Natural Choice Vacation

Apacalachin Farms is open to the public for the 5th Annual Harvest Festival, “Get your Hands on Alpaca” on Monday, May 31, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Alpacalachin Farms is located at 2571 Chestnut Ridge Rd. in Apalachin, NY and admission is free. Come learn about the many uses of alpaca fiber. Demonstrations from shearing and cleaning fleece to creating a finished product will occur all day long. Demonstrations of agility training will be provided and participants will be able to try their skill and luck on our obstacle course at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Craft your own fiber project.  For more info, call 607-687-6950 or www.alpacalachin.com

FINGER LAKES CHEESE TRAIL TOURS

Did you ever wonder how cheese is made? Then you should go take a tour. And you don’t have to travel all the way to Wisconsin to do that! Right here, in our own backyard, we have some world class cheese crafts-persons, turning out world class artisan cheeses.

About a dozen farmstead cheese houses have sprouted up in the past few years, amongst the wine trails. Some have started making cheese as a way to enhance the low price that farmers get for their milk, but all are in it for a love of the product that they craft.

There is Sheep’s Milk Cheese…..Goudas…..Goats Milk Cheese……Cheddars…..Jacks……Colby…. Washed Rind Stinkies……even Cheese Curds.

Samples and sales are part of the event, so plan to buy cheese, stop at a winery, grab a loaf of bread, and enjoy a day touring in the Finger Lakes. There is no charge and no advance registration is required for these self-guided tours.

Four events are planned for this year:
Saturday May 29 10am-4pm
Saturday July 10 10am-4pm
Saturday and Sunday on the Columbus Holiday Weekend, October 9 and 10 (Sat 10-4, Sun 12-4)
Saturday December 11 – Holiday Cheese Shopping  – **Locations TBD**

For an interactive map of the cheese houses:  http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?client=firefox-a&hl=en&ie=UTF8&t=h&vps=1&jsv=225b&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=114964679664065312110.00047a3bdb6610cb060db

April 23-25, and April 30 – May 1- 2, 2010
18th Annual Wine & Herb Festival
It’s time to think SPRING as you receive an herb or veggie plant from each winery along the Cayuga Lake Wine Trail. Sample herb prepared edibles paired with fine wines. Souvenir wine glass and recipes are included.

Visit Six Mile Creek, Long Point, King Ferry or Montezuma wineries on Friday afternoon to make it a grand weekend. Enjoy Early Bird specials at Long Point or King Ferry wineries at 9:00AM on Saturday for delectable breakfast treats.

Check out our Wine Trail Packages located on our Home Page at the top right for great deals or check out our link below.

To encourage our Wine & Herb folks to visit us during Harvest we have designed our “Grow and Show” contests. Enter into our specialty contests at the different winery events during our Harvest Hoopla. Check back for details.

Participants are eligible to win one of our Grand Prizes from: Aurora Inn, Courtyard by Marriott in Ithaca, Experience! The Finger Lakes, and The Discovery Trail.

Friday – 1PM – 5PM at participating wineries
Saturday and Sunday – 10AM – 6PM

Tickets can be purchased at Wegmans after March 22nd..

Please Enjoy All of our Events by Drinking Responsibly!

Wine Trail Packages

Advance tickets: Single $ 35.00, Couple $ 50.00.

Tickets at the door: Single $ 40.00, Couple $ 55.00.
Designated Driver: Single $ 30.00, Couple $ 45.00.

Hamley’s Maple Farm, in Barton, NY will be demonstrating maple syrup tapping, from syrup to bottle, and offering a free pancake breakfast from 10-4 pm. Demonstrations and lessons pertaining to trees and their management will also be included. Group tours welcome. No admission charge, but donations requested.  Hamley’s Maple Syrup Farm, 62 Frost Hollow Road, Barton, NY  Phone:  607-565-3731

For those who still need to do their Easter dinner shopping, organic hams are available at Engelbert Farms farm store, open today and tomorrow, from 10-2 pm today and 10-3 pm tomorrow.  They are located off West River Road in Nichols, NY.  www.engelbertfarms.com for more info.  Lots more in their farm store to buy too! Stop by.

Michael Head is a very quiet man. One has to be to take advantage of everything the wilderness offers.

And to an expert like Head, the wilderness offers a lot.

“The ancient people looked upon Earth as their mother, and like any mother she provided for all their physical needs,” Head writes. “This Earth is still our provider. Yet in our modern fast-paced society it is easy to lose sight of this connection, and no longer show the respect that we should for this gift.”

That’s why created Wilderness Way School in 1993. It’s not just an invitation to shiver in the great outdoors, it’s a call to study:

• The science behind survival techniques.
• The history, and pre-history, of ancient and aboriginal life skills.
• The philosophical and social layers of living in an environment without damaging it.

Head’s classes incorporate flint-knapping, fire-starting, edible plants and medicinal herbs, among others. Check them out at his website.

We know people who get between 40 and 50 percent of their groceries each week from within 30 miles of their house. Right in the heart of Natural Choices Vacation country.

It’s easy. Their first stop is to Cobblestone Valley Farm in Preble, where they pick up a few packages of grass-fed, organically raised beef. Or maybe they’ll buy half a pig, with no-nitrate sausage and smoked bacon. In the spring, they’ll pick strawberries there.

From there, they’ll head south to Marathon, where they get European style sheep’s milk cheeses from Northland Sheep Dairy. And maybe they’ll pick up some lamb chops of a bit of mutton.

They’ll head over the hills for a quick stop in Ithaca and its farmer’s market – which is as much a natural mall and gathering place with live music, prepared foods and Finger Lakes wine – as it is a place for local vegetables. Maybe they’ll browse at any number of locally oriented stores in the city.

And then they’ll head to their community-supported agriculture service just up the west side of Cayuga Lake.

Simple. Sometimes they’ll stop at Iron Kettle Farm in Candor or Crocker Creek Buffalo Farm in Owego for some variety, and a pleasant drive.

Either way, we’ve noticed our friends are gaining a bit of weight.

It’s hard not to find a great cycling route through the Finger Lakes. Whether it’s past the birthplace of John Rockefeller in Richford, in Tioga County, or along a wine route in Tompkins County, or through the farmlands of Cortland County – it’s all good.

In fact, the counties offer maps of suggested cycling routes for both road bikes and mountain bikes. Get them here:
• Tioga County
• Cortland County
• Tompkins County

If you like flatter terrain, the area around the Susquehanna River in Tioga County, or central Cortland County are idea, with wide roads and scenic views.

If hills are your thing, try around Tompkins County, where the central New York plain dips into the Finger Lakes. Incredible beauty. Or maybe you’d like a mix, like southern Cortland County, near Greek Peak.

You can’t go wrong, even if you get lost.