Weekend in Russian River

We recently spent a long weekend near the Russian River. Nick and I have enjoyed a few trips to the area over the years—in fact, Nick swam the river for an Ironman triathlon—but we'd yet to take Will. I found the perfect family-friendly Airbnb on a ranch in the small town of Guerneville. We spent most of our time on the ranch because there was so much to do and explore right on the property, from feeding a pig to juicing apples.

The ranch has two guest suites, so our friends Susie, Jamie, and their baby came along as well, which made the trip even more fun. When the babies went to bed, we hung out by a campfire making s'mores—with our baby monitors nearby, of course. Here are some highlights from the trip.

Will wandering the ranch in the morning.

We fed acorns to Betty the pig. Who knew that pigs love acorns?

There were chickens and ducks on the ranch, too.



Susie and baby Dickson enjoying some fall sunshine.

The ranch was full of fruit trees, like these pomegranate trees.



And these apple trees. So we got to work making apple juice.

Step one: Pick some apples.

Step two: Make babies wash the apples.

Step three: Load the apples in the juice press.

Step four: Press, press, press.

Step five: Collect and drink all of the juice.

This was Will's first taste of apple juice and he was hooked.

 

Will was covered in apple juice by the time we finished bottling it.

Good thing he loved chilling in this outdoor tub.

Our cute friends.

Our little explorer heading towards the woods.

We ended the trip with a visit to the river.

Will waded right in. He definitely takes after his dad!

See more of our family-friendly getaways in Hood River, Oregon, and Carmel, California.