less than a tank away

You can See and Do a LOT using Less Than a Tank Away

Hi, Michelle and Laurie for “Rollin’ On TV,” and today we’re doing a less-than-a-tank away story for you. We’re exploring how to inexpensively enjoy a day or two at a simple New England campground.

We stayed at Lamb City Campground in Phillipston, Mass. Two nights, full hook-up, for $97. You could also stay free at a Harvest Hosts location, which we’ll show you in a bit.

We start at the Red Apple Farm, less than 20 minutes from our campground. My cousin Sharon joined us.

We just bumped into Lorie, who works here at the Red Apple Farm. Beautiful place. And she just mentioned that they are members of Harvest Hosts.

So where do you put the RVs?

Lorie Moore: We’ve got a few spots that we’ve chosen. On the other side of the hill here, we have an irrigation pond that’s just beautiful. It’s right in the middle of the orchard, and we send people over there. We’ve also got raspberries back here, and we can put people back there. We also have a parking lot on the other side of our animal pen here, and people can park there. So we’ve got a few good spots, and people love it here.

Michelle: Harvest Hosts is a membership organization. It’s a database that you can come with your RV, dry camp, call ahead first to make sure, for free. In exchange you purchase things up– wherever you are. There are museums and farms and all kinds of places for Harvest Hosts. You can check that out at harvesthosts.com.

Summer and fall are perfect times to visit New England barns. Habanero garlic, Sauces and dressings, berries, donuts, candles, jewelry, and more. Great fun.

One must come and visit Red Apple Farm in Phillipston, Mass. You can stay through a Harvest Hosts’ free dry camping night in a beautiful spot right here on the farm or the campground– Lamb City Campground right in Phillipston, Mass, where we’re staying. Lots of options, but what a nice way to spend some time.

Next on our list, let’s go find this giant chair. We’re at 130 Elm Street in Gardner, Mass, about 20 minutes from the campground we’re staying at. And this is the giant chair. It’s a tribute to the furniture-making ability of Gardner, Massachusetts. Sharon’s gotten up there a little bit.

Next on our list are waterfalls. Let’s go check them out. We’re heading to the Doane’s Falls on Tully Lake in Athol, Massachusetts. This is a nice refreshing part of our day. A simple hike, beautiful weather, 45 minutes up and down.

The day was wearing on and we were thinking about dinner plans. We hoped to find the winery that was on our list as well. So, our next stop was an antique shop, and from there we go find the winery.

We find the antique stores so interesting, and often we have found that perfect object we were looking for that was just like grandma and grandpa’s– some old part of our memory. The Country Bumpkin, which was close to our campground, was a very enjoyable place to browse.

Next stop, that winery we found on the internet. Do you think we can find it? Nope, that winery was now a housing development!

We settled for ice cream. Yeah, we didn’t find any cabernet coffee or red Zinfandel cherry, but it was still delicious.

So there you have it. Put a pin on that map, less than a tank of gas away. Do a quick Google review, find some spots to visit, and go enjoy a great weekend.

Bye for now. Michelle and Laurie for “Rollin’ On TV.