Riley's Farm and the Colonial Faire

On Friday morning, we drove up into the hills of San Bernardino county to a town called Oak Glen. This little mountain town is famous for its apple farms. We booked a Luxury Tent Camping experience, which included dinner, breakfast, and the Colonial Faire the next day. This is what I wore to drive in the 107 degree heat:

My Calvin Klein T shirt dress and favorite Enzo Angiolini gladiator sandals. Just about right, but still a little toasty.

We stayed at Riley's Farm. Here is our "glamping" tent, snuggled on the edge of the property, between apple and oak trees.

The inside was wonderful - it had two beds, one large and one small, both with canopies of mosquito netting.

There was also lots of colonial style furniture. Lighting was provided by battery operated Coleman lanterns and candles.

The big trunk at the foot of the bed had all of our towels and wash mats. We had to take them down to the privy.

We had iced water, two bottles of old fashioned soda pop and an orange for snacks. There are bear in the San Bernardino mountains, so no food is allowed in the tents after dark. The next day, one of the colonial soldiers told us that a black bear had indeed come looking for food - a big one. And the trash cans were all toppled over and the bags ripped apart. Judging from how much food the Tavern serves, I will bet that the resourceful bear got plenty to eat !!

After unpacking and getting a tour of the property, we relaxed until lunch/dinner time, at about 3 o'clock.

We had to cross a little stream to get to the tavern and the privy - there were several little bridges.

Here I am, in front of the privy.

Just kidding !!! At first, I believed it. But there was a well equipped modern bathroom, with showers and everything there.

There is a grape arbor where you enter the gate to Colonial Chesterfield.

In the distance is the Hawk's Head Tavern, the property's delicious restaurant.

As you can see, the skies were ominous. But even though it was very humid, it didn't rain.

Here is the path to the Hawk's Head. The little building with the bell is the guardhouse - in case the British forces decide to invade this little paradise. The other tent is the Ale Garden.

Ins't the Hawk's Head tavern lovely? Notice that it has a welcoming red door.

Here is the bill of fare. Our lunch, as well as breakfast the next morning, were included in the price.

I had the Forfar Bridie, a sort of beef pasty with green beans and applesauce. Doc had the Bratwurst sandwich with potato salad. The servings were enormous. We had a Julian Cherry Hard Cider and a pear hard cider. There is beer, ale, wine and cider, but no hard booze.

This is the inside of the tavern - they had a bandstand, and I will bet that it rocks on any given Saturday night. We also got two pieces of apple pie, but we took them back to the tent and Doc ate them before sundown. Then we took the trash to the bins, as instructed, so we didn't see or hear the bear.

After lunch, we walked up a short dirt road to the Heritage Homestead. It's a barn that has been made into a gift shop, pit BBQ,  bakery and theater. They put on productions - for example, Rockabilly Nights and Dracula, a Classic Tale. They also have the Masquerade Ball, a costumed 17th century feast. It was going on the night we left. It's a five course dinner with entertainment.

Here is the Heritage Homestead. It is only open on the weekends.

They have an old cider mill that you can look at.

And a tractor pulls a trailer with bales in it for a hay ride.

Here is the barn. There were no animals there - the working corral is up the road a bit, but is not open to tourists.

They had a couple of small barns on the property. At Heritage Homestead, I met this adorable little nanny.

The goats and sheep are very curious and friendly. There is a sign that says "Do not Feed the Animals", so we didn't.

There was also a very handsome Billy who took an interest in me.

He had a very nicely manicured beard and topknot.

Behind the homestead are fields of apple, pear, strawberry, ollalaberry and blackberry. There is a U-Pick option, and we got a pint with our glamping package - I will show you later. I saw something in the distance -

A very large, very gingerbready Victorian farmhouse. They also have Gold Mine adventures, where you can hike up to the gold mine and pan for gold.

The next morning, Saturday, started out about 74 degrees. We got up and showered and put on lots of mosquito repellent and sunscreen. Riley's Farm provides the repellent for you in wipe form. We prepared to go back down to the Hawk's Head Tavern for breakfast.

Also included in the price were period costumes for both me and Doc. I sent in our measurements, and sure enough, a lovely maiden showed up to help "Dress M'Lady".

Okay, so it was forecasted to reach 109, so we decided not to get dressed. The poor girl was relieved, no doubt. This is what we would have worn. She cheerfully thanked us and then we saw her later in the dressmaker's tent.

The Farm has it's own garden, where herbs and other things are grown for use in the kitchen. It also has something called a shepherd's croft - there were both unsheared sheep with huge coats and elderly looking goats living happily there.. A croft is a little building where sheep and goats are kept and taken care of.

