We had an issue last night that I didn’t mention in yesterday’s blog post. With the generator running the microwave/convection oven would not operate correctly. It would run for a few second and then start to pulse. We are not sure what the problem is, but presume it is the microwave and not the generator/inverter, which seem to be working fine otherwise. We won’t be able to diagnose this any further until we get to Tremont RV Park and can hook up to shore power.
We knew last night that the Fulton Farm Market was expecting a busy day today with lots of folks showing up to buy pumpkins and other seasonal items, so this morning around 8:30 AM we fired up the engine and repositioned the coach where there would not be any cars blocking our exit. I also started up the generator to recharge the batteries, and all of the engines running spooked the cats a bit, so they went under the front passenger seat.
The Market was scheduled to open at 10 AM and we were originally thinking of sticking around until 11 AM. By 9 AM it was obvious we had made the right decision to move, based on the activity of the employees, and decided to move our departure time up to 10 AM. They pull wagons with tractors out to the pumpkin patch where folks can pick their own pumpkin, and they were blocking off parts of the parking lot with cones to create pickup and drop-off stations for the wagons that we originally thought we would be able to use as exit paths.
Around 9:15 Linda noticed that the OPEN sign on the store building (barn) was already turned on, so we wandered over to get some coffee. The gal who runs the coffee shop showed up right behind us and put on some decaf to brew. We had a nice chat while we waited, and 5 minutes later we were headed back to the coach with our coffee. We chatted briefly with one of the cashiers on the way out. We made the coach ready for travel and at 10 AM, with cars showing up, we started up and pulled out. No fixed plan.
We turned out onto OH-202 headed south and eventually came to I-70 where we headed west back to I-75 and continued out southbound journey. We had 184 miles to travel today and figured it would take 4 hours with a lunch stop. There was a lot of construction in the Dayton area and again in Cincinnati, but we made it through without any difficulty. Southern Ohio is hilly and northern Kentucky even more so, with a good climb up away from the Ohio River right after you cross at Cincinnati.
I-75 in Kentucky is a very good road with smooth surface. It goes up and down and back and forth as it twists through the rolling terrain, and it was a fun drive with no stress. We pulled in to a rest stop north of Lexington to have a bite of lunch and stretch our legs. Another hour and we were at exit #87 just south of Richmond. We headed west on KY-876 (Barnes Mill Rd) and 6 miles later pulled into the gravel parking lot on the south side of the road across from the Acres of Land Winery. It was 2 PM.
Our parking spot across from Acres of Land Winery, a Harvest Hosts location.
We had looked at satellite images of the site last night, so we knew what to expect when we got there. The driveway in from the road was steep, but we did not bottom out. The gravel parking lot was a long two long parallel rows with a loop around at the end. What we did not expect was the extent to which it was overgrown. It was mostly tall grasses, but it was obvious that this lot had not seen any use in quite some time. We also noticed a large concrete pad at the near end. We found out later that they had a serious fire in 2009, and we suspect that the pad is where the winery was and the gravel lot was where customers parked. All of that activity now takes place on the north side of the road.
We pulled all the way around and back near the entrance. The site was not quite level enough, so I leveled the coach before shutting down the engine. I checked the battery state of charge (SOC) before shutting the generator down. I figured it would be 100% since the generator had run the refrigerator all the way down allowing the Magnum 4024 to just charge the batteries, but it was only at 94%.
Restaurant and Tasting Room, Acres of Land Winery, Richmond, KY.
We opened windows and turned on ceiling fans and headed over to the winery. Acres of Land is owned and operated by Lowell and Katherine Land. Lowell grew up in the white farm house not far from where we are parked, and is the 3rd generation of his family to farm this property. Originally a tobacco farm, tobacco growing started moving overseas to take advantage of cheaper labor and the Land’s started looking for an alternative crop. The property turned out to be suitable for growing grapes and they converted the farm into a vineyard and winery.
Our coach viewed from a front window of the tasting room.
They charge $2.50 to taste three wines and $4.50 to taste six. We decided to only taste three and to split the tasting. The way they do the tastings is quite different from what we are used to in Michigan and other places. We circled the three wines we wanted to try on order slip and then found a table where we could sit. The wines are served in small wine glasses (brandy snifters?) placed in hanging holders that hold three or six glasses, depending which tasting you ordered. There is a white laminated disk around the base of the holder on which they write the number of the wine from the order form so it is under the corresponding glass. In our case, Katherine brought the wine sampler to our table and chatted with us for a little while. What we liked about this approach is that you could actually go back and forth between wines if you wanted to.
In our case we had their Red Robin, Vignoles, and Late Harvest Vignoles, and sampled them in that order. The Red Robin was sweet but very full and had a lovely mouth feel. The Vignoles was equally nice, refreshing but not thin. Both were well done in our opinion. The Late Harvest Vignoles, however, was a more complex and unusual wine, and was my favorite of the three. As much as I would have liked to take home several bottles of each, we decided to buy just one of the Late Harvest Vignoles for $18.
One of the 10-yr-old Bourbon barrels being used to age a special red wine.
About the time we finished our tasting Lowell was assembling a group for a tour of the winery. We have toured a fair number of wineries, so we did not see anything here that we hadn’t seen before, except for one thing; Acres of Land has a wine that they age in used bourbon barrels. The particular barrels they use come from a Kentucky distillery that used them to age their 10-year-old bourbon. We did not get a chance to taste this wine as it wasn’t on their tasting menu. We might not have liked it anyway as neither Linda nor I care for bourbon or whiskey, but Katherine thought it was a uniquely divine product.
This was our 4th Harvest Hosts location, and we are big fans of the program, but the challenge for us is to make sure our “free camping” doesn’t turn out to consistently be the most expensive stops we make. We don’t buy things we don’t like, and need is a pretty relative concept, but you can drop a lot of coin on wine very easily. We like the idea, however, of trying wines and other local agricultural products as we travel, and it fits our lifestyle to buy things we can consume rather than “collect” things we then have to find a place for in the house.
Dinner was a nice salad (Swiss chard, kale, and spinach) with carrots, celery, cucumbers, broccoli, tomatoes, peppers, and fresh strawberries with a balsamic vinaigrette dressing. Dessert was another serving of the blackberry pie we bought at the Fulton Farm Market yesterday. Being in the refrigerator for 24 hours had helped it set up so it wasn’t so juicy.
I left the generator off until 8 PM by which time it was down the house batteries were down to 67% SOC. I checked that the Magnum 4024 AC Input was set to 50 Amps and reset the maximum charge rate from 80% to 90%. Ideally the batteries should be brought back up to 100% SOC every time. But the last few percent is done at a low current float charge rate which can take quite a while and is not a particularly efficient use of the generator.
Linda scanned for other-the-air TV channels and found one that was carrying game one of the ALCS between the Detroit Tigers and the Boston Red Sox. We are in very pleasant country, but we are not wandering the in wilderness, at least not yet.
