The first lesson that we learned is that RVs built after 2019 are called COVID CAMPERS with good reason. Forest River’s poor quality control is second only to their customer care after the sale. When our 2022 36BHQ began to literally fall apart in January of 2023, Forest River did nothing to help. Instead, Forest River did everything they could to shirk their responsibility, laying the blame for their poor construction at the feet of Super Springs International.

Feeling defeated, we returned to our “home base” property to build a tiny(ish) house in the woods. The lesson we learned here is that it takes much longer than one might think to build a house on a property that has been abandoned for ten years. After five months of clearing brush, a tractor purchase, tons (really) of dirt work, and one broken post hole auger later, we still didn’t even have a base foundation for the house prepared. The leaves were changing, letting us know that winter was coming whether we were ready or not.

As we didn’t want to spend another winter in the Sabre, Sam was working outside from sunrise to after sunset, but progress was slow. Any time we felt like we were making progress, an approaching setback seemed certain. Tensions were high in the household. For a few days it seemed like 2023 was going to end in a very unhappy way.

Then, on the third straight morning of breaking rock in the bottom of post holes, the tension reached the boiling point. Frustrated, we decided that it was time to admit that we were not going to have a house ready by winter, and that God was making it pretty clear that we were headed in the wrong direction.

“Be like water making its way through cracks. Do not be assertive, but adjust to the object, and you shall find a way around or through it. If nothing within you stays rigid, outward things will disclose themselves.”

Bruce Lee

Sam has observed that when difficulty arrives, it is usually the case that Sam is not moving in harmony with the flow of the Universe. Sam firmly believes that God is in direct communication with the created Universe, though those communications are usually very subtle. Pillars of fire are spectacular, but the important messages often come as whispers from God.

And after the ra’ash an eish; but Hashem was not in the eish; and after the eish a kol demamah dakkah (a quiet, gentle voice).

Melachim Alef 19:12 (First Kings 19:12)

After much reflection on ideas such as those above, Sam suggested that the time of year signaled the end of camping season, and that we might be able to get a decent deal on an older RV. As is often the case when we are moving with the Universe, we found a promising prospect a day or two later, and it was only a few hours away. A few days later, we brought our new (to us) RV to our base camp.

Introducing Corvus Canus

We were lucky enough to find a 2015 Jayco 4212 Toy Hauler. Compared to the Sabre, this RV is built like a tank. Everything about the structure of the RV as well as the materials and components used within the RV are superior in every conceivable way. We expect far, far fewer problems with this RV than the junk Forest River produced. After all, it has already outlived our Sabre seven times!

We spent the next month getting it ready for us. New carpet in the front bedroom, bunk beds for the kids, a reconfiguration of the garage/happy jack system, ROKU TVs to replace the off-brand TVs provided by the OEM (UpStart?) and two bottles of Meg’s 61 Oxidation remover later (it was really bad), it’s ready to roll, and we are on the road again!

On December 11, 2023 we departed base camp for a more southern latitude to enjoy a mild winter season.

We will upload many more pictures over the coming days, and will be releasing a tour video soon.

But, what about the tiny house?

We are still planning to improve the base camp property, including a tiny house, and other amenities that we will announce as we go along. We plan to return when the weather there is more favorable to outdoor activities, and take it from there.

Until then — see you “out there”!

The post On The Road Again! appeared first on Metaphysical Family.

The Defects Continue

We had noticed a bulge in the rear most portion of the passenger sidewall behind the slide. The bulge is (was) in the black aluminum skirting at the bottom of the wall which hides the wall seam and the frame rail. We don’t remember exactly when the bulge first appeared, but it was not there in February of 2022 when I was busy making skirts for the RV.

The bulge _was_ present in the fall of 2022, as can be seen in this picture from October.

The bulge had grown by February, but was still only a bulge at that time.

This is what the bulge looks like today. The video explains the rest.

As you can see, the first screw which backed out was one of the screws securing the bottom of the wall structure to the RV’s floor assembly. The RV’s floor assembly is then (supposed to be) bolted to the frame with the fasteners discussed in Part One and Part Two. Now the rest of this same line of screws which hold the sidewall to the floor assembly have begun to back out.

Will the RV make it back to our property? We honestly don’t know at this point, but we obviously hope so. Forest River still denies any responsibility for this damage or repair.

Forest River Fails, Denies Responsibility (Again)

If you recall the email that we sent back to Forest River after their denial, that email politely suggested that they review our case and reconsider. We thought that after we explained the situation with the frame checks having been done incorrectly that Forest River would tell us to find another shop to have the work redone.

