If you're a foodie or are looking for some good weekend trips, you should really check this book out.I was thumbing through the chapter on the Willamette Valley, and ran across Abbey Road Farms. It's a small goat cheese farm on a beautiful piece of property. Sounded perfect for us. Wine and goat cheese, what's not to love.
Here's the new bride checking out the new baby goats. They had 4 babies and 4 milking goats.
They even let you milk a goat or two in the morning if you want to. Ricardo, their expert goat herder, shows you exactly what to do. He's a one man wrecking crew when it comes to managing this farm. Ricardo can do it all. Much respect to his skills. I got a couple of good squirts from this goat. It's harder than it looks.The Cowgirl tried her hand at goat milking:
And here's how a pro does it:
One other thing that we did that was amazing, besides plenty of good wine and food, was to do a wine tour by horseback. There's a guy called Jake Price who happens to be a Three Time World Champion with Tennessee Walkers. He's worked out a deal with three wineries so that he can do a guided horse tour with tastings. You get to ride through the vineyards. It was by far the coolest ride I've ever done. The Cowgirl agreed. Jake is a riot. Really fun guy, and he puts any wine you buy in his saddle bags for you till you get back. It was my first time on a gated horse. Wow, what a different feel. It was the smoothest horse I'd ever been on. The tour with three stops at different wineries cost us a bit over $200. Well worth it. If you ever get close to here, look Jake up. It'll be worth your time and money.
We also went out to the Oregon coast and checked out a light house. Very pretty country. I'd definitely recommend doing it in the Summer. It was still windy and could get cold quick, and this was the end of June. I can only imagine how cold it is in the Winter.
It was interesting to see the old pictures of the families that manned the lighthouses. They were completely isolated from the rest of the world. The got a fuel delivery every so often, and got their food staples every few months from the government. Other than that, they either were cleaning or lighting the house. What a life.
Overall, it was a great week. My folks took care of the farm while we were gone.
Here's my mom with her update on the garden and the strawberries:
See you next time ~
