Host Spotlight – Arbuckle Garden

Marissa and Brent, the Boondockers Welcome Hosts behind Arbuckle Garden were first introduced to Boondockers Welcome as users. They loved the idea of paying it forward by becoming Boondockers Welcome Hosts themselves. 

We sat down with them to hear about their experience as Boondockers Welcome Hosts.

Tell us about your experience as Boondockers Welcome users

I saw a video with a Boondockers Welcome Host being interviewed, and I thought, that’s neat, if only I had property. It was on our way back from Oregon. I had just signed up for Boondockers Welcome from our Harvest Hosts Membership. And I started looking for places that were on our way home and just made sense. We did a last-minute reach out and got approved and I have to say, that night’s stay, whether it was just that we were fatigued from the day, but we felt comfortable sleeping there and pulling up, parking, and going to sleep in our RV. The host was a long-time Boondockers Welcome Host, we got to talk to him for a few minutes, and he was really nice.

The gentleman was really nice too, that was part of what wanted to make us be hosts as well.

 He was very cordial and welcoming, we just chatted with him for a few minutes, and I asked how he felt about the program and if he had any guests that he ever felt hesitant on, and he said no, because the program vets people for you, and everyone rates everyone else. On the way home, I brought it up to Brent, what he thought about us becoming hosts. We have a spot in our driveway, it’s not big, but it can fit an Airstream. That week, we signed up, and then in a few weeks, we had our first request come through.

Share:

What has your experience as Hosts been like?

Although you’re hosting somebody, it doesn’t feel like they’re in your house, so you don’t have to worry about not doing the dishes, or getting a guest room ready. It’s just, do you have the spot available for them to park Everyone that’s stayed has been great at communicating ahead of time. We both work, so I’ll make it a point just to tell people, if you get there and we’re not home, feel free to back in next to our trailer.

With the pandemic, people have gotten really used to not talking to each other, or not talking to strangers, and this is a way for us to branch out as fellow RVers. Everyone has been a gracious guest, very kind, courteous, and thankful. I really like it. I have said before that I feel like the RV show comes to me. I see multiple rigs, multiple vans, and multiple self-built conversions. You start talking shop. 

I’m pretty chatty, and I’ve enjoyed having guests here, so I really enjoy having guests here. We have had some memorable guests. Recently, we had a couple the gentleman was a retired teacher, and I came home from work and he was sitting outside, relaxing. His wife gave us a couple of pointers about our garden. It was so nice to see the relaxation people have just in our yard.

The more and more we see RVs, the more I’ll tell people to be Boondockers Welcome hosts. I feel like I’ve turned into this walking advertisement for Boondockers Welcome. It shows what a good experience it’s been.