We decided to drive to Florida for our somewhat "honeymoon", altho we took Alyssa who was 5 at the time and we stayed with my sister,brother in law and their two kids. It was still a great trip.
Going down to Florida we took a roundabout route, we both wanted to see Western North Carolina (where we hope to live one day) so we drove to Asheville, NC to stay the night. It was a very long drive thru rural Pennsylvania and Virgina and this is pretty much all we saw the whole time...
We got killed with rain while driving through Tennessee, but after leaving West Haven at 3:30 am we arrived in Asheville, NC at 7pm! I may add that we stopped a lot because in addition to having a 5 year old with us, my wife was also pregnant with Devin.
We slept in a bit the next morning and left Asheville around 7:30 am, unfortunately we didn't get to see a lot of the city, but we will be going back. The next day we took I-26 across NC to SC and hopped onto 95 to continue to Florida. This drive was a bit more interesting. We went in June, so the farther south we traveled we watched the thermometer in the car go up and up and up. Average temp in mid-June in CT is probably around 75, as we got into Georgia it was up in the mid 80's. Finally, we had to stop and get this picture..
Around 2pm we hit the first city in Florida! Jacksonville. I was so pumped I called my sister and told her "I'm in Florida! We just hit Jacksonville" I think she tried to stifle a laugh and replied "Um, okay, you still have 6 hours to go" That kind of took the wind out of my sails. I live in a state where you can be anywhere in less than 2hrs, I couldn't fathom taking 6 hours to drive to her house from Jacksonville. They live in southern Florida near Sarasota, on the West Coast, so I had to drive across the panhandle on I10 to I75. That took us through Tampa area and was a very,very long drive. We made the rookie southern mistake of stopping for dinner at a place called Steak n' Shake, at this point we were in Ocala and only 2hrs away. Little did we know that Steak n' Shake is known for it's horrible service and we lost over an hour by stopping there! Needless to say, we did not arrive at her house at 8pm, it was closer to 10pm! But, seeing this made it well worth it
A few years ago, my wife and I spent a week at a timeshare at Lake Lure in North Carolina. While there, we went into Asheville. That is beautiful country there.
ReplyDeleteI thought I was the only one who went to Florida in the summer (twice, for work, WAY too hot).
ReplyDeleteI've done Steak 'n Shake when on the road (we don't have them in WI); I've never been impressed but I will say they've been better, in my experience, than Shoneys.
Whit- When I was in Ashville I still felt like I was home. The climates in the mountains of NC/Tenn are a lot like up North. They get some snow in the winter but not as cold, and the summers are a lot cooler and not as humid as here. Connecticut is brutal in the summer, because of the humidity. I'd love to live in those mountains of NC.
ReplyDeleteNota- I will never go to Florida again in the summer lol. As bad as the humidity is here in CT it is nowhere near as brutal as Florida.
ReplyDeleteGo back to Asheville and surrounding areas, and see the Vanderbilt mansion. It's fantastic. I visited my sister in Atlanta a few years ago, and got hit with hay fever there and South Carolina, as the pollen count was sky high (never have problems elsewhere). Asheville was beautiful, nowhere near as bad for pollen, and I loved the area, even some of the smaller towns around.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the trip, I enjoyed the drive and the scenery.
ReplyDeleteI remember my various driving trips, including to Florida in summer. The only state I have ever regretted visiting was West Virginia. Your post stirred up many a memory.
ReplyDeleteLiving as we do on a small island, it is a thing of wander to us that you have so much land to traverse. A lovely post!
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