Posted October 19, 2023 – Narrated by Carmen
When passing through, some places are too beautiful to leave …
so, sometimes we stay.
Thanks to Harvest Hosts – a membership club for complimentary overnight camping based on a European model – RV travel is experiencing a resurgence of hospitality not seen since the bygone era of the American Auto Park of the 1920’s-to-50’s.
Some think history repeats itself and others say it rhymes. I’m keen on the idea that Time is a vehicle and The Past is its service station.
So, “Does time change vehicles? Or do vehicles change the times?
Today, RV-tech continues to outpace the race for efficiency against the glacially slow housing industry. For decades, RV’s have achieved the highest marks on the affordable/sustainable housing front.
Resourceful Americans are catching onto the advantage of mobility, prying loose from residential stagnation and the housing crisis to reclaim the open road.
And many find the nomadic life is more normalized than recent generations have experienced. The full-time mobile lifestyle is gaining new respect as a public service.
That’s why safe, legal and beautiful RV parking is in high demand.
Only a decade ago, a long day’s drive usually ended with a tight squeeze into an over-lit, chain-link fenced, roadside RV park with a cheap base-gravel pad and rusty outdated hook-ups – and, it would cost you a motel sized bill.
Today’s self-reliant RVers want fresh air in a quiet, spacious, scenic area – a place to relax, watch a sunset, have a bite to eat, take a walk, enjoy some stargazing, and go to bed – no hook-ups or amenties necessary.
Harvest Hosts, modeled on the ancient system of mutually beneficial commerce, is like a secret portal to adventure.
We stock our pantry, produce bin, and liquor cabinet directly from the people who cultivate our food and drink.
In turn, they reward us with an area where we can grab a good night’s sleep without actually having to wake at the crack of dawn to attend harvest – unless we are invited to lend a hand.
Harvest Host’s user-friendly website – with an ever-increasing list of more than 5,000 hosting locations at farms, vineyards, breweries, distilleries, attractions, and golf courses – has kept our full-time travel lifestyle on course for eight years.
We drop potential locations into our RV Life Trip-Wizard program, and check for availability as we journey along at our own pace. So far we’ve been guests at 138 Harvest Hosts locations.
Living in Beauty is an active lifestyle, and we need our rest.
Harvest Hosts supports our simple mission to immerse in beautiful new-to-us, no-hassle, secure outdoor locations.
Our hosts are working people, so they understand the need for R&R.
Sometimes they will scoop us about farmer’s markets, festivals and happenings in the area – like in West Monroe when we pulled up just in time for a big ol’ Cajun harvest fair. Laissez les bons temps rouler!
Harvest Host’s is many things.
It’s a sanctuary on national holidays when it’s impossible to get a site reservation in a public park.
And, after Labor Day – in regions where campgrounds close for the season – Harvest Hosts is a refuge.
Meet-ups with friends who live nearby is always more fun at Harvest Hosts destination-restaurants and fine wineries.
Bottom line, Harvest Hosts is how we roll. Here are some recent favorites from 2022-23.
Dru Bru – Cle Elum, Washington
We’d never heard of Cle Elum, but we were proud to spend the night in this gorgeous valley nestled into the heart of the Cascades.
After a scenic drive with stops at roadside farm stands …
we pulled into Dru Bru where our host and the food truck served up a meal fit for the Gods: pizza and beer.
And we took advantage of their free overflow parking area reserved for Harvest Host members.
Beauty and The Beast enjoyed a mountain view and safe, legal parking while we dined only a few yards away …
and the sunset was on the house.
That’s how it works. Harvest Host’s is a way to promote polite commerce where each party – the host and the guest – enjoy economic rewards. Written reviews are encouraged to help others understand more about your experience.
Roslyn, Washington
And, next morning, it was only a short trip to Roslyn, an old coal town established in the late 1800’s.
Generations of filmmakers weave Roslyn into their stories.
