A Day at the Farm

We spent a weekend in October visiting Riley’s Farm in Oak Glen, California, just a little over an hour’s drive from Huntington Beach.  The weather was surprisingly fall like, a slight chill in the air, which was a nice respite from the unusually warm weather we have been having.  A family affair, my dad was visiting for the weekend.  Parking was a bit of a challenge, but we started a trend by parking along the highway, right in front of the entrance to the farm.  The place is a bit hilly, so next time we will ditch the stroller. 

The farm had far more than the apple picking we had set our hearts on.  Focused, I got in line and purchased our bag for picking and our entrance to the orchard.  Had I known a bit more, I would have added more.  There are a lot of options—berries, pears, apples, flowers, and pumpkins.  There were goats and cows, too, much to Ele’s delight.  It’s crazy that she is already fifteen months old.  She’s a pretty good walker, now, but she takes off, so we kept her contained as we traversed the farm.  Ele gladly explored the apple orchard, but after tumbling, literally, down a hill, she opted to take a seat and pick and sort the apples that were readily available at the foot of the trees. 

We made our way over to a pumpkin patch—there were more than one—where Ele wandered throughout, trying to pick up the big, heavy balls.  She really enjoyed mooing at the cows next to the patch, but the cows weren’t too impressed.  The area surrounding the farm is beautiful.  It was really nice to feel like we had taken an adventure.  Another area of the farm has a colonial theme, with workers dressed in costumes, and the buildings built in appropriate style.  We’ll definitely try to make our trip to Riley’s Farm a new family tradition.

We stopped at a hole in the wall café in Beaumont, just down the hill.  It was delicious!  I had turkey salad stuffed inside a tomato—not something I would expect from a small town diner-like atmosphere.  It was a fun day!