About an hour’s drive from Saratoga Springs is the village of Sharon Springs, a farm town with beautiful rolling hills, green mountains with spectacular views and a surprisingly vibrant downtown. It was a glorious day with temperatures in the 80’s, blue skies and billowy white clouds. When we got the there around 11:30 on Sunday the Garden Festival (which was one reason we came to Sharon Springs) was in full swing.
A Year Of Sacrifice
For those of you not familiar with the show “the Fabulous Beekman Boys” on Planet Green here’s a little background. It’s basically a fish out of water story of 2 city boys who move to the country here in Upstate NY and start a goat farm. But it’s also much more than that. The show chronicles their ups and downs, not only with making a go of it on the farm, but also what this endeavor does to their relationship. Brent lives on the farm full time while Josh works in Manhattan during the week. Their goal is make a million dollars during what they term their “year of sacrifice” which has now turned into two years.
One Hundred Percent Chemical Free and Handmade
We had ordered soap for my mother in law for Christmas and she raved about it so I wanted some for myself. All the soap made at the Beekman Mansion is 100% chemical free and handmade from the goat milk gathered from the goats on the Beekman farm. The scents are representative of different seasons on the farm and for every month of the year and range from floral to more spicy. I chose Summer which comes in a large bar and has an herbal scent and June which has the scent of mock orange.
I also picked up a housewarming gift for a friend.
Then it was over to the cajeta, a spicy, sweet caramel sauce made with goat’s milk that comes in mild and habanero — we decided on the milder version after trying a sample. My husband couldn’t wait to try it on some ice cream with bananas, which he said was amazing. Since we’ve bought it I’m trying to come up with new ways to use it. Maybe as a drizzle over brownies or truffles or even in a sweet and savory sauce for chicken. I’ll just have to experiment.
We also decided on some heirloom tomato seeds from Landreth, the oldest seed company in America. We’ve already got a garden started and usually have too many tomato plants but the varieties sounded so interesting that had to give it a try.
We got in line to pay for our choices when we were greeted by Maria.
“You two have been here before.”she said. “No, first time.” we said. She gave us both hugs. “Well, I love your color coordinated shirts!”
We told her that we are ardent fans of the show and she said that the third season was in jeopardy, and they are not sure if they do have another season if it will be on Planet Green. We paid for our purchases and headed outside to see if we would be able to have a chat with Brent. He was warm and approachable. I mentioned to him that I write a blog for saratoga.com and gave him a business card. “We’ve spoken online,” he said. I have to admit I was surprised and touched that he remembered. We chatted briefly and he wanted to see what we bought inside. I told him I bought a “summer” soap for a friend who is having a housewarming and he offered to sign the wrapper. He also shared a little secret to make the soap last longer — cut off a small piece and keep the rest of the bar out of the water and it will last up to two months. He then posed for a picture (I do not like having my picture taken but I had to — it was Brent after all!)
During our conversation he remarked how much he loves Saratoga Springs, especially downtown. I told him if they are ever in town let me know so we can meet up. I mentioned that I saw a photo of the baby chicks on the farm. He asked if we went on the farm tour and I told him not this time. He said to be sure to get farm tour tickets for the Harvest Festival in September.
The Beekman farm is visible from Rt 10 which we realized when we saw a line of cars in front of it. Josh was in charge of giving tours of the farm (we will be sure to get tickets for Harvest Festival so I can meet the other “fabulous” one), which included the barn full of chicks and goats and of course the famous (or infamous) Polkaspot the llama. I guess we’ll have to wait until September for the full report.
If you’re thinking of taking a drive out to Sharon Springs or stopping on your way to Glimmerglass State Park or Cooperstown then try these directions: From Saratoga take Rte 29 West through Broadalbin and Galway. Turn left (south) at Johnstown on 30A, then head for Rte 5 at Fonda. Turn right and take Rte 5 west along the Mohawk River and into the town of Palatine Bridge. Turn left onto Rte 10, go through Canajoharie and follow it into Sharon Springs. From the Albany area, take I-90 west to Canajoharie, and turn south on Rt 10.
You will be met with spectacular scenery and many points of interest to stop at along the way. Take a day trip through the Leatherstocking region of New York and reward yourself with some goat’s milk soap. How could that be baaad?
