I set off on June 18th, 2021, just two days after school let out for the summer. My plan was almost a month solo on the road in the van. I really wanted to explore van life. I wanted to paint on the road and see places I had never seen.
I started with a Harvest Host site in Northern California. If you haven't heard of Harvest Host, it is a subscription site where you find wineries and farms that are willing to host RVs for one night for free. The idea is you will buy wine or food from them. I had some great experiences and some average experiences with the three places I stayed. I love the concept. Just be aware that often you are staying in the parking lot of the establishment. It is great when you are trying to get somewhere and just need a stop-over and want to avoid Walmart.
I was able to get some lovely pictures of vines and wine. I even got some goats I really want to paint at some point! This was my favorite site as I actually got to park and sleep in the vines.
By the second day of my trip, I was in Tahoe and was on the lake on my paddle-board. I sketched flowers in the morning.
