Tag Archives: Harvest Hosts

Warmer Weather

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We did find warmer weather, eventually, as we drove south from Massachusetts to Virginia and on to Florida. You can read about the chilly start to our trip in Escaping the Snow. After leaving Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, we set our sights on North Carolina.

Last March, we took a similar route south and discovered The Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park in Wilson, North Carolina. You can see some of the photos I took of the huge outdoor whirligigs in last year’s post, Homeward Bound. Last year, we visited the park on a Monday—the day the store/museum is closed. So, we thought we’d stop by this time on a Wednesday to get the complete experience.

The museum was small, but it held many small whirligig creations by Vollis Simpson. They made me want to go home and start tinkering with something! One sculpture was covered with pieces of old signs made of reflector material. When flash photography is used, it appears to light up in the photograph. You’ll see what I mean in the photos below.

Of course we had to visit Casitas Brewing again, which is adjacent to the park. They’re under new ownership and management. We met the new owners and Mark enjoyed one of their regular beers. The buildings nearby sport some very colorful murals, which is always fun to see.

That night, we landed at Old North State Food Hall in Selma, North Carolina, through our Harvest Hosts membership. The Food Hall was like a large food court you’d find in a mall, but without the mall. The place was clean and bright with nice bathrooms and good wifi. We parked overnight in the back lot where only a couple of other trucks and one RV were parked. They were opened late enough at night and early enough the next morning to make it a very convenient stopover.

The night was a little rainy and the next morning we stopped at the Dunn-Erwin Rail Trail in Dunn, North Carolina, for a muddy walk/run before driving farther south to Richmond Hill, Georgia. There, we stayed at the Savannah South KOA. We happened to park right next to some fellow van travelers, Lucy & Larry, who had also taken a trip to PEI last August. Small world. We exchanged Instagram IDs and they were gone early the next morning.

Before we left, we discovered a bit of wildlife at the KOA.

Since we were so close to Savannah, and this was our second time passing through the area without spending more than a few hours there, we thought a trolley tour of historic Savannah would be a nice idea. It was interesting. But because it was a bit chilly, our driver left the plastic barrier up over the open trolley sides, so we couldn’t take any photos. And his heavy southern accent, layered with slurring over an obviously practiced script, made it hard to understand much of what he said. Oh, well.

We were back on the road by lunchtime and heading into Florida. We stayed that night at a KOA in Fort McCoy, Florida. Beautifully peaceful scene behind our camp site.

The next morning we found the Florida Trail Land Bridge Trailhead—a popular place for biking and horseback riding, apparently.

After a great hike and a run on the trail, we hit the road again and arrived in Naples, Florida, in time for dinner with my Dad. Naples would be our southern-most destination on this trip and a welcome stretch of beautiful, warm, sunny days.

Birds, Bears, Beer…and Another Wilmington

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Last week, Mark and I managed to squeeze in a five day van trip to Vermont by way of New Hampshire. Originally, the plan was to visit just Vermont. But we heard that a couple of former members of Town Meeting band were playing with their new band, Medium Bear, at The Range in Mason, New Hampshire, on Saturday evening. It sounded like the perfect way to kick off our trip. Medium Bear was actually opening for another band, so we knew they’d be on fairly early. We headed north about midday, stopping first for a walk around Andres Institute of Art Sculpture Park in Brookline, New Hampshire. What a treasure!

Founded in 1998 on Big Bear Mountain in Brookline, the Institute installs large sculptures all over the mountain. They host symposiums for visiting artists and are constantly adding to their collection. We hiked the steep paths for over an hour and saw only a fraction of the art. Along the way, we met Master Sculptor John Weidman at the Studio/workshop. He gave us a brief history and a fascinating overview of the Institute.

After that we headed to The Range. As the name suggests, it’s driving range, but it’s also a concert and event venue. Good food and a great spot to enjoy a show.

We left The Range before dark to check in at our Boondockers site in Jaffery, where we’d spend the night. We passed a beautiful little stone church right around the corner from the private driveway we’d be parking in for the night and decided we’d walk there in the morning for mass. But it was pouring the next day, and one of us forgot to pack a rain jacket, so we drove there instead.

After mass, we drove to Brattleboro, Vermont, arriving just as the rain was beginning to let up. We ate lunch in Brattleboro, browsed in a few stores, including a breathtakingly expensive art gallery, and bought a unique, handmade rocking chair. We couldn’t fit the chair into the van, so the store owner graciously volunteered to deliver it to our home himself.

