Florida and all its adventure slips away as we step back in time. Getting on the road again sees us back in a rain storm even worse than our one on our way in to Orlando. Somebody has delivered us two perfect dry sunny days for Universal in the middle of two deluge storms, lucky all the way.
Our first stop is Savannah, a town stopped in time with square upon square of information and beauty, where our incredible luck pops up again and we stumble into town when a Jazz Festival is on. We had made a difficult decision to let New Orleans wait till another trip so this was a treat. Sitting back on the grass nibbling away on some shrimp, what else, we listen to the music. Everyone is out on the green on their picnic blankets and deck chairs and we are soon invited into a game of catch with a little boy and his basketball. It’s so nice to play, we have been missing the little ones in our family!
We wake up only an hour away from Charleston, another beautiful town of old Southern architecture where we wander the streets, taking in the Visitors Center and learning of the Slave years and Civil War that finally lead to liberation. Our dining experience is at Bubba Gump, a Forrest Gump world of trivia and, you guessed it, Shrimp, delicious. It makes us want to watch the movie yet again and we have fun remembering all our favourite lines. We visit the market across the street and walk through countless arts and craft stores before running through the rain back to the car.
It is time to head for the hills, literally. We take the back road and wind our way out to the Great Smoky Mountains. This is the lower end of the Appalachian Mountains and we spend a couple of days driving, taking in breathtaking views of this spectacular region. We’re starting to get our first taste of the colour changes the trees are going through and understand why people come from all over the world to see them at this time of year.
Our first night camping out in our new car, nicknamed Jetson because of its futuristic doors (you have to be old enough to remember the cartoon to get that one), goes pretty well and we look forward to more National Park camping later on in the journey.We have set up with a blow up bed in the back of Jetson and it actually worked pretty well. We’re looking forward to more camping opportunities in the other National Parks.
We continue to wind our way along the Blue Ridge Parkway and onward to Washington DC. Luck delivers another very special moment. A black bear cub lollops across the road in front of us, a delightful surprise. Now, everyone knows where there is a cub there must be a very protective mum so we stopped to try to spot her but the forest swallows them up. At least we saw the cub briefly.
On we go to our next adventure. Our time so far has taken us through Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina, Tennesse (only a tiny corner) and Virginia, not bad. We are so excited as we are about to stay with a very special couple we met in Madrid who have invited us to stay.
Photos can be found on our Facebook page in the albums GEORGIA AND SOUTH CAROLINA and GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS.
Here We Come World 