But that’s not what happened.

We didn’t get any further responses from Forest River until I called LCI directly. After we had done so we sent the following email to Forest River.

Forest River did respond by EOD 4/7. This is what they sent.

Climbing the Ladder

Cheyenne Clark is the public interface to Forest River service. Since she is the only public point of contact for the service department, anyone wishing to communicate with Forest River must go through her. At least, that’s how Forest River would prefer it to be. But the power of the internet can help a person find all kinds of useful information.

Did you know that there are websites that keep track of companies’ boards of directors, C-level executives, etc? They sometimes include contact information for those company executives. Many of the people in this story are on LinkedIn as well.

We sent the following email as our final direct email communication about our case to Forest River. We sent it to Cheyenne Clark, whom you already know. We also sent it to two other people: Peter Liegl – Forest River’s founder and CEO, and David Youmans, Forest River’s C-level “Director of Ethics and Compliance”.

We were hopeful that this email to high level executives would get our case the attention it deserved.

Our hopes were shattered when we received this email from Henry Sears, who we presume is somewhere in middle management; above Cheyenne Clark and Chad Cook, but below the C-levels that we emailed above. Was Mr. Sears willing to help, or even discuss our case further?

No, he only doubled down again.

Lippert is Silent

Forest River keeps telling us to discuss the case with Lippert. it would be great if we could do that. Unfortunately, Lippert has been very elusive when we ask them for their denial and the reasons for it in writing. The last email we sent to Lippert was this one. We are still waiting for an answer…

And remember – ALL OF THIS centers around this supposed frame issue which neither Forest River nor LCI want to talk about, and which RV Masters has proven does not exist.

Refund or Replace

What a complete and total mess. Am I right?

When all this started we would have been very happy to have the crack repaired so that we could continue our traveling adventure. After everything that has happened, it seems that wasn’t meant to be. People say things like “The Lord moves in mysterious ways …”. As I have said before, that has not been my experience. I find it to be downright overt at times.

With the continued problems we are having with this RV we do not feel that it can be repaired. We have resigned ourselves to moving out of the RV and changing directions. Now we are hoping that the RV stays together long enough for us to get to our property. Once there it can sit stationary until we get the house built, but it can not continue to be used for travel camping in its condition.

With damage this severe we are seeking either a replacement unit or a refund. Even if this one can be saved we would never be able to trust it. How could we? Just take Forest River’s word for it because we have experienced so much honesty to this point?

To Be Continued

Thank you again to everyone who has come forward with their similar stories and support. There is a cynicism that we see both inside and outside the RV community too often. “It’s an RV. You should have known it was built as cheaply as they can make one. They have problems. That’s just part of it.”

I am not sorry that I refuse to accept this failure as normal, or just part of owning an RV. This is not normal wear and tear. The body of an RV should not fall off in the first year. That’s not a normal thing that happens. Our unit is bad, and Forest River should feel bad. But they don’t.

We have strength in numbers. The more of us there are, the more reasonable it becomes to hear terms like “class action” being thrown around. If you own a Forest River RV and have a similar experience, do not accept this as normal. If this is normal for Forest River, Forest River needs a new normal in a bad way.

Check back for the next – and hopefully final – episode of Forest River Fails, Denies Responsibility. We are living the next episode as we type this one. We will update you all as soon as we have more to share.

Update: Part four is now available.

The post Forest River Fails, Denies Responsibility – Part Three appeared first on Metaphysical Family.

When we started our journey we were so optimistic. The road was wide open and we were free to go wherever the winds blew us.

Our basic plan was to travel to the North East to visit with family for the summer.

From there we planned to travel south along the east coast, then west across the Great Smokey Mountains to Missouri for a stopover around Thanksgiving. November in Missouri starts to feel like winter, so we hitched up and headed south to Texas for the winter.

We spent New Years at Magnolia Beach in Texas. What a change from our winter in 2021!

But it wasn’t all fun.

There were nearly constant RV repairs. It seemed like we were still in the “shakedown” phase well into July when the black tank vent suddenly became taller. Water leaks were a constant issue. We had to replace the factory provided China bomb tires, thankfully before they blew out. You may have noticed that our posts about our RV far outnumber our travel or metaphysical posts.

In January of this year, while we were busy repairing the water leak in the back wall of the RV, we found that the RV had developed a stress fracture in the sidewall.