The Runner Stumbles and The Man In The High Castle were filmed here.
We needed a jet-setters moment to see the locations that framed the adorable fictional village of Cicely, Alaska from the series Northern Exposure, our inspiration to travel to Alaska.
Hey! Here’s a hard-earned Living In Beauty Travel Tip: Visiting the Cascades and Roslyn is much easier, far less expensive and infinitely safer than over-landing to Alaska 😂
Copper Belt Wines – Baker City, Oregon
In easy post-Labor-Day traffic, we drove south on Highway 84 along the Historic Oregon Trail …
following the winding historic country road in the Snake River AVA region …
to the doorstep of Copper Belt Wines.
Winemaker, Travis Cook, showed us to our campsite.
After settling in, Travis poured tastings of his excellent European-style wines.
As Travis packed up our purchase he advised us to enjoy the stars (this is a dark sky area) then bid us good night, closed up, and drove away leaving us alone to savor the soft rosy sunset and his 2021 Tempranillo.
We watched the plume of dust follow his truck over one hill and then the next. There’s room for several RV’s and we hadn’t planned to be all alone, but this felt good – real good – and could even be criminally fun. Fortunately Travis hadn’t seen this:
Before commencing with nefarious activities, we sat down to supper.
And that’s when we noticed the sound of our chewing. We laughed and our chuckles echoed away-way way into the distance. The intense silence heightened our senses and we began to hear new things like the gentle thrum of air combing through the feathers of starlings winging overhead.
Well, that did it. Jim pulled out his drone.
While I took glamour shots of wine,
and danced with my shadow
and belted out Bohemian Rhapsody to Cow in yonder pasture.
An evening in Paris could not have rendered more memories than the sweet paradise we encountered on that magical October night, all alone with not a care in the world on the Oregon Trail.
GoodMills Family Winery – Lodi, California
Being the sole campers at a Harvest Host is not uncommon, especially in the Fall and Winter.
The kind owner of GoodMills Family Winery, closed the tasting room early to attend a seasonal concert at a neighboring vineyard. Still, she let us buy some wine and invited us to enjoy the pleasures of the garden. So, left to enjoy the grounds as the distant music echoed through the vines …
and the super-moon, all puffed up like a silk pillow on a green velvet chaise lounge, appeared from behind the mountains …
(Sigh) All I’m sayin’ is, it’s all good at GoodMills.
Bandera Brewery – Bandera, Texas
🎶 As we drove down the streets of Bandera
as we drove into Bandera one day … 🎶
The afternoon sun blazed off the pavement in the hosted parking beside Bandera Brewery.
Jim stabled the livestock and we bellied up to the bar for a coupl’a tanks of suds.
The parking was level, well lighted, and we could relax in the beer garden while keeping an eye on the rig – a responsibility we take as seriously as card playing.
Not all Harvest Hosts look like a movie set. Some are just a mall parking lot. But after a long, hard drive through Texas, a lighted asphalt lot is a fine place to park the rig and comb ‘er over for signs of damage.
Ah, lovely Bandera, The Cowboy Capital of The World, where meat is always on the menu. We ordered from Marfe next door to the brew pub.
Jim had the tender, juicy ribs …
and I ordered a “surprise me” vegetarian platter. Those lip-smackin’ flavors made us want to kidnap the cook.
Bandera Brewery. We recommend it. Great food, free movies, top-notch brew, happen’ town …
Just don’t play cards with the cat.
Panels Up Solar – Laurel, Mississippi
Mississippi is our home-away-from-home where everyone tells us, “You must go see Laurel!” So, at last, we dropped by for a visit.
Our hosts, Stacy and Justin Ford, at Panels Up Solar generously opened their secure and lighted yard for our overnight stay, no business transaction required.
After meeting the Fords and viewing their facility we can vouch for their knowledge, professionalism and expertise in custom RV solar installation, and we were also impressed with their enthusiasm for Laurel, The City Beautiful.
