Southeast USA Harvest Host Tour - October 2020

Day 1 - Hutchinson Farm Winery, Apopka, Florida

My first Harvest Host experience, and I had such a friendly first host on my Fall Tour of the Southeast USA. After taking part in a wine tasting, my first wine purchase of my fall tour was the wonderful Red Wine, a dry red made from the robust Nobel, a Muscadine red grape, aged for 10 months giving it a great oak overtone. I really appreciated the hospitality provided by the owner, John Hutchinson.

Day 2 - Gan Eden Farms, Live Oak, Florida

The second day of my journey brings me to amazing Gan Eden Farms. A wide variety of farm animals to enjoy; goats, pigs, sheep, chickens, ducks, turkeys, just to name a few. The owner Gary gave me a very interesting golf cart tour of his farm and it was so interesting to learn about the history, and future plans, for this farm. And the three guard dogs were so gentle with me, yet are fierce protectors of all the animals on this farm. Coming from busy South Florida, it is so calming to witness this lifestyle.

Day 3 - Lane Southern Orchards, Fort Valley, Georgia

Day three brings me into the state of Georgia. Lane Southern Orchards has been growing peaches and pecans for more than 110 years. The packing house has the capacity to pack and ship up to one million 25 pound cartons of peaches per season. I parked my van next to the acres of pecan trees. Of course, I had to indulge with some delicious Georgia peach cobbler, which paired well with the Sweet Blackberry Wine from Georgia’s Butterducks Winery.

Day 4 - Hodges Vineyards, Camp Hill, Alabama

On the fourth day of my adventure, I enter Alabama through Columbus, Georgia. While stopping in Columbus, I visited the Civil War Naval Museum and found the tombstone of the inventor of the Coca Cola recipe, Dr. John Pemberton. My stay for tonight is a beautiful vineyard with two spots specifically for RVs, including electric, water, and a sewer dump station! This is truly a beautiful part of our country with beautiful homes and landscapes.

Day 5 - Sullivan Creek Ranch, Vinemont, Alabama

The foothills of northern Alabama sets the scene for my fifth harvest host stay, at Sullivan Creek Ranch. Three hundred acres of pasture and woods purchased in 2016, this farm focuses on high quality beef. Owner Greg Anderson wants to create an escape from our ever accelerating lives dominated by a digital world and declining product quality. After getting settled in, one of the helping hands from the farm arrives with a welcome gift, a delicious loaf of bread. Pictures won’t accurately describe the beauty of this location.

Day 6 - Solace Farm Homestead, Coalmont, Tennessee

Way off the beaten path, this farm was fascinating to visit. To see this family of five go about their every day lives, working hard, living off the land, selling their homemade products; it was inspiring. They own 90 acres with cattle, goats, sheep, alpaca, ducks, turkey, chickens, and four very friendly dogs. I was told that I could walk anywhere on the land, and I walked a lot, taking lots of pictures. Here are a just a few.

Day 7 - Ocoee Winery, Cleveland, Tennessee

After a totally epic hiking experience in the mountains of Tennessee, I drive two hours, through Chattanooga, to a winery called Ocoee Winery. A very friendly owner and host greets me and tells me where I can park the van for the night. We talk for a while and he tells me how his business has been impacted from the environment of 2020. I purchase three bottles of wine from him and enjoy one of them, a blackberry wine, as I type tonight.

Day 8 - Sharp Mountain Vineyards, Jasper, Georgia

I spend some of the day at the quaint little town of Blue Ridge, Georgia. Enjoyed some Southern cooking in the van before heading further south for a short hike near Jasper, Georgia. I then enjoyed my stay at Sharp Mountain Vineyards with a beautiful sunset over the mountain top.

Days 9 & 10 - Upper South Carolina State Fairgrounds - Greenville, South Carolina

For the next two nights, I’ll stay in the northern tip of South Carolina as I enjoy one of my favorite things, small track home town racing at Greenville Pickens Speedway in Greenville, South Carolina. Saturday evening the rain is just avoided as four qualifying races are completed to set the field for this afternoon’s 200 lap race, with the winner taking home $30,000. A concert took place after the race as fans were allowed to walk on the track to listen to the country music by the Tyler Hatley Band from Texas.

Day 11 - Whippoorwill Farms - Ridgeland, South Carolina

After a three hour drive southeast from Greenville, I stay at the southern tip of South Carolina, at a very busy family farm with around 75 pigs, and hundreds of chickens and ducks. The owner fed the pigs some liquid provided from a local distillery, a few minutes later the pigs were sleeping soundly!

Southeast USA Harvest Host Tour - October 2020

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