2024 Trip 1: Harvest Hosts wrap up

For the journey home had three more craft breweries lined up to stay at. We figured why not give this Harvest Hosts gig a good testing out.

Our first stop was at Reynolds’s Brewery in Eden N.C. It is located just on the edge of town, in a nice quiet area. When we went inside to let them know we had arrived, we met the owner, Chip Reynolds. Chip showed us some options to park, and we backed in under some trees in a nice grassy area. Got to chatting and Chip told us how he came to be a brewery owner. A super friendly guy, we told him we would be in for pizza and a beer once we got settled in.

What a great vibe to this place. It’s a relatively new build, with a good sized bar, lots of assorted seating options, and a kitchen featuring wood fired pizzas. Being a microbrewery, they brew up what they sell. There are four big vats behind the bar, full of their latest craft creations. The menu is focused around pizza, and the topping combinations were creative and appealing. Great appetizers as well, and of course, the beer was cold and excellent. 

The place was busy, clearly a favourite local hangout. It is a well run spot, friendly staff, spotlessly clean, and as I said earlier, a great vibe. It closes at 10pm, and we were soon back in the Alto for what was a great sleep. We will definitely be back here again!

The next night we stopped at Appalachian Brewing, in Mechanicsburg PA, just off the I81. Not quite the rural setting of our previous HH’s, it is located on the edge of the city, in a sort of industrial area. The building is set back from a commercial road, and the designated parking area is a well lit paved lot tucked at the side of the building. Shortly after we arrived, a big Airstream rig pulled in...our neighbours for the evening. We went in for dinner and the food was quite tasty. A typical bar/restaurant menu, with a good selection of their own, and local craft beers. 

Although lacking in scenic ambience, the food was good and we would certainly stop here again.

As we travelled northward, the overnight temperatures dropped a lot. Not surprising given it was only the start of April. After some thought, we decided to cancel our HH outside of Watertown, and grabbed a hotel. Temps overnight were to drop to -6C, with the long range forecast for Ottawa calling for snow, so I also wanted to re-winterize the Alto. 

Watertown has a 24/7 dump station at the municipal waste treatment plant. This is conveniently located just off the I81. We dumped our tanks, drained the fresh water and the Truma, then  winterized with the jug of antifreeze that was packed for the voyage, just for this potential situation. By the evening, the wind had come up and that -6C temp felt a hell of a lot colder. The hotel was a wise move.

The Harvest Hosts experiment was a big success for us on this trip. We stayed at some awesome hosts, enjoyed some great meals, chatted with some nice folks, and absorbed some good vibes. Even though the cost of dinner was certainly more than the cost of a night at a state park, or a subtly uneasy stay at a Walmart, it is the experience that more than makes up for the extra expense. We did not have to think about meals, we were able to find locations along our planned route, and that experience was so worth it.

We are certainly looking forward to future Harvest Hosts stays, and we have not even scratched the surface of stay options, including the Boondockers Welcome side of the membership, and even the golf courses. We definitely like what we have experienced so far.