The Fords acted as concierge, offering recommendations and even providing a tour guide.
They advised us not to use our bikes on the half-mile highway distance to town (too dangerous). So, we unhitched, lowered stabilizers, and went adventuring in lovely, shady, artistic and relaxing Laurel.
Later that evening we toasted the kick-off to a full year of Food, Music and Enlightenment in the beautiful Deep South.
Mountain Cove Vineyards – Lovington, Virginia
There is a road you’ve always pictured in your mind.
You’ve never seen it but you know it’s there, somewhere.
The winding country road leads to a hidden vineyard nestled in a pristine valley with a babbling brook and clover-scented air.
You find a place in the field and make camp.
You can only stay for one day and one night.
Every moment counts, yet haste has been banished from this valley. So you sit for a while and watch a grasshopper sway on a stem of hay.
Up the hill, at the end of the road, there is a winemaker who knows the valley and its stories. He makes the oldest wine in the land.
You walk up the road and buy as much wine as you are able to hold in your arms and carry down the hill.
Back at camp, you open a bottle of the wine and nose the herbal bouquet.
You take a sip. The wine rolls slowly over your tongue and you taste the magical valley and the brook and the joy of the road.
Golden Grove Farm & Brew – Pelzer, South Carolina
Whenever we say “beer,” Computer, our GPS, responds, “Say a command!” It’s an adorable glitch, but on this hot July day in South Carolina we were not amused. Computer had jerked us around all day and now she was throwing shade again, leading us to a fork in the road. We had the choice of a low bridge …
or what looked like an overgrown private drive. Both roads bent into the unknown like a magician holding out two fists, challenging us to pick the one holding a coin.
We shunned the bridge and plunged into the dense overhanging South Carolina scrub. Within moments we came upon an intriguing settlement of craft brew infrastructure bordering a major freeway. What’s this? A hippie oasis hiding in plain sight.
Like much of South Carolina, Golden Grove Farm and Brew is not to be taken at face value.
Golden Grove is a treasure trove of surprises and contradictions. After we settled in under the giant billboard we discovered we were parked at the entrance to a beautiful, well maintained 18 hole private disc course.
Hundreds of personalized mugs dangle from an assortment of hooks serving as testimony to this beloved neighborhood establishment.
The cold, craft brew,
wood-fired pizza,
and crispy, spicy chicken wings,
were delivered with the usual understated excellence we encounter throughout the south – like it ain’t no big thing, except you never had it so good.
That quality pairs with what I call “the southern conundrum.” A tendency to neither facilitate nor disregard the past, trusting that things of no practical use will, eventually, decompose.
Miraculously, that night, the skeeters were off duty. But as the sky turned cobalt the lightening bugs presented a dazzling show to the powerful music of pond frogs who drowned out the highway racket. As we enjoyed the evening, Jim and I had a heart-to-heart and agreed that we said some harsh things to computer today. Tomorrow, we’ll apologize, maybe even get her that new update and a cold beer. Then, we went inside and fell into a deep, forgiving South Carolina slumber.
Hodges Vineyards and Winery – Camp Hill, Alabama
Is it heaven or is it Hodges?
Camp Hill in Tallapoosa County, Alabama offers the finest Harvest Host accommodations we have ever experienced.
Green and manicured as neatly as a golf course, Hodges Vineyards and Winery is a wonderful way to immerse into the beautiful Alabama countryside.
The wine is made from old family recipes in the Alabama tradition. We were delighted with the fruitiness and bought several bottles for gifts and are saving some for Thanksgiving dinner.
The sites are on concrete slabs, in the vines, with full hook-ups.
The first night is on the house. But RVers inclined to stay longer may request to do so for a fee according to availability.
With such friendly hosts, beautiful surroundings, and a wine shop next door, I wouldn’t mind staying at Hodges for a month.
They don’t call it Camp Hill for nothing.
