Harvest Hosts: Our FIRST Harvest Host Stay at Jessie's Grove

There are so many Harvest Host locations available to members!

After leaving central Oregon, we headed back to the coast for a few weeks, to see our fellowship family and say goodbye before heading out "for real."  We were welcomed back into town by the biggest storm of the year and yucky weather that stretched out for nearly the entire duration of our visit.  Normally, I love a good storm, but I love them a lot less when stuck in a stuffy RV!  We spent much of that two weeks drying wet dogs, dashing out in the rain to manage tanks, and alternating the A/C to remove moisture from the air and the heater to keep us warm. Also, our mold allergies returned with gusto and Jackson caught a cold.  It was a bummer BUT weather aside, we did get to spend time with our fellowship friends, which was the reason for our visit.  We enjoyed dinners and games and fellowship and it was oh, so sweet!   I am grateful for the time we got with them all.

From there, we set out for our first stop.  Since it was so far away, we decided to split the drive into two days, with an overnight in Lodi, California.  We recently signed up for a travel club called Harvest Hosts, and this was a great opportunity for our first stay with one of their hosts, Jessie's Grove Winery.  I have to say, Harvest Hosts is such a neat company!  A membership is only $44/year, and it allows you to stay free at wineries, farms, and attractions all over the country.  Typically, you only stay for one night, but I have seen in the comments on their site that many of the HH offer to let you stay longer, for two or three nights.  All they ask you to do is:  call ahead, be respectful of their property, and purchase something in their store/gift shop as a thank you.

The people at Jessie's Grove sounded excited that we were coming, which made me feel very comfortable going there.  I think I had this idea in my mind that these places would be reluctant to have freeloaders staying on their property, but that is the opposite of the impression they gave us at Jessie's Grove!  They were so kind and welcoming.  We hit insane road construction all day that day, which delayed us to the point that we weren't going to be able to make it to the winery until right after business hours.  When I called to let them know, they assured me that it was no trouble because they were hosting a wedding and they would be there until 9:00 that night.  They were very understanding.

We did have a bit of trouble finding the RV entrance, as it is not marked and the gate was closed, with a lock on it (though the lock was not locked.)  We actually overshot the entrance the first time and had to drive down through Lodi to find a place big enough to turn our RV around, then came back and used our odometer to figure out when we had hit the .5 mile point. From there, we guessed that the gate was the entrance, so I hopped out to see if it would open.  It did, and we went down the driveway, praying that we were in the right spot.  And thankfully, we were!  After we got to our spot in their field, we settled in for the night and had the special treat of having a concert to listen to, from the wedding!  The kids loved it and had a dance party in our living room.  :)

This was the gorgeous view when we arrived at Jessie's Grove:

After the offices opened up the next day, we went in to give our thanks for their hospitality before heading out for the second leg of our drive.  We are looking forward to our next stay with a Harvest Host, hopefully soon!