Here's our breakfast - included with the package - French Toast, Eggs Benedict, bacon, hash browns, applesauce, coffee and lemonade.

They had a rack of rifles, but I could not get a good picture because of the glare. I tried a couple of times.

In the foyer of the Hawk's Head Tavern, there is one rack of colonial coats and also one rack of redcoats.

Here is the Mercantile - it's a store where they sell souvenirs, food, drinks, and local specialties, like apple butter. They also had clothing, hats, toys, and books.

We met the proprietress the evening before, and chatted with her. She said that we would not be able to recognize her in costume, and sure enough, if I hadn't seen her enter the Mercantile, I would not have known who she was.

The Main Green was all set up with tents, crafters booths, and all kinds of activities, including little plays. When you enter, you choose a side - Colonial Settlers from New Hampshire or British. All glampers are automatically Colonials. The two sides play their part - they tease you and argue with the other guys.

 

You report to your Enlistment Post and get an armband - the color tells what side you are on.

The British group was great - the Generals were talking strategy and teased us that we couldn't be told what it was. One little kid was tickled pink over that and wanted to try and figure it out. They had a lady plotting battle strategy on a map with toy soldiers and ships, where they played it out .

Then they had the British Infirmary, complete with blood soaked cot and anatomical drawings - Doc saw one that depicted trepination, which is when a hole is drilled into your head to relieve bleeding inside the skull.

Lots of cool, gory, scary surgical instruments. There were some tiny knives.

Then there was a Textile Arts tent. The lady in there explained weaving, and had looms we could try, and showed us how they worked.

She also demonstrated how to turn sheep's wool into yarn with some kind of spool.

There was a potter spinning his wheel, and making a pretty cool looking ale jug. His wares were for sale behind him.

Then we did Archery. These are the targets. They looked like recycled fire hoses, all wound up. We liked that upcycling idea for the old hoses.

Here is Doc, taking his shot. And below, you have me, firing away.

Next came the popular sport of tomahawk throwing. I tried, and hit the targets, but my tomahawk didn't stick in. Doc was more successful.

Here's proof!!! One of my tomahawks went through the open middle of the target triangle. Oops.

They had a stone house with a huge stone and brick fireplace. On the right are two ovens to bake bread or roast meat. Over the main pit was a spit that a pot could be hung from to make stew.

A lady showed everyone how to churn butter and how to grind wheat.

They also had a printing press. The man would show you how it worked, and allow you to take a try at turning it.

Here's the box with the type set.

And the finished product that gets placed on the press and run. It's all backwards, of course, so it prints in the correct direction.

They had two brave blacksmiths making nails in the heat.

Since they are working with molten metal, they need to be covered head to toe.

They had ink wells, quills and paper for calligraphy. I didn't try it, since my effort at the Lan Su Garden in Portland was less than spectacular. I did sign the Guest Book with a quill.

This man showed how to make new paper from old letters he had already read. He also said that the letters were from people he did not associate with any more, and did not like them, so there was no need to save their letters. More recycling !!

There was a little pond filled with tadpoles. Next to it were the washing buckets and linen hampers.

This was the costumers and dressmakers' tent. They also did elaborate 18th century updos for ladies who would be attending the Masquerade Ball later that evening.

They had a couple of piles of clothes that you could play dress up with, but no one was, because it was too hot.

Then there was a game of cornhole. It was hard - the darts are corn cobs with quills stuck in them for the tail. They weigh nothing, so they are hard to control.

Then they announced over the speakers that the British were about to read a proclamation from the king on the Main Green.

They read it aloud, and then the British soldiers and the settlers from New Hampshire hurled insults and threatened each other, but no battle erupted.

Everyone ended up going back to their tent and making arrangements to see each other in the Tavern  later, which opens at 8 PM.

These two pictures are of the Northumberland County Riflemen. We never did see anyone there, but the stuff got moved around, so I guess they were around somewhere - probably at the tomahawks and the archery.

And finally, we went back up to the Heritage Homestead to get our free pint of U-Pick berries. Doc kicked back in the picnic area, while I picked the berries.

Then we took a car ride of about 10 minutes, going through the adjacent town of Oak Grove. There were lots of bed and breakfast inns, restaurants, and apple groves and their associated stores. We got some mango-pineapple jam and an apple cider slushie. It took us about an hour and a half to get home. There was 15 minutes of mountain road driving involved, and some of it looked like it would be unlit when it got dark.

Anyway, it was a really fun experience, and something I have never done before. I wold highly recommend it. The price included everything, and the service was consistently pleasant and spectacular. They even brought us iced water in a pewter jug at night. The food was absolutely delicious and the portions were huge. It's a fun weekend. They only do the Colonial Faire during July, but they have events all year round.

See you all soon !!!


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