Feeling Grateful
As we approach the holidays, Jim and I are focusing on The Good – the people, things and places that are making life even better – and the mobile lifestyle is high on our list.
100 years ago at the dawn of The Great American Road Trip, travelers did not have the vast network of roads and public lands we enjoy today.
Now, with more efficient RV’s and Harvest Hosts there’s no place like Home, Home On The Road.
Here is an animated map of these Harvest Host Locations
You may enjoy our two other blog posts about Harvest Hosts:
Awww, so good to hear from you again. It was worth the wait. Thank you for the very informative tour of HH locations around the country. We’ve had a membership for years and have never taken advantage of it. That may have to change soon.
Kathy & Steve! Great to hear from you two! Thank you for checking up on us. It’s good to know we have folks looking out for us.
It just depends on what your traveling ambitions are. We like the flexibility of Harvest Hosts. To be able to break a long trip up into tiny sections while diving deeper into a region.
So many people these days say they can’t find space for a last minute RV trip – Harvest Hosts solves that issue.
However, it’s important to read about each host and decide which place is for you. For example we avoid farms and wineries with patrolling watch dogs because Pico is just too aggressive toward other dogs and will likely get into a bad situation. But other than a safe place to park off the road, we have few special needs and we can put up with almost any situation for a single night.
This last year has been an especially good Harvest Host year and we just wanted to share.
Safe & Happy Travels!
Carmen@LIB
Always good to see a new post and to see that the purple squirrel still has his place of honor on your dash! We have had great experiences with Harvest Host and should use it more. There is only one we pulled into and didn’t stay. It was at a tourist dive kinda place and the parking was in a dirty, dusty, windy parking lot that was horribly unlevel with erosion channels and there was really no place to eat and we thought there would be. So we kept going… Everywhere else has been great.
Hey A!
Too bad about that HH experience.
We recently turned down a HH too. We hated to, but it just wasn’t off-street enough for us. Parking opened to traffic and it just spooked me, so we left and went to a nearby Cracker Barrell with extremely nice quiet lighted parking but with only one-star on Yelp. So I bought a Burt’s Bee’s lipstick and a marked-down shawl I needed anyway and we called it a night. We always try to have plan B just in case it doesn’t work out.
We like to put together one or two week-long wine tours through Lodi where there are many wonderful Harvest Hosts. On our visit last year many of the hosts told us that Harvest Hosts guests were a blessing during Covid. We like to think of ourselves as a blessing 😊
Purple Squirrel sends good vibes!
Safe & Happy Travels!
Carmen@LIB
Love your blog- I just signed up and am enjoying your posts. Would love to know your average number of nights you stay when on the road. From the map with HH (which we use as well!), it looks like you are on the road most everyday, but only go a few miles. Is this the way you travel? We tend to go aways and then stay a week or so- haven’t thought about picking up every few days. Just interested in your travel model 🙂
Hey A!
Thanks for joining Harvest Hosts. We hope you enjoy the expansion of travel possibilities 😊
So glad you are enjoying our site.
If you want to know more about our travel philosophy – how we live full-time on the road – here a couple of blogs that best explain our lifestyle:
https://livinginbeauty.net/2017/12/30/groovin-to-the-4-3-2/
https://livinginbeauty.net/travelmap-and-facts/
Thank you so much for being with us!
Safe & Happy Travels!
Carmen@LIB
Great blog….thank you
Our pleasure, Arlene!
Safe & Happy Travels!
Carmen@LIB
Thank you for visiting GoodMills Family Winery !
Great Blog 🍷
Thank you Lauri 🍷
Thank you for a lovely stay!
We hope to visit GoodMills periodically. Our Airstream technician: Vinnie’s Northbay Airstream Repair is in your area.
Safe & Happy Travels!
