Military Officer - October 2006 - (Page 52) Horsing around T Alisal Ranch, Calif. (800) 425-4725, www.alisal.com There’s a scenic stretch of land on the California coast where cattle roam, children romp, and men wearing cowboy hats will lead you on a horseback ride around the countryside. Alisal, a 10,000-acre working cattle ranch established in 1843, converted its cattlemen’s quarters into guest accommodations in 1946. It became an immediate hit with families, including 1950s television stars Ozzie and Harriet Nelson and their two sons, David and Ricky. Today the tradition continues. Families return year after year, generation after generation, often asking for the same cabin and eating together at the same table in the dining room. Some old-timers like to brag that they’ve watched their children grow up and become adults who now bring their own children and grandchildren. Alisal is a real dude ranch that offers all the comforts of a family resort, along with a hefty helping of nostalgia. Children and adults can bottlefeed baby goats, gather eggs, and learn to care for pigs, cows, hens, and other farm animals. Families can canoe or kayak on the shimmering 100-acre lake or ride horses along rolling, oakstudded hills and across creeks and meadows. There are bicycles for riding, trails for hiking, boats for sailing, and two courses for golfing. One thing you can’t do at Alisal is be a couch potato. The ranch-style cottages have no televisions. They offer old-fashioned rocking chairs and someone who comes knocking CAL on your door offering wood for your fireplace. Come nightfall, the only sound you’ll hear are the frogs croaking along Alisal Creek. Irish castle magic T Ashford Castle, Ireland (800) 346-7007, www.ashford.ie The route to Ashford Castle is as lush as you’d expect Ireland to be, with grazing sheep, rolling hills, quaint villages, and emerald-green fields dotted with yellow flowers. At nearly every turn, there’s a crumbling castle; a picture-perfect, thatched-roof cottage; or a grazing cow with her calf by her side. As you cross the Cong River Bridge and approach the castle gates, the kids may be the first to spot the towers and turrets reaching into the sky. Inside the castle, there are knightly suits of armor, antique furnishings, framed period portraits, and massive open fireplaces. Winding stairways, secret nooks and crannies, and narrow halls emit just the right amount of playful mystery. Ashford Castle is surrounded by 350 acres of grassy lawns, terraced gardens bursting with blooming foliage, and quiet, lightly traveled forest paths. You won’t find modern resort trappings such as water slides or video game rooms here. Instead, the activities include pony rides, fly fishing, archery, bicycling, boat rides, and clay shooting — all the things that young princes and princesses might have done on their royal estate. Try them all — especially the falconry lessons. A guide will walk with you through the forest and teach you how the magnificent birds of prey are raised, how they hunt, and what they eat. The guide then will deposit a bit of raw meat on your leather-gloved arm. The birds, whose eyesight is eight times better than humans’ and who can spot food from PHOTOS: ALISAL RANCH; MAP: LINDA OLLIVER Bakersfield N ci IF O R IA Alisal Ranch fic Santa Barbara Guests ride horseback on the Alisal Ranch, located near Santa Barbara, Calif. Rooms (above left) are well-appointed, but don’t look for a TV. 52 MILITARY OFFICER OCTOBER 2006 Pa Oce an http://www.alisal.com http://www.ashford.ie
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