Our east coast tour began up the east coast of Florida to Savannah, Georgia (although, still considered a part of the south).  Giant live oak trees line the streets, old brick buildings are crammed one-on-top-of-the-other and cobble stone roads lead the way.  A little gritty yet extremely charming, Savannah is a not-to-be-missed town when driving through Georgia.

We walked the River Walk, ate buckets of 'you shuck' oysters, toured the historic neighborhoods, had a few beers and enjoyed great conversations with locals.   

We camped that night in a lush, damp forest just a few miles from town.  

After Savannah, we made our way up the coast of South Carolina.  We found ourselves at Edisto Beach and stayed a few extra days.  

It was so beautiful.  We had rain, wind, sun, you name it.  We met many great people at this campsite.  Including John, from Texas, traveling in his Volkswagon Van.  

After three days we headed up the coast to the very charming town of Charleston, South Carolina.  But first, we stopped for blue crab and snapper at a local seafood shop to cook for dinner. 

We pulled into Charleston and needed a few minutes of rest.  We parked in a beautiful neighborhood along the bay to regroup.  Enormous victorian-style houses lines the streets to the left.  To the right, Charleston Bay dotted with sailboats and dolphins (many, many dolphins!).  

Charleston has an extremely classic and historic charm.  It's old, clean and lined with brick and cobblestone.  

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina was our next stop.  Very, very touristy and a little dated, Myrtle Beach was actually quite beautiful.  

From here we made our way up to the college town of Raleigh, North Carolina and enjoyed a little 'North Carolina' style BBQ at The Pit.     

BBQ here is composed mainly of apple cider vinegar, creating a sweet and tangy finish.  So delicious!  Especially the 'chopped pork'.  My-oh-my... my mouth is watering as we speak.  

(Although Memphis BBQ is still our favorite).

We continued west and connected with the very scenic Blue Ridge Parkway that travels hundreds of miles north towards Shenandoah National Park.  Rolling hills and lots of fog led our path through the Blue Mountains.  

Shenandoah National Park was peaceful and absolutely beautiful.  Dense fog, lush forest and rolling hills.  We enjoyed a gorgeous hike and some much needed time in the woods after weeks of 'city travel'.  

We took a minor detour back south to Monticello to tour Thomas Jefferson's estate.  It was well worth the cost and probably one of the best 'tours' we have paid for.  

We zig-zagged our way northeast through the beautiful countryside of Virginia to Washington DC.  We were lucky enough to find a campsite that was part of the National Park System just outside of town.  We were a subway ride away from the city center.  It was very convenient, considering we were camping in DC.  

We toured the sites and museums, partied with our old friend Dom and (most importantly, of course) celebrated Joe's 33rd birthday.  Joe even got a haircut and clean shave from the man himself who cuts Obama's hair!  Well, he's cut it once, but still... 

Washington DC is an incredibly historic city.  Of course that's an obvious statement, but the overwhelming feeling of pride and curiosity when walking the city limits was, well, surprising.  It seemed that any and every corner we turned led to a historic monument or memorial.  We stayed a few extra days.  

The Washington Monument.

The Lincoln Memorial.

The Jefferson Memorial.

The White House.

The Capitol Building, just to name a few.  

We took advantage of the free admission to the Smithsonian Institution and enjoyed a full day at the History of Natural History and Air and Space Museum's.  

PK, we wish you were there to teach us about planes!  

And of course it was Joe's birthday on Saturday, September 8th.  He went from this...

To this...

And later that night we celebrated with Dom and Daniela.  

It was a great day.  And a great few days spent in DC.   Thanks again, Dom, for showing us your city.  We could not have had a better time!   

More east coast to come.  It's time for a beer!  

  

  

  

I'm sitting in a cafe in the Hampton's remembering Florida.  Where does the time go?!  I have a TON to catch up on.  But first, Florida.

Did I mention putting on some serious miles in my last post?  Because Atlanta to Key West was one heck of a drive!  Especially in the rain.