Carmen@LIB
I’m so honored and so happy you enjoyed your stay here in Laurel, MS. And thank you so much for mentioning us in your blog. What a beautiful couple you are, and we hope to have you as a guest again sometime! ~ Panels Up Solar, Laurel, MS
Thank you so much for the lovely stay at Panels Up Solar in Laurel!
We hope to visit again soon and spend more time exploring the beautiful town. As Mississippi insiders, it is such a joy to see those beautiful buildings getting TLC, and also to discover exciting new independent businesses.
Safe & Happy Travels!
Carmen@LIB
We love your blog. We drove from California to Naples Florida this summer to pick up our new to us Airstream, a 28ft International CCD named by the previous owners BABs (Bad Ass B*tch). We’re keeping the name but since we have a one year old grandson who will sometimes join us on our travels BABs will now be Big And Beautiful 😊. On our way to Florida, 2,700 miles, we listened to all your posts. With each mile and each Living in Beauty post we become more excited about our new adventures. Thank you so much for sharing your experiences, we have learned so much from you. – Matt and Lilia
Hello Lilia!
We are so proud to have you with us. It sounds like you and Matt and the Grand will make some Big Beautiful memories in Bab’s.
Safe & Happy Travels!
Carmen & Jim @ LIB
Let’s be clear… It is NOT free overnight camping. Each stay should be a $30 minimum purchase / contribution / donation.
Hey Jay!
You make a good point. I guess it’s how you look at it.
Harvest Hosts is certainly not free, it’s a membership club. Currently, I think the annual fee is under $100.
Sure, we buy product, but it’s product that we plan to use or give as a gift. Right now I have a trove of jams in our pantry, wines in our wine vault and some extremely good goat butter in the freezer which I plan to use on a big family Thanksgiving bash. Most of these artisan food items can only be purchased locally. We love that kind of stuff.
But I agree that “Free” isn’t quite the right word. “Complimentary,” I think, best serves the description of the business transaction.
Thanks so much for being with us Jay!
Safe & Happy Travels!
Carmen@LIB
Great blog post! We use HH for ~80% of our stops on our annual PA -WY and return trips.
We stayed last year in Laurel at Panels Up Solar. They also told us to be careful of the main road!
Hope you are both well! We are heading to a HH tomorrow in Elkhart IN 😊
Hey David!
Are you and Kathy going to the RV museum in Elkhart? We loved that place and met some fascinating people who were also overnighting there.
We miss you two and hope to see you sometime soon. We’re still in The Deep South and are currently enjoying the pleasures of Tennessee.
BTW: Thanks to your wonderful long-term and short term weather forecasts at RV Weather we’ve had the most ideal summer on the road EVER! Absolutely beautiful conditions across a 7-state tour!
https://rvweather.com/#latest-forecasts
xoxo and Safe & Happy Travels!
Carmen@LIB
LOVE Harvest Hosts!
Hey Phil!
If you have dry-camping skills, Harvest Hosts is the natural solution. Who wants to pay $40-$90 a night just to sleep? Plus, we like to meet interesting people who make their living off the land out in the countryside. Just fascinating.
Safe & Happy Travels!
Carmen@LIB
We have been members since 2020 and prefer staying at Harvest Host locations when we are traveling.
Hey Polly!
We loved it when they added the golf courses. That was especially helpful during Covid. Nice quiet surroundings, beautifully lighted, and safe paved walking paths for Pico. I love to shop the sales in the Pro Shops and sit on the view decks with an ice cold Arnold Palmer. Jim and I are even thinking about buying a couple of putters.
Thanks for being with us!
Safe & Happy Travels!
Carmen@LIB
Like to hear more on satisfied users of HH sites. We’ve only had one successful use.
Hey Tom!
I’m so sorry Harvest Hosts hasn’t worked out for you. We’ve had to drive away from one because they had a big dog that we feared Pico’s safety, and another time when we were just too close to traffic – but, obviously, we’re charmed overall.