We had planned to leave Texas shortly after New Years to begin our trek across the southwest. We were going to see the Marfa lights, Guadalupe Mountain, Carsbad Caverns, Roswell, White Sands, City of Rocks, the Grand Canyon and more before turning north into Utah. Instead we contacted Forest River about our sidewall issue, and then spent all of February and March bouncing around the Houston area visiting repair centers.

When Forest River denied any responsibility for our RV in April we decided to have the RV diagnosed independent of Forest River, but at one of their authorized repair centers. We had to leave the RV at the shop for two weeks, which meant a new level of homelessness that we were not at all prepared for. With no other option we took out a two week rental through Airbnb in Galveston. Why Galveston? Because Houston is, well … Houston.

We had always planned to be on the road for at least one year, but also regularly talked about being on the road for two or three years. Of course we accounted for one constant in that – having the RV! This episode made us realize how unprepared we were in the event that the RV was unavailable. Not just because of Forest River’s apparent lack of quality control, but for anything. Where would we go if someone hit the RV and it had to go to the shop for a month, or longer?

Before we hit the road we sold our sticks and bricks, but purchased a small parcel of land nearby. We intended to use the land as “home base” as it has power, water and sewer already on the property, making it a fine place to park an RV. Provided that we had the RV.

So as we celebrate our one year “nomadaversary”, we are drawing up floorplans to build an off-grid cabin on the property that we own. We have realized that we need a proper home base because our RV is broken, and getting it replaced is going to take a while. We do not feel that we can ignore the issue and keep using the RV because of the signs of other structural problems which have begun to develop.

This is not the end for our RV adventures, but the the direction of this blog will be changing in the coming months as we build our home base. We plan to do all of the work ourselves. We have built smaller buildings, but this will be our most ambitious project yet.

We hope you will join us as we embark on this newest chapter in the wild adventure that is our lives!

The post One Year Nomadaversary appeared first on Metaphysical Family.

Recently Posted in Recipes

• Lentil Tacos
• Cranberry Nut Granola
• Plant Based Meatloaf
• Honey Whole Wheat Bread
• Spaghetti Casserole

One of the big considerations we have when looking for vegetarian meal ideas is if our kids will actually eat it. We have tried so many wonderful recipes that had too many complex flavors or textures that were off putting to our picky eaters. Or the recipes would required specialty ingredients which we do not normally keep on hand in our tiny kitchen. Thankfully, this simple Lentil Taco recipe satisfies everyone in the household and the kids love choosing their own toppings.

The post Lentil Tacos appeared first on Metaphysical Family.

I had been craving some yogurt and granola for breakfast, but each time I was at the grocery store and looked at the options I became shocked by the prices that they were charging for such tiny bags of granola. I had made granola in the past, but it had been awhile and my recipe was stuck up in the loft from the water intrusion project on the back wall.

I didn’t want to pull all of the books back down out of the loft to get to the recipe so I decided to pull one together from memory and that is how this recipe came to be.

Recently Posted in Recipes

• Lentil Tacos
• Cranberry Nut Granola
• Plant Based Meatloaf
• Honey Whole Wheat Bread
• Spaghetti Casserole

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Cranberry Nut Granola

The mix of the dried fruit and nuts in this granola recipe results in a tasty breakfast treat that is quick to put together, easy to customize, and much cheaper than what you will find in stores.

Course Breakfast

Servings 8

Equipment

• 1 Large Mixing Bowl
• 1 Small Mixing Bowl
• 1 Baking Sheet
• Parchment Paper

Ingredients

• 1 16 oz Jar Old Fashion Oats Approximately 5 cups
• 1.5 Cups Pecans
• ½ Cup Almond Slivers
• 1 Cup Dried Cranberries
• ¾-1 tsp Salt
• ½ tsp Cinnamon
• ½ Cup Coconut Oil Melted
• ½ Cup Maple Syrup
• ½ tsp Vanilla Extract
• Honey Optional. Can be drizzled on top for extra crunchy clusters in the granola.

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350° F.
• Line the baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
• In the large mixing bowl combine the first six ingredients and mix to combine. Set aside.
  
• In the small mixing bowl add the melted coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla. Stir well.
• Pour over the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and then mix until combined well.
• Pour the mixture onto the lined baking sheet and press it down into the pan.
  
• Optional – Drizzle honey over the top of the oat mixture.
• Bake for 21-24 minutes, stirring half way through the cooking time. Bake until golden brown.
  
• Remove the pan from the oven and allow the granola to cool on the pan.
  
