Harvest Hosts

Florida’s First Lavender Farm

We stayed overnight at Southern Grace Lavender Farm through the Harvest Hosts program. Jason and Kari are building something very special on this farm. Sarah is a long-time user and connoisseur of all things lavender; their small-batch products are some of the best she has ever sampled, including trips to lavender farms in California, British Columbia, and France. Cornelia smells great this week as we enjoy their lavender-plumeria candle. Sarah has been wanting to try a shampoo bar to eliminate another source of plastic in our lives and her long curly locks are responding nicely to the heavenly-scented lavender-tea tree shampoo bar from Southern Grace Lavender Farm! And for two nights, we have slumbered like babies with the lavender-eucalyptus pillow mist on our curtains above our bed. With reasonable prices, environmentally responsible packaging, and absolutely gorgeous products invented and made at the farm by owners Jason and Kari, we recommend our friends check them out for online ordering. Did we mention the pastoral landscape? And the fresh eggs? And the bluebirds?

Categories: epic road trip, fulltime RV life, Harvest Hosts, nomads, retirement travel, RV living, snowbirds | Tags: , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Bees, Cheese, and Blueberry Wine

Three nights of agri-tourism through Harvest Hosts gave us new insights into professional pollinators, the benefits of goat milk, and the anti-oxidant power of blueberry wine.

The Bee Barn

We sampled honey and picked up luscious lotions to combat the dry winter air. We learned that the Peace River Bees travel the country to pollinate commercial crops like almonds and citrus in California, apples and cranberries in Maine, and even an assortment of crops in the prairies. Molly made friends with the neighbor’s cows.

Proctor’s Goat Farm and Goat Life

Curious and intelligent goats invited us to walk the twelve acres of pastures and woodland trails with them. They seemed eager to show us their favorite edibles (Spanish moss and palmetto were both popular choices!) and the eldest of the herd adopted Joe and never left his side. In the morning, we were invited to watch the milking and Sarah even got in the parlor and milked one of the gentle girls. We left with a fridge full of fresh fromage de chèvre and goat milk fudge!

Whispering Oaks Winery

This bustling estate introduced us to eight new wines all made from blueberries. Because it was Friday night, we were able to have a steak dinner served outside with a live blues band on the ample patio. A traveling circus was set up in one of the adjoining pastures and on Saturday morning, a 5K race challenged fitness buffs to run the perimeter of the blueberry fields to the “Finish Wine” with the promise of a glass of blueberry wine.

Categories: epic road trip, fulltime RV life, Harvest Hosts, nomads, retirement travel, RV living, snowbirds | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Blog at WordPress.com.