Harvest Hosts

After a year, we are back in lovely Sebasco, on Casco Bay, in Maine. You might remember our visit last summer, during a short lull in Covid, but still in the midst of the pandemic. We were masked when away from the home, we never dined at restaurants inside. We insisted on any visitors being tested before coming.

A lot has changed for the good since then. Maine’s numbers are among the best in the country, and our County is among the best in Maine. Frankly, it almost feels…normal. The stores and restaurants only require masks of people who are not fully vaccinated (how that gets enforced, I have no idea).

As a result, we are much freer with our activity choices. We have dined in restaurants. We visit stores, we visit friends and pretty much assume everyone is vaccinated (and since Gail and I both have been fully vaccinated for months, we feel pretty confident even if there is a possibility that we could find ourselves in proximity to people who might not be).

All that is a long way of saying, we’re pretty much having unfettered fun again. And it’s great! But as a result, we haven’t had much time for writing. Too much fun.

So today, I’d like to do a quick recap of our not-so-quick annual trip east for the summer.

We made the long drive from Utah to the east coast in early June, with the Airstream and Piper, the big dog. Three and a half days of driving, with stays at 3 RV sites, including two Harvest Host locations. If you have never heard of Harvest Hosts, check out the link. If you have an RV, or ever rent one, this is a real find. For less than $100 annually, you have access to countless venues. The visits are free, and the locations varied, but in our (limited, so far) experience, always fun and interesting. Hosts include distilleries, wineries, breweries, farms, museums and other attractions. Given that the stays cost nothing, proper Harvest Host etiquette is to purchase items from the hosts, including drinking their beer, wine or whiskey, buying their farm products and otherwise patronizing the business, whatever it might be. The link above includes a 15% discount for new memberships (and in the interest of full disclosure, provides a small compensation to Senior Ripper for each new membership obtained through that link).

There are some restrictions which, for the most part, do not diminish the value of their offerings, and are not terribly difficult to comply with. First, you are typically limited to one-night stays. There are some exceptions, and you can always ask for an extra night, but most of the locations have limited spots (as they also have to save room for their regular customers). So they could be “sold out” for a second night. In addition, you must have a self-contained RV, with bathroom, power, water, etc., as the host locations are not RV resorts and do not have those services available. But even our little Basecamp can satisfy that requirement.

Our first night on the road was spent at Pine Bluffs Distillery, in Pine Bluffs, Wyoming, just east of Cheyenne. It was a wonderful stay. Chad, the host and owner, and Keely, the head barkeep, were welcoming, friendly and knowledgeable about distilling and mixology. Chad had brought in pizzas (they don’t serve food), and I am told they often have guest food trucks. There was live music, and we were surrounded by locals, who welcomed us as their own. The whiskey was great, but the camaraderie was even better.

Our second Harvest Host stay was at Boxcar Brew Works in Dubois (pronounced locally as dooboys), Pennsylvania. It was situated in a retired railroad car, among many rail cars, including one that had been owned by Teddy Roosevelt. The complex had a pizzeria, an ice cream shop, a dinosaur museum, and several other attractions. The beer and pizza were delicious, and once again, the hosts and locals were warm and welcoming.

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We will continue our Harvest Host explorations on our way back to Utah in August. And we highly recommend you try them out.

Keep moving, stay safe, have fun!