• Once cool, break up the granola into bite size pieces and store in an air tight container.

Notes

• This recipe is easy to customize by adding 1 cup of your favorite dried fruit and 2 cups of your favorite nuts and seeds. Feel free to mix and match any combination of them as long as you keep to the total amounts listed in the recipe.
• The granola can be stored up to a week at room temperature and longer if refrigerated.

More ways to eat Cranberry Nut Granola

Granola and yogurt is a classic match, and my favorite way to eat it, but it is not the only way to enjoy this delicious treat. Try some of theses other suggests too!

• Serve with milk like cereal
• As a topping on vanilla ice cream
• Topping in a smoothie bowl
• Mixed into baked goods like muffins for an extra crunch
• Add some to a gram cracker crust for additional texture and flavor
• As a topping on pudding
• To top off a sweet potato casserole
• Use as a substitute for croutons in a salad

What is your favorite way to eat granola? Leave us a comment below and let us know.

The post Cranberry Nut Granola appeared first on Metaphysical Family.

Recently Posted in Recipes

• Lentil Tacos
• Cranberry Nut Granola
• Plant Based Meatloaf
• Honey Whole Wheat Bread
• Spaghetti Casserole

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Meat(less) Loaf

This is an old meatloaf recipe that our family has been making for over 10 years. Since becoming vegetarian we adapted the recipe to use plant based "meat" instead. It makes for a perfect comfort food dinner.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword Comfort Food, Plant Based, vegetarian

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Servings 4

Author Brittany

Equipment

• 1 Large Mixing Bowl
• 1 Small Mixing Bowl
• 1 Cookie Sheet or 8×8 Pan
• Parchment Paper

Ingredients

• 1 12oz Pkg Impossible Beef You can use any plant based beef, we just prefer Impossible for this recipe.
• 1 Egg
• 1 tsp Onion Powder
• ½ Cup Milk
• ½ Cup Dried Bread Crumbs
• Salt & Pepper To taste
• 1½ tsp Brown Sugar
• 1½ tsp Vegan Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 Tbsp Prepared Mustard
• 3 Tbsp Ketchup

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350° F (175°C)
• In the Large Mixing Bowl combine the plant based beef, egg, onion powder, milk, and bread crumbs. Season with Salt & Pepper, to taste.
• Roll the mixture out onto a Parchment lined Cookie Sheet and form into a rectangle shaped loaf.
• In the Small Mixing Bowl combine the Brown Sugar, Worcestershire, Mustard, and Ketchup. Mix well then pour over the loaf, covering completely.
• Bake at 350° for 1 hour.

The post Plant Based Meatloaf appeared first on Metaphysical Family.

Recently Posted in Recipes

• Lentil Tacos
• Cranberry Nut Granola
• Plant Based Meatloaf
• Honey Whole Wheat Bread
• Spaghetti Casserole

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Honey Wholewheat Bread

A delicious and easy to make whole wheat bread that the whole family will love.

Keyword Bread

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Author Brittany

Equipment

• 1 Large Mixing Bowl
• Measuring Cups and Spoons
• 1 Sauce Pan
• Hand or Stand Mixer
• 2 Bread Pans

Ingredients

• 4 Cups All Purpose Flour, Divided
• 2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
• ½ Tbsp Dry Yeast, This is the same as 1 Tbs plus 1.5 tsp, or 2 packages of dry yeast
• 1 Tbsp Salt
• 1 Cup Water
• 1 Cup Milk
• ½ Cup Honey
• 2 Tbsp Butter
• 1 Egg

Instructions

• Mix together 1 cup of all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, salt, and yeast in a large bowl. Set aside.
  
• In a medium saucepan heat together the water, milk, honey, and butter until it reaches 110* F.
• Pour the warmed mixture over the dry ingredients and add the egg.
• Mix together, at low speed until incorporated, then high speed for 3 minutes.
  
• Add the remaining all purpose flour, one cup at a time, and until the dough begins to pull together.
• Then mix the remaining flour in by hand until the flour is incorporated and the dough is no longer sticking to your hands or the bowl. You may need to add a small amount of flour or water to reach this consistency.
• Turn out the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for five minutes.
• Put the dough into a greased mixing bowl and turn the dough to grease the top.
• Let the dough rise in a warm place until it doubles in bulk (about 1 hour)
• Punch down and divide the dough into two loaves.
• Place the loaves into two greased bread pans.
• Let the dough rise again for about 30 minutes
• Preheat the oven to 350*
• Bake the loaves for 30 minutes or until nicely browned.
  
