The Surrey With the Fringe on Top

(This post was originally published on The Dancing Lamb Facebook page on Oct. 20, 2020)

    Ever since I've known her, Harvest has loved nothing better than a ride in a horse-drawn carriage, particularly if it's drawn by a heavy horse.

    I remember the romantic progressive dinner that was held around Christmastime in Riverside, California, where we lived. We all got into our holiday finest and met our transports at the historic Mission Inn (I was wearing Victorian-esque clothing even back then). From there carriages ferried groups of us from one historic house to the next as we worked our way from appetizers through dessert.

    The first time we came to Wisconsin was another Christmas season, and our friends gave us the gift of a ride in a horse-drawn sleigh. It was one of those incredibly clear, cold days in late December. We swaddled ourselves in the traditional heavy blankets and clopped down a snow-covered street. That clinched it for us: we were going to move to Wisconsin.

    Since then, Harvest has never missed an opportunity to ride in any horse-drawn conveyance. When we have attended an historic re-enactment event, rather than walk from one end to the other, Harvest would rather queue up at the carriage stop and wait for it to arrive. We could easily have reached our destination on foot, and much more quickly, but the enjoyment of traveling via horse is worth the wait.

    When we visited Kidron, Ohio, to go to Lehman's (a huge dream of a store for those of us who are low tech), we were in Amish country, so we were able to take a ride in an Amish buggy with an Amish man named Joe. I asked him all about the buggy and harness, which I'm sure weren't the usual questions he was expecting. Again, Harvest loved it.

    Until this year, I didn't know there was a day called Sweetest Day. I guess it's the fall equivalent to Valentine's Day, which is a good thing, as here in Wisconsin, February is brutally cold. Thanks to the Evansville Carriage Company, I was able to give Harvest a trip through town on Sweetest Day in our own version of the surrey with the fringe on top.

    We got into our best clothes first, of course: I had a Victorian day dress I'd been dying to wear, and Harvest decked herself out as well. Our transport picked us up right in front of the house, just the way it would have back when our house was built in 1896. It was wonderful to see the carriage coming down the street to pick us up.  

    We had a delightful conversation with our drivers, Camille Skotnicki-Garbe and her sister Desiree Skotnicki, as we travelled at a leisurely pace through the historic district and up to Lake Leota Park courtesy of Bo, the beautiful, black Percheron. Horse-drawn carriage is absolutely the best way to see Evansville in the fall.