rassawek

Do you ever think about just how much of the world you've never seen?

We discovered Rassawek vineyards last weekend at their annual Spring Jubilee.  I'd never even heard of the place, and it's less than one hour from my house.

It took some wrangling to get my one 'never-wants-to-go-anywhere' child on board with the trip.  I'm not saying who it is, but you probably already know.  I do question my lot in life when I'm arguing with my kid about taking them somewhere fun.

But we finally got there, and the first order of business was FISHING!

The kids grabbed the poles and worms off of the table and headed to the nearest water opening, right beside this boat.  It turned out to be the best fishing spot ever.

Once Joaquin figured out how to cast, he caught his first fish right away.  We were a little scared to take it off the hook, so a nearby pro fisherman of about nine years old offered to do the dirty work for us.

Isabela looks like a wild fisherwoman here.  Poor thing had a dud pole and ended up catching the boat.

And then Joaquin caught another fish!

Diego wasn't too far behind with his first catch.  It was really exciting for the kids to catch these fish.  It's always on our summer to do list each year, but we rarely get to cross that one off since we don't own any poles.

It got hot as the sun rose in the sky, so we cooled off with some milkshakes and water.  This bottle had sprung a leak at the top.  We ended up getting that bottle for free, but what a fun way to drink your water!

Rassawek I'm sure is known for it's wine, but I think most kids would know it for this cool treehouse. There's an easy way up to the top on this wooden ramp...

...but there's a fun way to the top through this special door.  Is it just me or does Isabela look like a GIANT in this picture?  Or maybe Diego looks like a munchkin.

The ladder inside the hollowed-out trunk leads straight up to the top.

Just what every treehouse needs, a trap door.

And one beautiful view from the top.

Nearby, there was a truck filled with corn kernels which overflowed onto the ground.

Carmen has very sensitive feet judging by this face.

Up to the bed of the truck to play.

By this time, the kids started getting hungry.  But there was so much exploring to do!  We headed across the lake to look for some food trucks.  Besides all the amazing artisans working on their crafts:  throwing pots, blacksmiths shaping iron, silk scarf dying, chair caning, and on and on...there were other interesting sights.

A goat herder walked by.  Odd.  He looked like he had spent the night under the stars like in the old days.

Some random children dressed like Native Americans were wandering around on these horses by themselves.  And later there was another kid about nine years old driving a golf cart down the path with three other kids on board.  My kids were jealous.

Diego caught sight of this little path that led to a log lean-to.  We all called him back up because, "There could be poison ivy down there!" (I fluctuate between overprotective and care-free.)

Joaquin really wanted to try out this bike.  As the guy rode by, Joaquin asked him, "Is that hard?"  He called back, "Kind of."  Apparently he couldn't stop, or it would have fallen over.

They were also offering free boat rides.  We didn't catch one of those, but we did ride....

...the steam engine!  The poor engineer was shoveling wood into a burning furnace to make this thing go.  And boy is that whistle loud!  Carmen was quite scared of it and kept her ears covered for most of the ride.  You never knew when it was going to blow!

And here's the little sprite now...I mean Coke.  I kept her happy with a bottle of Coke while the others decided to fish again.

 We tried various other spots, but none were as good as our first fishing hole.  Watch out for that tree, Diego!  Too late.

Carmen and I took selfies while the others fished.  It was nice to just sit in the shade and relax after all that walking around.

Diego ran out of worms at one point, so I sent him up ahead by himself to get some more.   That's me not hovering.  But really, the big kids were fishing over by the worm table so I knew he'd be okay.

This quiet shady spot was nice to sit in, but if the fish ain't biting, it's no fun.  So pretty soon we headed back to where the kids were catching fish after fish.

Carmen was in charge of the worms.

And most impressive, Joaquin learned to put his own worm on his hook!  I had to do it the first time we fished, but when I sent them on their own the second time, there was no one there to do it for him.  You can tell by his face, though, it's still pretty gross.

Rassawek does this event each year.  Kids 12 and under are FREE so I only had to pay $10 for this gorgeous day.  Well, then there was the milkshakes and food and my sanity later on.

This video is pretty hilarious.  It shows how it's not all fun and games.  When Joaquin's ready to go, he's ready to go.

A few skipped stones on the way out and we headed home.

We rode the tractor back to the car.  Starting and ending your day with a tractor ride, come on, kids, what could be more exciting than that?