Oak Glen (apple country) visit

Yesterday was one of the few Saturdays our daughter wasn't involved with something, so we scheduled a day to visit Oak Glen.  For those of you who don't know Southern California, Oak Glen is apple country, along with Julian.  Julian, however, is toward San Diego.  Oak Glen is right above Yucaipa and Beaumont.

We met for breakfast in Banning and I left my car there and I piled into our daughter's car.  The granddaughter was along for the day and she was happy to see all the sights!  I bought her a "shopping basket" which she then carried around for the rest of the day!   :-)

We saw two deer cross the road before we arrived at our first stop, Riley's Farm.  You can self-pick apples there and they have some interesting shops.  Very pricey, however.  Everybody dressed up as Amish folk.  There were still some strawberries and raspberries on their vines, and we took a walk along the trail there.

Next, we stopped at Los Rios, which is actually our favorite place.  They have a petting zoo for the kids and there is PLENTY of parking.  We arrived there about 9:30 and the parking lots were filling up quickly.  They have plenty of food to buy, including fresh corn, and they also have a smoker going.  We went inside to see all the sights and I bought the granddaughter her "shopping basket" and I bought one, too, and some apple butter and some apricot butter, and a mug!  (I'm enjoying my coffee right now and using it!)  Then we went outside so GRANDMA could sit down and rest for a few minutes.  The Wetlands Conservacy (same organization which is up in Whitewater) is in the process of converting some of the Los Rios land into a nice little park (free!) for people, with trails, so off we went to discover what was there.  There are some nice kid-friendly walkways and a butterfly garden.  They are making a pond, too.  It would be nice to return when all that is finished.  There were LOTS of wild sunflowers growing up there, so I was happy.

Finally, we were all worn out, so we went down the Yucaipa side and stopped in Calimesa at George's German deli.  Sandwiches were bought and we spent an hour on their patio eating them and drinking some German sparkling drink with raspberry flavor.  YUM!  The little one was intrigued by their little fountain and fish pond (goldfish), but...hey...it kept her quiet!

Grandma came home and took a 2 hour nap.  I don't know what the little one did...:-)

 Our daughter and granddaughter looking at the pumpkins.

 "Mommie" is pointing out the raspberries that were still on the vines at Riley's Farm.

 Beautiful picnic area at Los Rios ranch.

 Corn grillin' on the stove!

Nice wagon in front of the Los Rios store!

The little one with her "shopping basket"...!!!