Hospitality With a Capital H
So to start off, our hosts Charlotte and Sam were very communicative before we even arrived. They actually contacted us a few days before our arrival to let us know the weather report said there would be a severe rainstorm on the evening of our camping, giving us the option to either cancel before we surpassed the period for a refund of the trip or a loft in the barn they were renovating into an AirBnB. My fiancee and I were so touched they actually reached out to let us know that, we decided to opt for the loft.
We arrived and Sam showed us where to park, then took us for a tour of the barn and loft. It's not finished yet, but the renovations were far enough along that we had a bed and space to sleep as well as a bathroom with a shower. It's mainly the kitchen that has yet to be completed. It was all very nice and well-constructed. Sam even had a table near the entrance with a note with our name on it as well as a store coupon for their shop, pamphlets, hiking trail guides, and local restaurant menus. There were even flowers that they grew in a vase we were allowed to take up to our room!
The loft was the quietest, furthest HipCamp from a busy roadway we've stayed at so far. There was no wifi, but that honestly didn't bother us. The place would function very well as an artist's or writer's retreat. Cell service is almost nonexistent up there except for a few patches of road, so whatever you need to do that involves Internet, get it done before you arrive. Download instructions to the place.
We had a couple minor hiccups. Due to the lack of Internet access, we did need some directions written down to the pizza joint in town. Honestly, though, it's close enough and simple enough to get to that the directions almost weren't needed. The pizza restaurant doesn't take credit, though, and the nearby gas station's ATM was unable to connect to the Internet, but the cashier gave us the owner's Venmo account and we were able to send funds directly to him when we got a signal.
Apart from that, the place is gorgeous. The greenhouses had so much organic food, and Sam's and Charlotte's little shop is well-prepared for whoever wants to purchase their conserves or shrubs. They even have cups for sampling items! It's a very honor-based system, so lacking cash, we took a picture of their mailing address to send a check to them. We hope they got it!
We wandered around the farm in the morning, walked on the trails that led us to a gorgeous pond, with a well-set-up campsite. This would have been where we were supposed to camp. The firepit was well-marked, the walking pathways were adequately marked, and practically every item you would need had a sign explaining what its function was or what to do. The toilet was an entire contraption that I would like to have used. There were even lawn chairs near the pond for morning viewing and blockades for privacy to let other campers know whether the site was occupied or not. It was so cool, I wish we had been able to camp there.
All in all, my fiancee and I had a great time, the hosts were very courteous people, and we absolutely wouldn't mind going back again or even to actually have an artist's/writer's retreat in the loft whenever it's finished.