Travels with haRVy

We don’t often take short trips aboard haRVy for two reasons. It takes quite a lot of time and effort to load everything that we need and once we’re “out there” it is always difficult to return home. This trip was exemplary. We planned to be out for a week to ten days and we had to force ourselves to head back after two weeks. Life on the road in a small campervan seems to suit us well.

Our extensive travels over the past several years prevented us from attending Westyfests #5-9. Because Al had haRVy partially dismantled for various modification and maintenance projects (his favorite hobby), I wasn’t sure we would make #10 either. In the end, he pulled it all together just in time to join other owners of vehicles like haRVy on Cayuga Lake in Union Springs, New York.

Thanks to one of our favorite organizations, Harvest Hosts, we spent our first night camped for free at Bowman’s Orchard in Rexford near Schenectady, New York.

We arrived just in time to try out the owner’s tasty homemade ice cream. The next morning I stocked up on delicious fresh produce grown on site. My latest discovery is the deliciously sweet and tart Zestar apple (not shown in photo above, sorry).

Our first evening at fellow Westy owner Bill’s property on Cayuga Lake featured this lovely sunset.

Nobody organized a group photo this year, but here are few of haRVy’s cousins.

Some Westy owners are more active than others.

But we all like to converse about how much we love our Westys.

We all love to eat too, of course. The pot luck dinners were scrumptious.

More conversations and fun. Thank you all for coming and especially Bill for hosting.

Another Westy owner named Bill invited us to drive a bit further west to stay at his place in Rochester. His enthusiasm was contagious so, after checking the Road Atlas for interesting routes, we headed over to spend two nights in his driveway. He was a great host, offering exactly what van dwellers need most (laundry and shower facilities) plus warm hospitality that included a delicious pasta dinner.

Our primary outing in Rochester was to the George Eastman Museum.

This institution is often called the Kodak museum even though the Kodak company has nothing to do with the non-profit organization that runs it today. Since both Al and I have a deep interest in photography, we enjoyed hours perusing the various exhibits. If we lived closer I would definitely take advantage of some of their workshops and classes.

My first camera was one of the 75 million sold!

George Eastman’s home, which is part of the museum, has been lovingly restored and maintained.

This trip continues in my next post, which I hope to publish soon. Why does life feel more complicated and busy at home than it does on the road?