We have new friends to make and new fun adventures to have. Of course, we have a planned route and planned, but flexible, reservations along the way, but we do love it when we happen on fun adventures along our way.
Steve and I finally said goodbye to Linda, Steve’s fantastic cousin; after spending almost a week moochdocking in her driveway in Virginia, it was time to at least begin our trek back home, so as a result, drove about four hours to our first overnight stop, yes, another Harvest Host property.
Weldon Mills Distillery
200 Rockfish Drive
Weldon, NC 27890
It was about a four-hour drive to our first overnight stop, yes, another Harvest Host property. Weldon Mills Distillery is in North Carolina. These businesses’ generosity in providing overnight parking for RV travelers like us is amazing to us.
Like most distilleries, Weldon Mills Distillery has a tasting room where visitors can sample the products, make purchases from a gift shop, and take tours. Mixed drinks are also available in the tasting room.
On the Roanoke River banks, this community-minded distillery is run by good friends and family and we were also impressed to learn the distillery employs many veterans and donates a portion of its proceeds to families of fallen soldiers.
I enjoyed a delicious Old Fashioned as we took our guided and very entertaining tour of the distillery. After our tasting, Steve chose a bottle of their perfect Rockfish whiskey. Incidentally, Weldon is the Rockfish capital of the world.
The main focus of this distillery is bourbon, but whiskey, vodka, and gin are also distilled here. I did not realize the making of bourbon has so many rules and requirements.
Bourbon Requirements according to the Bourbon Buzz blog
On 4 May 1964, the United States Congress recognized Bourbon Whiskey as a “distinctive product of the United States.” The Federal Standards of Identity for Distilled Spirits (27 CFR 5) state that bourbon must meet these requirements:
Bourbon Buzz
Bourbon must be made of a grain mixture that is at least 51% corn.
Bourbon must be distilled to no more than 160 (U.S.) proof (80% alcohol by volume).
Bourbon must be aged in new, charred oak barrels.
Bourbon may not be introduced to the barrel at higher than 125 proof (62.5% alcohol by volume).
Bourbon, which meets the above requirements and has been aged for a minimum of two years, may (but is not required to) be called Straight Bourbon.
Bourbon aged for a period less than four years must be labeled with the duration of its aging.
If an age is stated on the label, it must be the age of the youngest whiskey in the bottle.
Only whiskey produced in the United States can be called bourbon.
Weldon Mills Distillery is a pretty successful distillery and has recently won awards for “Best Cask Strength Bourbon” and “Best Whiskey Micro Distillery” at the 2021 International Whiskey Competition.
Steve and I had a comfortable and cozy rainy overnight stay here and Weldon Mills Distillery and very much appreciated the opportunity to visit here. We shared parking space, there was lots of it, with a full-time RV family who was making their second visit to the distillery.
Cartersville Country Winery
571 Lamar Highway
Timmonsville, SC 29161
Just under four hours away from Weldon Mills, Cartersville Country Winery was our next overnight stop on this journey. This is yet another of those fabulous Harvest Host properties we so enjoy.
The rain was our constant companion, which caused us to travel slower than we usually would have. As a result, we arrived at the winery at about 4:30, quickly set up the RV, and made our way to the tasting room before closing at 5.
Almost at their closing time, the very entertaining Becky provided us with a terrific wine tasting of each of their wines. She did not make us feel rushed at all, though. Instead, we had a fun, relaxed tasting and enjoyed the wine samples as well as visiting with Becky.
The wines here are all made from muscadine grapes grown, harvested, crushed, and pressed on-site. Most of these wines are sweet but refreshing. We purchased a bottle of the Carolina Sunset, my favorite.
We had another great night’s sleep on Cartersville’s property. There was only one other motorhome here with us overnight, but parking is available for several more. Hook-ups are also available for a small fee.
Laurel & Hardy Museum
135 N Louisville St.
Harlem, GA 30814
It was a short drive to Graniteville, South Carolina, from the winery. We stopped briefly in Graniteville for a quick visit with my good friend Chris’s daughter, Melissa. Read about that visit in Moochdocking in Manassas. That is how we happened to come across this intriguing museum and town.
Surprises along the road like this one are what we most enjoy about our RV travels. We came across a sign for the Laurel & Hardy Museum, so we turned left off the freeway and headed that way!
You may think it odd, but it’s never the well-known, famous tourist attractions we look for. It’s these obscure and wonderfully informative small museums all over the country we get most excited about.
This was a great town and a great little museum. Half of the museum is devoted to Oliver Hardy, who was born in Harlem. The other half of the museum contains exhibits detailing the town of Harlem.
There is a neat little theater in the back that plays a short film about the history of Laurel & Hardy.
Harlem even has an annual Oliver Hardy Festival each year on the 1st Saturday in October. From the pictures we saw, this looks like a legitimately big deal festival too.
After touring the museum, we walked around the town a bit and ended up at a charming little ice cream shop. They had great ice cream here! We had an excellent adventure in Harlem, a town we didn’t even know existed before that day.
Rest Area
Mile Marker 108
Rutledge, GA
Stepping away from wineries and distilleries for a night, we chose to overnight at a rest stop along the highway in Georgia. This rest area outside of Rutledge, Georgia, allows overnight RV parking, is lighted and was a comfortable and safe place to spend the night.
Before we joined the RV world, my old lady sensibilities never would have considered staying overnight at a rest stop along the highway; but you know what? I am very comfortable and delighted to make a rest area my home for the night. It’s a great economical way to travel.
As was the case here, rest areas also often have dump facilities available at no cost for RV travelers. This is an excellent perk at a rest area.
Back in Alabama!
After our overnight at Rutledge, we had a relatively short drive to Alabama and Steve’s cousin Caye’s home in Pell City. We had moochdocked at Caye and her husband, Ray’s, beautiful home before. See my blog post, Adventuring around Savannah.
Once again, we parked our RV overnight on Caye and Ray’s property. We spent a lovely afternoon at Ray’s sister’s home, had a great barbeque, and even a boat ride on the lake!
This was a magnificent example of southern hospitality at its finest. Great people! Caye even drove us through the town of Pell City, where a town festival was in full swing.
One of the great things about visiting Caye and Ray is that they are just as devoted to their fur babies as we are. They have two very precious Boston Terriers with unique personalities – and they LOVE to swim in the pool!
We had only one brief afternoon and night at Caye and Ray’s before we had to move on again. Then, unfortunately, we had to continue our journey. It would have been great to have been able to stay and enjoy this great hospitality longer.
We had some terrific fun on our journey to Alabama from Virginia, met many wonderful people along the way, and had some entertaining experiences. One fun experience and interesting people we met was at an unscheduled stop to buy peaches in Georgia.
We saw at least a dozen 2 x 4-foot hand-painted signs advertising peaches for sale as we were driving along I-20. Well, peaches in Georgia is a thing, I know, but someone was very industrious to have hand-painted all those signs and strategically placed them along the highway for several miles.
Steve followed the last sign off the freeway to a Chevron gas station parking lot. There we discovered a young couple selling peaches, preserves, and peach bread at a very rapid clip, out of the back of a U-haul trailer! Yes, the peaches and peach bread we bought were delicious.
Exploring a small piece of Mississippi is coming up next. Please subscribe to receive notification of each week’s story, tale, or saga.
Thank you for your kind words. We enjoyed having you at the museum. Please come back and visit the next time you come through.