We decided to take a bit of a break from our non winter and head south for a little road trip. Tossed around a few locations, but Savannah and Tybee Island seemed perfect for our timelines.
We take three nights/four days for the travel, and not wanting to spend all those nights in hotels, we looked into the Harvest Hosts program. HH is a membership program that offers thousands of unique overnight camping locations, with no camping charges, all for an annual membership fee. The locations are typically wineries, breweries, farms, etc. Hosts offer a camping space, and in return, the camper makes a purchase of the wares that a host has to offer. This may be a meal in their restaurant, wines from the vineyard, or produce from a farm stand. A companion HH offering is Boondockers Welcome,and it is based more on private residential locations. We snagged a good deal on Black Friday for the annual HH membership, and we were soon into planning mode.
Our first night we generally make it to Wilkes-Barre PA, and not taking a chance on the overnight temps, we booked a hotel. The next two nights we found a couple of craft breweries to stay at. Our thinking being that after a long day of driving we would need to eat a dinner of some sort, so why not stay somewhere that had a menu, and of course, a cold craft beer.
Our very first Harvest Host was at the Blue Mountain Barrel House, near Lovingston VA. This location sits in the shadow of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It could not have been a more perfect introduction to this type of overnight stay. Their location was rural and quiet, our set up spot was in a grassy field at the far end of their patio, and the food and beer were excellent. The hosts were super friendly, and the entire experience was idyllic. We were off to a great start...
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| pulled pork grilled cheese |
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| nice view from our site |
Starting in Virginia. and on our drive down to Georgia, trees along the roadways were still bare of leaves, but within them we would see numerous shocks of bright colour, trees with purple reddish blossoms on them. They were so eye catching we had to ask locals what they are. We were told that they are Eastern Red Bud Tree and are a native tree that thrives, as far north as southern Ontario! So now at home, we thinking of getting one for our backyard.
Our next days drive got a little messy, as we drove through a heavy rain storm that seemed to follow us along the I73/74. I was sure looking forward to a beer after that white knuckle drive. The storm eventually passed by the time we got to Cheraw SC, and the sun actually came out.
Along the away Dale spied a road sign for a little village called Society Hill, and she immediately started to wonder why is that name was so familiar? It quickly came to her that this little village was the location of one of her all time favourite heritage water towers...and the exact one that in 2019 I did not stop, and drove right on by. It was on a rural road with no shoulders...I know, a poor excuse! At that time I made the promise to stop on our next trip down, and so here we were...and she remembered my promise!
We pulled over in the village and walked down the road to the tower. Dale has developed a facination with water towers, mainly of the old school variety.
Also added to Dale’s excitement of seeing the water tower, was seeing that the village has become a sort of art haven started by a local artist, which has many of his outdoor creative sculptures. After a bunch of photos were taken, we were on our way.
Our second HH stay was in Hartsville SC, at Wild Heart Brewery. Located in town, it was clearly a local favourite hangout, and especially on their patio on a warm sunny night. Our parking spot was towards the back of the building, and in view from the big wrap around patio. Being a Friday night, they had a solo country singer on stage, and he was a good entertainer. The local people were very friendly and we had a lot of good laughs. We both had plates of fish and chips, which were excellent. And of course a couple of their craft Pilsners to wash it all down.
So our initial foray into the HH world was off to a great start, and did not disappoint. There are enough photos and reviews on each hosts profile page to give you a good idea of what’s going on, and what to expect. The stay request and host communications are easy to use, and there is a huge variety of hosts to choose from. For overnight stops, it is a welcome treat to be able to grab a bite to eat, then walk to the Alto and turn in for the night. We are looking forward to our next three craft brewery stays on our way back home.
More posts to follow of the rest of our trip...
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