One of the interesting aspects of traveling the country is getting to meet people that you would never have met otherwise. We find ourselves in a lot of out-of-the way locations while staying at small, local businesses through Harvest Hosts, which allows RVers to park in the parking lots and fields of breweries, wineries, country stores, farms, golf clubs, and even old drive-in movie theaters!
Even though many of these locations are off the main highways, the journey and experiences are always worth it. Aside from staying for free, with a suggestion of purchasing items from the businesses, it’s the conversations and stories we hear, the history of the business and towns that appeals to us.
In the two weeks we have been on the road so far, we have stayed in five Harvest Host spots. Two stand out as most memorable, one for its nostalgia and one for its historical significance.
The Highway 21 Drive-In Movie Theater in Beaufort, SC, brought me back to the summers of my youth. To the summer of 1982, specifically. I had just graduated high school. I was college bound and had two glorious months of freedom and what I thought was adulthood.
My friends and I spent our days working, our weekend days at the beach, and our summer nights either at our favorite dive bars or at the local drive in.
1982 was the summer of Rocky III and whenever I hear the title song, “Eye of the Tiger”, I instantly think about sitting on the hood of someone’s car watching Rocky, a rerun of Rocky Horror Picture Show, Stripes, or Grease, and watching with one eye closed Friday the 13th III and Poltergeist.
Flash forward a mere 44 years, and our treat for the evening at this 1970’s drive in Harvest Host was to watch the movie Obsession, a film made by two YouTube guys for a mere $10 million, which has inexplicitly grossed well over $300 million. Although it wasn’t our cup of tea, the experience of sitting outside the RV with the dogs on our blanket and chairs, watching the movie, then going to sleep right there, was relaxing, fun, and very memory inducing.
Tonight’s Harvest Host has us parked at Carters General Store in a small town south of Lynchburg, Virginia. The owners, Kyle and Sherry, were so warm and friendly, it was one of the hottest days of this ridiculous heat wave and we desperately needed AC. Luckily, our hosts were able to hook us up, as well as feed us some delicious home cooking.
This store has been in operation since 1879 and has been in the owner’s family for three or four generations. Viriginia is steeped in history and houses some of our country’s oldest buildings, landmarks, and memorials.
It was great to be the 87th harvest Host guests for a business that has been around for 147 years!