If you every rode on a school bus, you will remember the bumpity-bump-bump as the tires rolled over gravel on sideroads or uneven pavement. It was an adventure to once more be on a yellow school bus.

Members of our church were off for the day on a tour around Oxford County—incidentally the county where I grew up. Our trusty organizer, Jo-Anne Schwass, led the day, giving us teasers in advance and then letting us know one stop after another. Bus Mom, I could call her. And she called us kids, as a bus driver might do to those who ride on the bus.

 

She gave us the highlights for the day—tours of cheese, chocolate, and smorgasbord at Elmhurst. There was more, but this was a good beginning. We settled back and enjoyed the ride.

The padded seats are higher in the newer buses, offsetting the lack of seatbelts, I suppose. And for me, as the driver in my household, it was good to sit back, chat with my seat mate, Terry, and watch the scenery go by. Trees are taking on autumn colours and most crops are off the farmer’s fields, except for field corn. Hay and straw packaged in white coverings in the fields are ready for feed and bedding over the winter.

Our first stop was Mountain Oak Cheese, begun by a couple originally from Holland. We were required to put on booties and hats before entering, but that’s okay. They have to keep up sanitation processes in a place that produces food.

We saw the pipes where the milk comes in from the dairy herd across the yard, the vats where the milk is stirred and cooled for curds, and the processing rooms. We also got to see the room filled with shelves where the cheese rounds cure.

 

Next we stopped at Udderly Ridiculous, a small farm where goats, alpacas and llamas live, and where we got a taste of goat ice cream. That was pretty yummy, by the way.

I also bought a pair of warm socks in the shop. The wool from alpacas will be more agreeable to my feet this winter than sheep yarn. And they’re pretty too.

 

With our guide we were free to wander out to the back of the farm where the goats, alpacas, and llamas reside. Oh, and chickens too. We learned a lot about baby goats (kids), alpacas and llamas. And that llamas will also protect a herd from predators.

 

Staff hires in a shearer have the animal hair trimmed, but they send the wool shavings off to a company that produces yard. Udderly Ridiculous is more about using the milk for products such as cheese and ice cream, though they do sell other products in their store, such as the socks I purchased.

 

How to tell one from the other? Our guide says to look at their ears.

According to Britannica.com, “alpacas have small, blunt faces with short ears, while llamas have more-elongated faces with banana-sized ears.”

Llamas have a reputation for spitting, but here’s the reason:

Yet llamas get a bad reputation, since, when overloaded or maltreated, they react by spitting, kicking, lying down, or refusing to move.

I remember my niece, Alex, when she was in Ecuador on a mission trip wishing she could bring one back home. She is a lover of many kinds of animals.

Our next stop was the chocolate shop in downtown Woodstock. As the shop was small, and there were a good number of us to squeeze in, I didn’t take any photos. Here’s the link to Habitual Chocolate. It smelled so good in there.  A staff member told us about bringing in the cacao beans from places where they’re grown, roasting them, and then making the chocolate products right there.

After our tastings, I had to purchase some to bring home. And I took a photo of one of those treats. The staff member told us the cacao beans come from different locations. This one was made from beans grown in the Dominican and it was so yummy.

 

More on the trip in the next post. Stay tuned.