Apples and Alpacas

[Cheryl J]

Just thought I'd share a few pics of a one-day road trip last week with my daughter and grands. We went to an apple festival in a beautiful little farm town (Tehachapi). There were many stands set up with lots of apple goodies, homemade jams and jellies, jewelry, soaps, and lots of other crafts. After lunch at a delicious BBQ restaurant, we went off the beaten path to an apple orchard and picked about 30 pounds of apples, took the kids to an alpaca farm, and went to a train museum. Had a great day - the weather was a perfect 75 with beautiful blue skies.

They had a bouncy slide at the festival, Tyler loved it. LOL


The train museum


Tyler in an apple tree, haha


My very tall granddaughter Sydney reaching for an apple


Our apple bounty


The owners let the kids feed the cute and gentle alpacas




Rod Stewart hair alpaca


We had a great time at the alpaca ranch. The owner took us on a tour. They have 38, and they are so well cared for. They're raised for their fur - they develop a huge thick coat and once the weather warms up in spring they're sheared, and their fur is used to make mittens, hats, stuffed animals, etc. and it helps offset the cost of raising them.

Just before we left for home, we stopped at this fabulous German Bakery for treats. It's a huge place - they bake everything on site, including wonderful looking breads. Not only do they have baked goods, they have sandwiches and salads. If I'd have known about this before we had lunch, I'd have opted to go there instead of the BBQ place! Oh well...next time.

https://www.kohnenscountrybakery.com/

 

[caseydog]

Just before we left for home, we stopped at this fabulous German Bakery for treats. It's a huge place - they bake everything on site, including wonderful looking breads. Not only do they have baked goods, they have sandwiches and salads. If I'd have known about this before we had lunch, I'd have opted to go there instead of the BBQ place! Oh well...next time.

https://www.kohnenscountrybakery.com/

Too bad. Alpaca sandwiches are wonderful. The meat is so tender.

CD

 

[medtran49]

Sounds like great fun!

 

[Kayelle]

What a fun day Cheryl! Loved all the pictures. The kids are adorable, and the critters are darn cute too. It's been many years since I've been to little remote Tehachapi, so maybe next year we could meet up at the apple festival!


The word Tehachapi brought back first hand memories of the terrible 1952 earthquake there when I was a little kid, and we had such damage from it here in Ventura. Our entire grocery store stock was on the floor the next morning and only one bag of C&H sugar remained. My Dad fell three times before getting to my room to "save" me by jumping on top of me fearing the ceiling would fall. I would have been better off with the falling ceiling (which did not) as he was a big man of 250 lbs. lol
Thankfully, that's the worst earthquake I've personally experienced in my long California life.
Excuse the ramble.

 

[Kaneohegirlinaz]

We go through Tehachapi twice a year but have only stopped at the Loves Gas Station to fill up along our way to visit with my Mother.
Now we know that there are neat places to stop and have lunch!
Usually, we just drive straight through with only gas fill-ups and bathroom breaks, eating lunch as we motor along.
Cheryl, so happy that you had a nice day trip with the family!

 

[GotGarlic]

What a fun day! Great pix of your grands, and I love the alpaca"s Rod Stewart hair!

 

[Just Cooking]

What a fun day! Great pix of your grands, and I love the alpaca"s Rod Stewart hair!

Almost exactly what I was going to post..
Thanks for sharing a great experience with us, Cheryl..


Ross

 

[Dawgluver]

Loved it, Cheryl! Thanks for sharing such a fun time!

 

[Cooking Goddess]

So cute! Now I want to go pet an alpaca. [emoji813] Thanks for the pics, Cheryl.

 

[Cheryl J]

Thanks, all! I could have easily got a room and spent the night, and made this into a 2 day trip, but the kids had to get home.

Kay....YES, that would be fun to meet up in Tehachapi at the festival next year. Steve would love to visit the train museum.
And about the earthquake...funny how one word can trigger memories. My daughter was visiting family in Northridge when the big one hit down there, she was almost 18, now at 43 she still can hardly talk about it.



Kgirl...wow, you go through Tehachapi twice a year? You're so close to me! You should take some time to visit 'downtown' Tehachapi if you can. It's such a quaint little town with cute little houses and tree-lined streets. Kohnen's Bakery should not be missed. I wish I could have grabbed a few loaves of bread to take home, but the bakery was so packed since it was a festival weekend and we had to get home.

 

[Kaneohegirlinaz]

Cheryl, when we go through that part of Cali, we're making a bee-line to Mom's house. It's a 9 hour drive and it's not an easy one. But, now we know where we can stop for a bit, rest and have a nice meal, along with a gas-up.
Although, as DH and I have been sitting here discussing it, we could make a two day trip out of and not kill ourselves

 

[Cheryl J]

Cheryl, when we go through that part of Cali, we're making a bee-line to Mom's house. It's a 9 hour drive and it's not an easy one. But, now we know where we can stop for a bit, rest and have a nice meal, along with a gas-up.
Although, as DH and I have been sitting here discussing it, we could make a two day trip out of and not kill ourselves

Gotcha. I hear ya about wanting to get the trip done and getting Mom's trip as safely and easy as possible for her.