Central Coast Brewing & Distilling

 

There are many Harvest Hosts sites in California but wineries are the most numerous. We don't drink so that cuts down on our options. I thought this brewery which also serves food would work for us. However when we got there we discovered that food wasn't being served that day. We checked in with the bartender and apologized for not supporting the business. He was super nice and just made sure we knew where to park. 

The parking area is behind the building. Not the most scenic place but it's fine for a night. The level spots are along the fence. Central Coast  35.28735, -120.65143

Air Heritage Aviation Museum

Dedicated volunteers are the driving force of this small museum. The eight planes on display have been restored to flying condition and the exhibit cases feature stories, models, and memorabilia.  

The museum is accessible except to the second floor gallery.

We noticed the Harvest Hosts sign when we pulled in so we asked if we could stay the night even though we hadn't called ahead of time. Yes! Very quiet although people who spotted the museum sign on Route 51 turned down Airport Drive to check it out so expect some activity even when the museum is closed. Museum  40.7775, -80.38997

CNY Living History Center

The core of the center is a collection of Civil War, WWI, and WWII artifacts donated by the family of Ken Eaton, a local man, who started collecting as a teenager. His collection grew so large that he established a free museum in his home, which he operated for 30 years.

The center includes two more buildings with exhibits of  Brockway trucks which were made in Cortland, New York from 1912-1977, and a collection antique farm equipment. 

All of the buildings are accessible. The Brockway building has a lift to the second floor exhibits. The farm museum has a dangerously steep ramp to the second level.

The parking lot is large enough for any vehicle. This is a Harvest Hosts site so it's a nice place to stop while traveling. Museum  42.62026, -76.18325

Buffalo First Church of the Nazarene

 Recently Harvest Hosts has added churches to their list of locations. Neither of us are religious and we don't always agree with the practices and teachings of churches so we've been hesitant to use them. The Buffalo First Church of the Nazarene is a small neighborhood church and looks like it could use the donation that we slipped in the mail slot. The only time anyone is at the church is during services which are held on Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings but they are quick to approve requests and answer questions.

Harvest Hosts guests should park along the back edge of the lot. There's plenty of room for almost any size vehicle. Kenmore Ave. is a main commuting route so expect late night and early morning traffic noise. Harvest Hosts  42.95852, -78.86448

 

National Packard Museum

The first Packard was built in 1899 in Warren, Ohio by James and William Packard after James' disappointment in his newly purchased Winton car. The car  broke down on his way home and had to be towed. Alexander Winton sent a mechanic to repair it but James thought improvements could be made. When he passed his ideas along to Winton, Winton challenged him to build a better car. And so he did!  The Packard Company was known for building high-quality luxury automobiles. Before the company relocated to Detroit in 1903, 400 Packard had been built in Warren. A merger 1953 with Studebaker Corporation which was on the edge of bankruptcy ended in failure and the last Packard was built in 1958

 

The museum has a timeline of the Packard family and the involvement of  several generations in the company. About fifty Packards from the earliest models up to the 1950s fill the two galleries of the museum. There are also displays on other products produced by the Packard Companies such as light bulbs, wiring harnesses, watches, and marine engines for PT boats during WWII. 

 

The museum is accessible.

The parking lot is large enough for any vehicle. This is a Harvest Host site that shares the parking lot with the city park department. The staff will let the police know that you are staying in the lot overnight. We chose to park fairly far away from the museum and away from the lot entrance. Museum  41.25333, -80.83118

 

Parker Pioneer Homestead

 Four generations of Parkers have collected buildings, trucks, tractors, signs, farm equipment, and a huge amount of miscellaneous antiques and old stuff. They recreated a small country town situated around a grassy meadow where events are held several times a year. Some of the cabins can be rented and the Homestead is also available for special events. While we were there a guided photography group was wandering around the village. 

We were at the Homestead for a Harvest Hosts stay but we weren't sure what to expect because the Homestead website is a bit skimpy on information. The hosts prefers to communicate through email and I missed one email requesting that we park in a different spot to avoid accidentally hitting some low hanging lights. We had noticed the string of lights so all was well. The host never came over to introduce himself and there wasn't anything to buy which we like do as a thank you. It's a quiet and pretty place to stay and we spent and hour or so looking at the buildings and old farm equipment. None of the buildings were open.

 

The roads are hard packed so rolling is fairly easy. The store is the only building that has a ramp although it's not a very good ramp. 

Harvest Hosts guests park on the meadow in the middle of the Homestead.  There's a directional sign on Route 1 and another on the road to the Homestead. It's only about 1/4  mile off of Route 1. Homestead  35.4819, -90.73127

Veterans Memorial Museum

The museum has 85 display cases filled with personal stories, uniforms, artifacts, and treasured belongings of individual soldiers who fought for the US from the Revolutionary War to the present day. There's also a large collection of WWI and WWII posters in excellent condition that were found stored in an attic. An outdoor exhibit has tanks, planes and trucks but the gate was closed when we visited so we didn't see most of them.

We were given a personal tour before viewing the exhibits on our own. Our guide was a Vietnam veteran who worked in intelligence. He was well versed on  the exhibits and an interesting storyteller.

The museum is accessible. 

This is a Harvest Hosts site so we stayed overnight in the large lot next to the museum. Look for the Museum Parking sign.  Museum  46.65435, -122.97877