From Brattleboro, we made our way to Wilmington, Vermont. Being from Wilmington, Mass., we’ve made it our side-mission to visit all the other Wilmingtons in the country. You can read in previous posts about some of the others we’ve already visited. Along the way we found Molly Stark State Park and stopped for a hike.

We drove for another hour after that, passing Hogback Mountain Country Store, which we’ve visited before and a brewery across the street from it that we hadn’t seen before. We only stopped long enough for a few pics.

We arrived in Proctorsville, Vermont, at a friend’s house, just before dinnertime. I’ve been watching them build their own home in stages via Facebook and Instagram posts and was looking forward to seeing it in person. We got a tour of the gardens and their former tiny house, as well as the new house, before sharing a meal and settling in for the night parked in their driveway. Thanks, Tricia and Jay!

The next morning, our plan was to visit two places in Weston and then find a place to hike. The Vermont Country Store was our first stop. Cute country store full of throw-back toys, candy, sundries, and anything else you can think of. I bought myself a sunhat and a souvenir canvas bag. Then, we walked along a short trail behind the property where I found a warbler I’d never seen before: a chestnut-sided warbler. I could hear a red-eyed vireo in the trees as well, but it remained elusive, much to my disappointment.

Our second stop in Weston was the Weston Priory. Of course, our timing is often a bit off, and the monks of the Priory were on retreat. The place was beautiful, but completely empty of people.

From Weston, we drove northwest toward Lake Bomoseen. We had reservations at the Lake Bomoseen KOA (Kampgrounds of America). Along the way, we saw signs for the Clarendon Gorge Appalachian Trailhead. We had to stop, of course.

The Lake Bomoseen KOA was a bit rustic, but it was nice to hook up the van to water and sewer, take showers and do some laundry. The laundry was a challenge, though. None of the dryers would work and we had to leave the wet laundry overnight until the staff opened up the front office in the morning. A visit to our campsite from what looked like an adolescent bear, plus a sighting of a brown creeper (bird), took our minds off our trouble for a while.

In the morning, the KOA staff helped us get our laundry dried and we were back on the road before 10 AM. We headed for Shelburne Farms, just south of Burlington, Vermont. It was a gorgeous sunny day. We walked a four-mile loop around the farm and finished up at their store, buying some tasty aged cheddar and blue cheese.

After Shelburne Farms, we checked in at our Harvest Hosts spot, Sam Mazza’s Farm Market in Colchester. Then we drove to Burlington for dinner at The Farmhouse Tap & Grill. There’s always something interesting on their menu! We stopped in at Foam Brewers after dinner, getting back to our van with about three minutes to spare on the meter. We only stopped at Burlington Beer Company to take a few pics. So many breweries, so little time!

It was just us and the goats at Sam Mazza’s overnight. In the morning we did a little shopping in the market before checking out the trail around Colchester Pond nearby. It turned out to be a great place for birds. Mark completed the loop around the pond while I did a lot of slow walking and searching for birds. Perfect for each of us!

We left the pond before lunch and drove mostly east toward Stowe, arriving at The Alchemist Brewery in time for lunch. Our final destination before heading due south toward home was Hill Farmstead in Greensboro Bend.

We left Hill Farmstead around 3:30 PM and managed to get home before dark—always a plus when we have time to unpack the van before the end of the day. Another trip in the books and already looking forward to the next one…

Autumn Road Trip: Part I

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It seemed odd to be driving away from New England at the end of September when the trees were hinting of changes to come. But that’s what we did. We’re heading to Albuquerque and planning to arrive in time for the annual Balloon Fiesta.

We aimed to leave home early on that first day and drive five hours or more toward Rochester, New York. But, of course, we needed to gas up. And stop for ice. And, oh, yeah, stop at the Weather Tech dealer for a cup phone holder or two. We actually found Topgo ones we like better. Anyway, it was closer to noon when we finally hit the open road.

Our first night away from home, we stayed at Twin Brook Camillus Farm in Camillus, New York. Owned by a lovely retired couple, Craig and Elaine, the farm is home to sheep, chickens, turkeys, dogs, and a pair of Talouse geese.

It was a quiet, cool night, and we barely heard the rooster crowing through the closed windows the next morning.

We bought farm fresh (still warm) eggs and frozen chicken from their self-serve barn-stand and, on our first official morning on the road, we, of course, stopped at Walmart for a few things. Then, on to Erie Canal Park in Camillus, where we took our morning walk/run.

