Any RVers here? Check out Harvest Hosts

[pamela]

http://www.harvesthosts.com/


"Harvest Hosts is the first membership program of its kind in the United States to provide RV owners with FREE overnight stops at wineries and farms across the country.

Farmers and vintners generously invite self-contained RVers (all motorhomes, fifth-wheels and trailers) to visit their vineyards, farms and orchards and to stay overnight, no longer than 24 hours, free of charge."


I'm not connected with this organization in any way. I don't even belong to it. My husband and I are planning to sell everything and travel around the country in an RV for a few years so I have been checking into things like this. We plan to stay off the beaten path and also want to purchase locally grown produce, etc, so this should be perfect for the occasional overnight stop. Sure beats Wallydocking.

[MaineDem]

1. Sounds like a great idea.

Good luck with your plan. We did it for a year. Great fun.

Have you heard of Escapees? We were members and stayed at many of their parks. http://www.escapees.com/

[pamela]

2. Thanks, I'm excited.

We've been talking about it for a few years. It's overwhelming now that we've made the decision to do it. We need to get the RV and get our condo sold. I've already started getting rid of stuff but I think the whole process will take at least a year. We're hoping to head out by next Spring.

I read the Escapees forum but I haven't joined yet. We'll probably join so we can use their mail-forwarding service and use their address to become Texans. I've been reading full-timer blogs for a few years now, too, so I've learned a lot by following others as they go through it.

I'd like to hear more about your year if you feel like it.

[Roon]

3. If I ever win the lottery..i would buy the biggest most luxurious

coach I could find (complete with all the slideouts) and tour the country first, and then chase the mild weather after that. I day dream about that sometimes.

[pamela]

5. That's sort of what we're planning...

minus the big and luxurious coach part.;) We're looking at some nice motorhomes though. There are some great deals out there now.It's amazing how affordable a really nice rig can be if you're not buying it brand new. We want to start out with a rig in the 30-35' foot range with a slide-out or 2. We want something small enough to fit in state and national park sites but big enough to live in comfortably when we decide to stay a spell in an area. We figure we'll be traveling more the first few years and then will find places where we like to spend entire seasons. We'll probably buy something bigger then and travel more slowly and less frequently.

I've been thinking about starting a thread for folks who might want to follow along as we progress towards this dream but sometimes on DU I feel like I farted when I mention RVs. I used to be that way a bit, too, but now I'm realizing that full-time RVing can be a fairly green lifestyle. You're not buying tons of crap or heating/cooling a huge space. Of course, gas mileage is horrible but you don't drive hundreds of miles everyday or even every week or month. You drive shorter distances and stay in one place longer than you would if you were in vacation mode. We plan to tow a very fuel efficient vehicle for local traveling and exploring.

I can give you the links to some great blogs of people who are doing this if you're interested.

[whathehell]

7. Hi...I know this is late but my SO and I are thinking of doing the same thing..

So I support your idea for a thread to follow along your progress.

I wouldn't mind having some of those links, either.:)

[DrDan]

4. $20 annual membership - sounds like a heck of a deal

[pamela]

6. Yes, it would pay for itself after 1 or 2 nights.

It looks like it has changed a bit since I first posted this. It originally focused on farms and orchards but it looks like they shifted more towards wineries. Not that that's a bad thing, I just liked the idea of buying my produce from the host as a Thank you for the site but I guess I could buy wine instead.:P