Have you tried a golf course? We recommend them to first-time Harvest Hosts members because they usually have easy access with well paved wide roads and level parking. We’ve stayed in some beautiful golf courses this year in Mississippi and Louisiana – and also in California and Nevada.
Thanks for being with us!
Safe & Happy Travels!
Carmen@LIB
Beautifully written and photographed article
Hey Pat!
You are so kind. Thank you.
Safe & Happy Travels!
Carmen@LIB
Nice photos and commentary about your HH stays. 🙂
Thank you, Susan!
Safe & Happy Travels!
Carmen@LIB
Wonderful post!! You are really living the dream!!!
Hey Melinda!
Robert Louis Stevenson put it succinctly: “The great affair is to move” and we’re still in love with the freedom to roam! Sounds like you and Jim are as well. We can’t wait to hear about your latest journey!
Safe & Happy Travels!
Carmen@LIB
Love the quote! I have posted eight short videos on YouTube of the portion of our trip where we were in London, which was about 10 days. I haven’t been able to find the time to start on the remainder of the trip! Anyway, if you’re really interested, go to “lucky dog productions CORONADO “. The first one is the longest which is about 10 minutes. The rest of them are are about five minutes each. We love the Churchill portion of the trip. We went to Chartwell, his country, home, Blenheim palace, where he was born, the war rooms underneath the treasury building, Bletchley and Saint peter’s where his funeral was held.  we had a great time, but it was a forced march with Jim! He wanted to see everything there was to see in London during the time we were there, and I think we almost did it! We are looking forward to Jim’s visit. Where will you be? You are also welcome!
I always enjoy seeing a notification of a new episode of LiB. My goodness, another wonderfully done episode. Thank you for sharing your Harvest Host experiences. I am very familiar with Harvest Hosts since it was owned by the mother/daughter team before Joel Holland purchased it. What a wonderful concept and your review of it was exceptional. Laura and I are not members since almost all of our camping involves driving 100 to 300 miles to a campground destination and staying 3 to 7 nights before returning home. I am looking forward to longer multi-week, multi-month trips that will allow us to include Harvest Hosts as part of our camping travels. Thank you!!!
Hey Casita Dean!
Yes, we remember the old days of Harvest Hosts. It’s a great concept and there are many businesses that encourage overnight RV stays with a purchase. If you are ever in Lee Vining near Mono Lake the Mono Inn allows complimentary overnight parking for dinner guests. The view is amazing and the food is top-notch. We didn’t feature it in this article because we were focusing on Harvest Hosts which deserves kudos for the fantastic job they do in networking business with RV travel in an easy, no hassles way.
Great to hear from you, Dean!
Safe & Happy Travels!
Carmen@LIB
Thank you for the recommendation! Laura and I are looking forward to many nights and years of travel ahead of us. Ummm, due to family obligations, etc., I think we will only get 37 nights in our Casita this year. Our “peak” year has been nearly 70. I hope that 2024 will be closer to 70 than to 40.
Carmen and Jim,
Thanks for another great blog. For the first time since I’ve been following you guys, you failed to capture the essence of an area. Laurel, MS has been revitalized by Ben and Erin Napier, stars of HGTV’s runaway hit show Home Town. A trip to Laurel is not complete without a visit to the shop where Ben works his magic with wood and Erin’s shop on Main Street with the old Airstream on the side of the building which was partially in one of your shots without so much as a mention. Then, the highlight is a tour of the homes that have been made famous on the show that received Ben and Erin’s stunning renovation redos. The tour is conducted in pink Cadillac stretch limos and is tons of fun. Ben and Erin have put Laurel on the map and are doing great things in the community. The next time you’re over that way, check it out
Hey Pete!
Until we arrived we didn’t have a clue about HGTV or Ben and Erin. We realized we were out of the loop when our hosts asked us if were there for “the show.” We haven’t had a television for over 40 years – and do not subscribe to streaming because we are so rarely in a place where we can use the services … so, sorry, we were completely in the dark. As soon as we entered Laurel we realized more time was necessary to fully appreciate what was going on. Still, we had a great time and I wish I could show you all of the pictures I took. We will definitely go back since my Dad and brother live only 60 miles away.
