R and J in the USA

In between Milwaukee and Madison is a town called Lake Mills. In Lake Mills is a place called Sunset Hill Farm. And at Sunset Hill Farm is a Harvest Host where we stayed for a night.

Sunset Hill Farm is a five-acre property surrounded by farm fields with a barn that has been converted into an event venue. We arrived at dusk and parked in the open field that serves as the event parking area. With no event taking place, we had the field all to ourselves.

As often happens at Harvest Hosts, the owner came out to greet us shortly after we arrived. And as is typically the case, the owner was a friendly, welcoming, interesting person with pursuits beyond the business or establishment that houses the Harvest Host. In this case the owner was Brian.

Brian enlisted in the Army out of high school. After retiring from active duty, he continues his service in the reserves. Between his active and reserve status, he has served in the Army Corps of Engineers for over thirty years. He told us about some of his experiences and projects in the Corps. We could have talked to him all day about that. It was really neat stuff. He said he enjoys it, and that it is fun and interesting.

In addition to serving in the Army reserves and running the event venue on his property, Brian, who has a degree in architecture, runs his own construction business.

When Brian and his wife moved into their farmhouse, the five-acre property had a dilapidated barn. They decided to they wanted to renovate the barn and turn it into an event venue, primarily for hosting weddings, which is exactly what they did. His wife has since passed. He still runs the event venue and has set up a scholarship in memory of his wife.

Brian also loves motorcycles. He races motocross and takes motorcycle trips whenever he can. When he found out we were from New York and heard about our New England travels he told us about a motorcycle trip he and his sons took to Maine. They rode through the Adirondack Mountains of New York, the Green Mountains of Vermont, and the White Mountains of New Hampshire, all to get to Maine to eat fresh lobster. They arrived in Maine, had a lobster brunch, then hopped on their bikes for the ride back to Wisconsin. They didn’t even stay in Maine, or do anything else in Maine. The purpose of the trip was to get Maine lobster, and that’s what they did.

Meeting people like Brian is one of the joys of being on this trip, and one of the benefits of using Harvest Host.