Week 12 - Autumn arrives

Spent most of the week staying at Harvest Hosts - a sort of Boondocking in different fields, farms and car parks. The leaves are starting to turn and the temperatures are falling - Jo is very happy with the Autumnal climate.

Saturday, September 25th, Niagara

We decided to have a low key day today, washed all the bed linens and our clothes. I typed up the blog and Peter did his download photo picture on the blog. We planned the where and when for the next leg of our trip, lots of Harvest Host one night spots. We we walked the only trail around the campground and found every muddy impasse, not that great in birks!

Sunday, September 26th, Syracuse

We say goodbye to Niagara and drove to our Harvest Host, Abbots Farm, tons of instructions and rules, I thought I read it all as it seemed there would be a test on arrival. I must have glazed over one of the rules that said don’t arrive between 10 am – 5 pm, as there were literally hundreds of people, kids & small farm animals roaming around. I did read the bit enter via the “C” entrance do not use A, B, D, E and just inside park by the Hen & Goat Houses, luckily the hens milling around on the driveway let us know we were close and then find your designated spot. Warren, the owner saw us standing looking lost and said stay where you are until 5 pm and then everyone will have left. This is one of 16 days where they make all their money for the year. Harvest Festival, pick apples, press apples, pet goats, hens, ride a pony, tractor/trailer rides, cornfield maze and café. We found lunch, walked about a bit and then hid in our trailer with a cuppa and some backgammon until 5 pm.

Once all the people left we drove to our spot following elder generational farm driving a tractor. We parked alongside a shed and boondocked, 4 other larger RV’s needing power plugged in. The carpenter then arrived to work on the shed for four hours next to us, businesses have to pick their windows 😊

Monday, September 27th, Adirondacks

We are staying in NY state, as we want to have a look at the Adirondacks. Our next Harvest Host is Mapleland Farms, a remote farm along a dirt road, which is a piece of cake we both say, this isn’t a “Joel road” now our reference for a dodgy road. We park the rig at a designated HH sign post and then walk along the track to find the main house and store. Mapleland is a maple tapping farm with 20,000 maple trees. They bottle 100% maple syrup, make maple sugar confections, coated nuts and granola. We bought some nuts, sweets and granola, we would never get through a jug of maple syrup in a week and a bit.

Tuesday, September 28th, Adirondacks

Today is just a 15min drive to our next farm, a Harvest Host spot that grows Hemp. The farm said we could arrive early and drop off the trailer so we could drive to Lake George and find some walking trails in the Adirondacks. We drove up to some view points in the State Park which was free as they don’t have enough staff to man the entrance. We they drove to Shelving Falls, along another “Joel road” found the parking lot and hiked to the falls, very pretty.

We drove back to our Harvest Host, Action Acres to hopefully buy some produce in exchange for our stay, unfortunately as with some of the farmers we met they have multiple jobs, (unless you turn it into a Petting zoo Festival like Abbots) and we never saw the farmer and so left a donation under plant pot for our stay.

Wednesday, September 29th, Vermont

Vermont and hopefully a taster of the “Fall Foliage” today, we drive to Saxtons Distillery in Brattleboro, a hard liquor distiller, of whiskey and gin. We first drove across the border into New Hampshire as it was so close for fuel and we could add another state to our list. We parked at the back of Saxtons on the car park, tarmac so nice and flat. Tasting doesn’t start for about 4 hours, and we decide to do some fixits on the trailer in readiness for the UK, the UK turn signals which have to be amber and separate from the blinking US red brake lights. Peter finds the wires and dives under the bed storage area to re-wire and test the turn signals, after a couple of hours, Eureka! We have UK turn signals, that was just phase I, phase II is to wire from the middle of the trailer to the connectors on the hitch. It tasting time, Peter picks his flight and I decide to have just the one cocktail, quite yummy.

Thursday, September 30th, Catskills

As we are on flat easy ground and the spare tyre is still on the trailer, we think this is a good moment to put the new tyre back on, should be easy we think, there is always a gotcha! We get the wheel lug nuts off but the wheel will not budge, we look at You Tube videos for ideas and bang it with a small rubber mallet but no, its not moving. Last resort, I find a tyre place and for $20 they will remove the tyre and it takes 2 mallets, the first mallet doesn’t budge it and the mechanic disappears and comes back dragging the next mallet after one swing and a whack the tyre is loose a few minutes later we drive off, best $20 we have spent.

We arrive at Piper’s Pub, a private brewery, their application for a license is in. As a Harvest Host guest we can taste his beers. Unfortunately, the brewery is down as they are waiting on some parts so we have a quiet night on a very pretty spot.

Friday, October 1st, Rip Van Winkle Campground, Catskills

We woke to a sunny and chilly morning, Peter on breakfast duty this am as I write the blog. No sign of our Harvest Host, to say thank you for the overnite spot. Peter decides to finish the wiring of the turn signals/indicators from the middle of the airstream to the cable that connect to the car, they work and we are ready for driving in the UK.

Our next stay is only an hour away in the Catskills, Rip Van Winkle Campground. Just outside the Woodstock, Bethel (where the festival actually happened) and Saugerties, very artsy, cute village towns. There is a film festival on this weekend, some great sounding independent movies and some famous names being interviewed, we won't be going inside to watch any of them, not ready for that yet, will just be about ready to be in an airplane for 5 hours in a week and a bit.

We found a great place for supper, Rock Da Casbah, very fun, funky and yummy food.