This is now our third week long trip in 2021 and this is the one we’ve been waiting for since we put it on the calendar over the winter. It would be our longest distance trip by far with the destination about 500 miles away. So we would need to have stop overs going and coming to break up the 9-10 hours of towing each way (with kids I add 15%).
We joined Harvest Host during a promo they were running last fall but this is only now the first time we’ve been able to use it. Its essentially a booking app that collects unconventional camping locations for short stays, typically only one night. The stays are free, but the sponsor may request or require some sort of patronage to their business. Our first stop on the way north was at 500 acre farm in Gardnier, NY. We were more than happy to do some shopping at their vast farm fresh produce store to stock up for the coming week. We set up a minimal camp in a mowed field between apple and cherry orchards. While we weren’t the only campers there, we had abundant space and in the warm breeze I got the kite out for the boys to fly for a while (funny thing: one of our neighbors did the same after we got ours up in the air). The only drawback to this type of camping (called boondocking) is the lack of all hookups (no electricity = no Air Conditioning). It got pretty hot overnight so we struggled to sleep but thankfully the bunkhouse provided a nice cross breeze and the boys slept all night. Lesson learned: this is either a shoulder season camping experience, or we come better prepared with a generator or some battery powered fans. More importantly, it was also our own fault that we didn’t read the hours of operation for the brewing company which was also on the property. DOH!
Part 2 HERE