We arrived at Niagara Falls State Park on Goat Island about mid-afternoon. Thirty-nine years ago, we stopped at the Falls on the Canadian side as we drove home from our honeymoon. This time, we got the American view and waved to Canada across the way.

After Niagara, we drove another hour and a half to Westfield, New York, where we stayed at a KOA campground overnight. The end of our first full day on the road.

In the morning, we popped over to Luensman Overview Park in Portland, New York, for a walk/run, then back to the KOA for showers. Passed an interesting sign, enjoyed some fall leaves along the way, and were disappointed at the ‘overview’ where a haze veiled the supposed view of Lake Erie and Canada, beyond.

We then set our sights on Hoof Hearted (yep, say that fast, out loud) Brewery and Kitchen in Columbus, Ohio. But first, we stopped beside Lake Erie for a few pics. It’s hard to look at such a ‘great’ lake and not think it’s an ocean.

After dinner at Hoof Hearted, where Mark drank one of his favorite beers, Permanent Marker Face Disguises, we drove a short distance to a small, but neat, Alton RV Park in Galloway, Ohio, for the night.

In the morning, we found Mudsock Trail, next to a large, beautiful, and very active dog park, in Columbus, Ohio. Saw a couple of egrets, a huge bees nest, and a great blue heron just hanging out in a tree.

We got back on the road, crossed the Indiana state line, and pulled into my cousin’s driveway in Muncie just after 3 p.m. It was good to see them again, as we’d stopped at their house over a year ago when we first drove our new Sprinter back from Boulder, Colorado. The kids were taller. And they’d just just bought a new house around the corner from their current house, so lots of catching up to do.

We shared some of the apples we’d brought from our trees back home, did some laundry, and waited for my cousin’s husband to get home from work. We used that time to pull out our new electric Weber grill and cook the chicken we’d bought in New York, and also bake some home-grown potatoes in our electric air fryer/oven. Then we went out to dinner in downtown Muncie. We followed dinner with a visit to The Guardian Brewing Company to meet some of their friends who were celebrating one friend’s birthday. The company was enjoyable, the beer, not as much.

In the morning, we said our good-byes, visited the local Walmart, and then stopped at Town Run Trail Park in Indianapolis for a morning hike/run. We didn’t realize initially that this was primarily a bike trail. It was Saturday, so many cyclists were pulling in, strapping on their helmets, and hitting the trail. We found a few visitors who were planning to run the trail and we all decided that it would be okay as long as we gave the bikes the right-of-way. Especially on the narrow sections of the very windy trail. As I hiked, I made sure to keep my ears open for birds in the trees around me and bikes speeding up behind me.

Visible from the Trail Park driveway was this impressive sculpture honoring the classic Studebaker automobile of Indiana.

We left Indianapolis and headed for St. Louis and its famous Gateway Arch. Mark had been up to the top of the arch before and I was hoping to make the ascent this time. The section of St. Louis near the Arch was confusing to navigate. On top of that, we passed crowds heading to a Cardinals game at every intersection. As we finally pulled up along the street beside the National Park, we realized that the parking area was closed and that a brick area, slanting away from the road toward the Mississippi River, was being used instead. We drove to an unoccupied section, away from the tight rows of cars, to make our own parking spot.

The Arch was visible from the highway as we approached the city and was huge up close! But, unfortunately, tickets for the ascent were sold out and we had to be content with the indoor museum and outdoor picture-taking in the ninety-degree heat.

At the end of the day, we drove to Point Labaddie Brewery in Labadie, Missouri, to spend the night in their parking lot, courtesy of the Harvest Hosts network. The owner was welcoming and the beer was good. We met a fellow traveler named Christian who was also staying the night in his rig on his way to Albuquerque.

All real living is meeting, said Martin Buber in I and Thou. I love this quote. When I heard it recently, I immediately attached it as an epigraph to a poem I was writing, as if to say: This. This is what I mean! And I’ve found myself meditating on it a lot during this trip. We’ve met people from New England and they’ve felt like home. We’ve met people from the towns we pass through and they’ve sometimes felt a bit foreign. And we learned of the death of a dear friend back home a few days ago. In this life, we meet so many different people (and animals, birds, insects, flowers, trees, mountains, prairies, rivers, and lakes). Each one expands our universe a little. I’ve come to understand on this trip, that we also meet ourselves along the way.

There’s a lot more I could say about that, but I won’t right now. I’ll leave you to meditate on it yourself. 🙂

Stay tuned for Part II of our adventures, yet to come…