• Remove from the pans and place on a cooling rack.
• Butter the top of the loaves. (optional)

Notes

This recipe also works well for making buns. Instead of placing the dough into the bread pans divide it into 16 equal parts and roll them into a ball. Place the dough balls onto a cookie sheet 1 inch apart and bake for approximately 15 minutes, or until nicely browned.

The post Honey Whole Wheat Bread appeared first on Metaphysical Family.

We have found that Spaghetti Casserole also makes a great dish to bring to a large gathering. We hosted a potluck at one of the campgrounds we stayed at with some other families. Everyone seemed to really enjoy it, even the kids. In fact, I was surprised to see how little of it made it back home. I hope you try it and enjoy it as much as we do.

Recent Posts in Recipes

• Lentil Tacos
• Cranberry Nut Granola
• Plant Based Meatloaf
• Honey Whole Wheat Bread
• Spaghetti Casserole

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Spaghetti Casserole

This recipe is an easy and family friendly vegetarian dish which has all of the components of a lasagna, but with a fun and easy twist.

Course Main Course

Servings 12

Equipment

• 2 Large Pots
• 1 Pasta Strainer
• 1 Large Mixing Bowl
• 1 9×13 Casserole Pan

Ingredients

• 1 box Spaghetti Noodles
• 2 tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 Small Yellow Onion Chopped Finely
• 2 Cloves Garlic Minced
• 1 Impossible Sausage Roll You can use any plant based sausage of your choice, or even real sausage,
• 16 oz Quality Pasta Sauce
• 1/8 cup Red Wine
• 1/8 cup vegetable broth
• 2 large Eggs
• 15 oz Ricotta Cheese
• 1 cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese
• 2 cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese Divided
• 2 tsp Oregano Divided
• 2 tsp Basil Divided

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350*
• In a large pot, boil the water to cook the noodles. Once boiling add enough salt to the water so that it is salty like the ocean. Follow the box instructions for cook time on the noodles.
• In your second pot add the olive oil and saute the onions until soft. Then add the garlic. Once the garlic become fragrant add the plant based sausage and brown lightly.
• Once browned add half of the pasta sauce, red wine, vegetable broth, 1 tsp basil, and 1 tsp oregano. Cook until reduced to a ragu consistency (thick like oatmeal).
• In the large mixing bowl mix together the eggs, ricotta, remaining pasta sauce, parmesan, 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese, and the cooked spaghetti noodles.
• Grease the 9×13 pan and add half of the plant based meat sauce to the bottom of the pan. Then add the noodle mixture and press it down into the pan to level it. Top with the remaining sauce mixture. Then top the entire dish with the remaining mozzarella cheese.
• Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes

The post Spaghetti Casserole appeared first on Metaphysical Family.

In this Vegetarian Pot Pie recipe I use boxed pie crust and frozen vegetables to save time, but also make the gravy from scratch to preserve the best flavor. The end result is a Vegetarian Pot Pie that will win over everyone, including people who say that they do not like pot pie. At least that is what my mom and sister tell me.

Recent Posts in Recipes

• Lentil Tacos
• Cranberry Nut Granola
• Plant Based Meatloaf
• Honey Whole Wheat Bread
• Spaghetti Casserole

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Vegetarian Pot Pie

This Vegetarian Pot Pie recipe has a wonderfully comforting traditional flavor, but skips the canned cream of whatever soup.

Ingredients

• 1 Box Pie Crusts Let the pie crusts to sit out for 15 minutes prior to using them.
• ⅓ Cup Unsalted Butter
• ½ Cup Onion Chopped
• ⅓ Cup All Purpose Flour Slightly more may be needed to absorb all of the butter.
• ½ tsp Salt
• ¼ tsp Pepper
• 1¾ Cup Vegetable Broth
• ½ Cup Milk
• 12 oz bag plant based grilled chicken pieces Quron is our favorite brand for this.
• 12 oz bag frozen mixed vegetables

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 425°
• Spray glass pie dish with cooking spray.
• In a preheated cast iron skillet or heavy bottomed pot add the butter and brown the meatless pieces. Add onions about half way through the searing of the pieces.
• Add remaining butter to skillet to melt,stirring often.
• Add the salt, pepper, and flour. You want the flour to absorb all of the butter without leaving butter behind when you put a spatula through it. Let this flour mixture cook for a minute or two.
• Gradually add the milk and broth.  Continue to cook and stir often until it is bubbly and it has thickened.
• Stir in mixed vegetables and combine. Then remove the pan from the heat.
• Lay the first pie crust into the pie pan and pour the filling into the bottom pie crust.  Top with the second crust and seal the edges.  Cut slits into the top crust to permit airflow.
  
