the day and were happy to discover it.

We can't wait to go back.