Jim and I love architecture and it thrills us to see small towns in the deep south and in the Rust Belt under restoration. In fact, I think we learned about Laurel when we were admiring some restoration projects in Meridian, MS. I’m glad that you, too, enjoy seeing beautiful old treasures brought back to life.
Always wonderful to hear from you, Pete!
Safe & Happy Travels!
Carmen@LIB
We love HH/BW sites! It allows us travel on our strict budget while enjoying some places we may not ever see.
We recently stayed at a HH in Titusville, FL and visited the Space Museum there; it was an awesome collection of NASA memorabilia.
We were also at Copper Belt this year! Great wine! Have you had their port??
Jennifer!
Oh, that’s good to know about Titusville! We’d love to see the Space Museum there.
Yes, we tried the fabulous port! I should have bought a bottle. I love to roast equal amounts of castelvetrano olives, tangerine slices, halved grapes and pearl onions together in an iron skillet, pour over a cup of port wine and serve with crusty bread and Humboldt fog. True, California cuisine, that. 😋
Thanks so much for sharing you experience with Harvest Hosts!
Safe & Happy Travels!
Carmen@LIB
We pay for a membership every year and haven’t used it once due to the way we travel. We do a lot of Cracker Barrels on the east coast, they’re plentiful and we don’t have to schedule. Can drive more or less. When I’ve mapped out HH, I find the field gets narrowed down, length of rig, the scheduling doesn’t work, etc…
We’ll keep our membership, it provides an option and we’ll utilize it at some point.
Hey Mark!
When we started out we stayed at Cracker Barrels quite a lot. They are convenient when traveling the major highways. But, as we age, we are increasingly avoiding metro areas and looking for more scenic areas to overnight whenever possible. We prefer the countryside and find it’s worth a few extra miles to drive into the boonies for an overnight adventure. But we are grateful for a Cracker Barrel when we need one because they are making travel better too.
Great to hear from you!
Safe & Happy Travels!
Carmen@LIB
We love Harvest Host and all the places that we have stayed. The only problem we ever had wasn’t the Host’s fault but really rude people who asked us to move out of our spot because they wanted it. But seriously we have wonderful memories due to Harvest Host.
Hey Sydnee!
Thanks for sharing.
We had a similar experience. The hosts accidentally overbooked the parking area. Fortunately, no one was rude about it, but we all worked together to make enough space and it was actually fun. Mistakes happen. These are small businesses, not professional campgrounds. I think they are hoping that understanding and resourceful people will figure it out. Unfortunately, rude people will make a situation like that worse than it should be.
For us, Harvest Hosts is win-win. It enables us to have shorter driving days without burdening us with additional costs.
Great to hear from you, Sydnee!
Safe & Happy Travels!
Carmen@LIB
We got to the winery and parked in the one shaded spot. In our mind it is first come first serve. The camper got upset because he needed shade for his grandchildren. He then proceeded to pull next to us going on the nice grassy area and then opened his pullouts which hit our windows! We got them closed in time.
So we moved when they went inside the tasting room. Turned out once the sun went down we were in the middle of the vineyard (authorized area) and enjoyed the wildlife.
We didn’t let it ruin the trip. Between cold showers and maybe a G&T we made the best of what could of been icky.
We used it once and had a great experience but I can never seem to find a stop along our way that is convenient for a quick overnight. We find they are usually off our main traveling routs.
Stacey, over the past 8 years we have found that the ever increasing number of hosts participating in this program has made it easier and easier for us to find places to stay the night. But, that being said, there are still many areas where there are no Harvest Host Hosts for us to choose from. We agree with you that there are times when we must travel 10 to 30 miles off our travel route to stay for the night. We still love this program. Jim