• Put the pie into the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes or until the top crust is golden brown.
• Let the pie stand for 15-20 minutes before serving.

The post Vegetarian Pot Pie appeared first on Metaphysical Family.

We left our stay at Forest Lake RV Campground refreshed and headed to our Harvest Host stay at Russian Chapel Hills Winery in Columbus, NC.

Harvest Host Parking

We always try to prepare for our trips during our T-24 by reviewing the GPS directions and viewing Google Maps to see what the approach is like. During this review we were able to determine the Harvest Host parking location was just south of the main driveway, however; we were not able to determine from the satellite images that you can not enter the Harvest Host parking location from the main drive due to tree growth.

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When we arrived we had mistakenly entered the main drive and had to back up into the road to get into the correct parking location. This was not a big deal, but it could have been better communicated on the Harvest Host page. Once in the correct parking location we choose a level spot which allowed us to also see the chapel on the hill.

After set-up we walked to the tasting room to sample the wines.

Tasting Room

As soon as we entered the tasting room we were welcomed and offered a seat by Andrey, our host, and the owner of Russian Hills Chapel Winery. The room was nicely decorated and had displays of wine and some local honey and beeswax products.

We sat at the bar where Andrey gave us pens and paper for our “Tasting Notes”. He then guided us through the wine tasting. Each wine we tried was very good, but a few really stood out to us as our favorites.

Wines

Whites

• Rose’
• Chardonnay 2015
• Sauvignon Blanc 2015
• Muscadine 2016

We were given four white wines and four red wines to try. While we are not huge fans of white wines we were happy to find that they were better than many other white wines we have had before. Our favorite white wine was the Muscadine. We had never heard of Muscadine wine before, but were told that they are made from a local North Carolina grape and had a very polarizing flavor. Indeed, it was a unique flavor, but we both thought that it was really delicious and brought a bottle home with us.

Reds

• Merlot 2015
• Cabernet Sauvignon 2015
• Mosaic 2016
• Kagor 2019

We thought that all of the red wines were very good. The Merlot was wonderful. It would pair with many different dishes and was noted by Andrey as his favorite. The Kagor was the last of the reds we tried, but was our favorite of them all. Andrey told us that it used to be used as a communion wine. We decided to grab a couple of bottles of the Kagor in addition to the Muscadine.

Chapel

After the tasting we brought the wines back to the rig, grabbed our dalmatian puppy Maya, and took a short walk out to the chapel. It was a beautiful evening stroll which we all greatly enjoyed.

Saint Anna Chapel has an interesting history. During the first year of ownership the winery had problems with the grapes and their wine also fermented. Under the guidance of Andrey they built Saint Anna Chapel in the middle of the vineyard and with much prayer they have seen growing success in the years since the chapel’s construction. The chapel is part of the eastern diocese of the Russian Church.

The chapel is a small wooden building filled with beautiful iconography and items of worship. There were incense and oils in the chapel including Blachernae Rose and tree resins which I believe included frankincense.

We added a prayer into the guest book and took a quiet moment before heading back to the rig for a peaceful night of rest.

The next morning Sam woke up early and took a quite walk out to the chapel to watch the sunrise. The mist on the fields made for a picturesque view of the chapel.

Be kind!

When we spoke with Andrey about this review of the location he said that he hoped it would be positive. When we asked why anyone would review his establishment negatively, Andrey intimated that the winery had received unsavory comments because of his Russian background, and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

Those who would review this beautiful winery based on the owner’s nation of origin, or because of a military conflict initiated by the leader of that nation are in desperate need of self reflection. How many naturally born Americans support the policies of our current or past Presidents? How much control does the average American have over the nation’s foreign policy?

I wonder how many of these internet trolls would make their mean-spirited comments to the man in person. Probably as many as those who have control over the actions of the person sitting in the White House!

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. And if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.

Recommended

We very much enjoyed out stay at Russian Chapel Hills Winery and would recommend it as a stop for any Harvest Host member. If you are not yet a Harvest Host member, but are interested in becoming one you can use our friend referral code to get 15% off of your membership. Click here for the discount!

The post Russian Chapel Hills Winery in Columbus, NC appeared first on Metaphysical Family.