Friday: Song of the Week

One of my absolute favorite bands and an all time classic song.

The Format, Let's Make This Moment a Crime



Have a great weekend!

Tuesday: Discovery of the Week

Yayayayay!!! Finally, I have gotten out and about and have something to share. This past week my good friend Alex and I headed out to the McEachran Homestead in Caledonia, IL. The Homestead is an up & coming farm/winery/event spot in the area. They grow all sorts of fruits and vegetables which they sell at local farmers' markets.

They also make their own wine using their own grapes from their very own vineyard! How cool is that? And it is suuuuuuper yummy. And finally, their grounds include a beautifully restored home and barn. As of recently, the barn and the grounds can now be rented for small get-togethers like showers, parties, etc. It is truly an amazing space that is unrivaled in the area.

Our trip out to the farm began with a tour of the grounds (on a super fancy Gator) driven by one of my best and oldest friends, Kaylee, who works in the summer at the farm with her mom. First, we drove through the vineyard where all sorts of grape varieties are grown and later used to create wine in-house. The farm even does wine tastings, but we will get to that later…

After the vineyard we went past the pumpkins and squash…

… on our way back to the woods where they keep their bees! The farm keeps bees which they use to make their own honey.

The woods are located back among some of the fields. It is a surprising and beautiful spot.

Here is a view of the farm from the woods.


More gardens as our tour continued!

They also have an orchard with apple, pear, and peach trees among others. This place is unbelievable, right?

We even got to stop and chat with Dr. Greenlee, the owner and proprietor of the farm, who was helping Kaylee’s mom, Sue, pick some sweet corn.

MORE gardens!! Filled with all sorts of berries and veggies like peppers, broccoli, tomatoes, cauliflower, Indian corn, etc. I could go on and on… literally!

Our tour ended up back at the barn where we got a tour of the barn and had a wine tasting.

Dr. Greenlee’s house is quite charming.

Inside the barn, top floor.

View of the vineyards from the barn.

The part of the tour we were REALLY waiting for… the wine tasting!!

Needless to say, the wine was fantastic and we could have easily walked away with more bottles than we did. Kaylee even took us in the wine cellar area. Actually, I’m not really sure if that is the correct name for it, but all I do know is that it was air-conditioned, which was basically amazing. We got to take a look at wines that would be ready in the future. Sweet!!

All in all, it was an amazing afternoon. Alex and I REALLY appreciated our tour. I highly recommend you stop by some afternoon. They are always available for wine tastings or call ahead to reserve the spot for a party or get-together. You will not be disappointed.

McEachran Homestead, 1917 Wyman School Road, Caledonia, Illinois 61101.

http://www.mceachranhomestead.com/