Our journey took us through much of Indiana on the way to Illinois. A short drive off of route 90 could take you to Goshen, Elkhart, Middlebury, Nappanee, Bristol and a few other towns that are host to RV manufacturers. We didn't stop, but the sheer numbers of RV parked on either side of the highway was impressive.
We are still using the earlier method of staying in an RV spot for a week; Monday ~ Friday. It was our habit when Julie was still working. We needed to be stationery so she could have meetings and manage all of her activities. Although she's retired, we put our itinerary together using that same formula before she pulled the trigger. It will stay this way until we land in Arizona this December.
Usually, we try to manage our get away days to include traveling less than 200 miles to the next stop. The tasks are repetitive, but dictate you pay attention, as each is like a constant inspection to ensure integrity of parts, connections, etc. Pictured below is the sewer hose, and it's truly one of the nasty jobs... but there are others.
Nonetheless, there are times the distance is more than we want to drive in one day. Between tearing down your last camp site and setting up a new one, it can easily take a few hours. So add in the driving, all of the activites to leave and then establish the new site, you might get to your destination later then you planned on. So now you're tired, cut a corner or two in setting up and of course, you're hungry - hell we're always hungry.
We joined an RV camping organization last year called Harvest Hosts.
There are a lot of different plces you can stay just for an overnight. Walmart parking lots, Cabela Sports, Cracker Barrel restaurants, chain Truck stop centers and the like. A lot of these places have restrictions on what you can do there with your RV. For example, you may not be able to open your slideouts. There might not be water, sewer and electricity. There might be restrictions on the size of your RV. And not all of the sites listed allow the overnight stay. It varies by city, state and the manager of the merchant.
Harvest Hosts on the other hand is simple. You stop at a Harvest Hosts site and get to stay there overnight at no cost. It's a great idea, as there are a lot of cool place to stay; wineries, distilliries, museums, churches, breweries, golf courses or in some cases, yards of private homes. What Harvest Hosts asks is that you be considerate of the host and patronize their business. And the amount of that patronage suggested is far less than you'd pay at a campground. While there are different options for a one night stay, Harvest Hosts provides a different experience. Some of these sites offer water, sewer and electricity and the network across the nation is expanding. Most all are open, offer food, of course adult beverages and generally a fun crowd there to enjoy the venue.
Ever since we started RV'ing, we've found Harvest Hosts to be an exxcellent place for an overnight. The pictures above are from Anderson's Winery and Vineyard in Valparaiso, Indiana. You can see the Puffin in the back left corner of the top image. The band was set up next to a patio area with tables, chairs and umbrellas, which was adjacent to where we parked. They had a kitchen that made a lot of different shareable bites to sandwiches and the wine was delicious. The next day, we ate breakfast at a place called Le Peep. It was a large Sunday (open everyday, actually), place that you go to have a special breakfast. Was about three miles away, but worth the trip.
So now we've had a good nights sleep, woke up to another day of travel to get to our final destination after a satisfying breakfast. We got to take our time, arrived into Union, Illinois with plenty of daylight left to establish our camp site and then try to find a place for dinner.
I hope the wines in Illinois improve as we travel further west!
Comments