We broke it up over three nights and four days to make it a little more enjoyable.  Yet never-ending interstates, strip-mall after strip-mall and rain-so-hard we had to pull over on the highway (more than once) to wait it out made us question the whole enjoyable notion.  Although as night two approached, we pulled into a state park about an hour south of Tampa, near the coast.  The sun had finally come out and we were finally able to relax.  After a few cocktails at a local bar on the docks, we enjoyed a quiet (and hot) evening at our campsite.  We felt like we were in a jungle.  Finally, this felt like Florida.



The next day we continued south and spent the early part of the afternoon in Naples, a great beach town right off the Gulf of Mexico.  After an oil change and lunch, we headed to the beach and saw dolphins within minutes.  



Naples was our turning point so from here we headed east and eventually south through the Everglades.  Episodes of heavy rain, moments of sunshine and even a few alligator sightings made the drive feel like a true adventure.  We made it all the way down to the Everglades National Park where the rain had eventually stopped and evening had approached. 



Driving into the Everglades National Park in the early evening during off-season was a little erie.  Not a soul on the road and by the time we made it to the campsite the sun had nearly set.  Only one other camper resided in the vast, overgrown campground.  Picnic tables were stacked one-on-top-of-the-other, bathrooms were locked and grass was nearly three feet tall.  It was hot as hell and the mosquitos and dragonflies were so thick it was unbearable.  No level of OFF! could stimulate an ease to the discomfort.  But lucky for us, the electric hook-ups were operating.  So we plugged in, turned the AC on high, cracked open a few beers and waited it out until the morning.  



We made a few stops on our drive out and were lucky enough to catch sightings of many red-shouldered hawks and even a barred owl (very cool)!  Not to mention the electric outlets the night before… You couldn't open one without at least a few frogs, a lizard and a creepy spider hanging out.  









And now, finally, it was time to head to Key West!  We were so excited.  It felt like a vacation within our vacation (how spoiled are we?).  



The Florida Keys are a series of tiny islands stretching for nearly 120 miles from the southern tip of Florida.  Key West is the furthest south.  It took us about three hours to drive from the very first key to Key West.  And within minutes, you felt as if you were in a different country.  Crystal clear, turquoise, calm waters surround you on all sides.  The sun is intense and the air is heavy.  Locals move on island time and chickens run the streets. 

After checking into our rather simple campsite (where chickens AND iguanas ran freely) we grabbed our bikes and rode the three miles to town.  



Like most tourists do when first arriving to Key West, we headed straight for Duval Street.  For a Tuesday night, the street was PACKED!  And not just busy, but packed packed.  Open-aired bars and restaurants lined the streets.  Live music played from nearly every corner.  Vacationers were decked out and ready to party.  It was a bit overwhelming at first, but like always, after a few cocktails you fit right in.  We had a blast!  

 

 



The next few days were spent biking into town, soaking up the sun, getting kite boarding tips from a local (unfortunately it wasn't windy enough to give it a shot), drinking mojitios, snorkeling, touring Hemingway's house and eating delicious Cuban food and seafood.



















Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Isaac was developing a few hundred miles away.  

Life continued as normal for the locals of Key West.  Tourists even remained calm.  In fact, NO ONE had spoke of or rather mentioned the threat of Issac.  Family and friends would call and question our safety (thank you!) but to be honest, the threat was virtually nonexistent.  Don't get me wrong, the weather report remained on at all times in bars and cafes, but no one actually paid attention.  A joke would come up now and then, but nobody was serious.  

It wasn't until day four of being on Key West when we finally saw someone boarding up their windows.  Huh?  Somebody actually is taking this seriously.  Hmm... 

The weather had began to change the night before.  Storm clouds developed, growing heavy and dark.  Rain came and went.  Wind even began to pick up… a little.  We knew it was time for us to make our way back towards the mainland.  We drove half way and camped at a state park on Long Key.  Our campsite was about eight feet from the ocean.  There was absolutely nobody around.  Perhaps the storm had caused everyone to stay far, far away.  We had the place to ourselves.  







The heavy clouds came and went, and the rain followed.  It wasn't until late that night when the storm really picked up.  Wind whipped around our camper and rain came down in buckets throughout the night.  We were worried, but we also knew it was late on Friday and the potential hurricane was to attack on Sunday. 





 We woke first thing next morning (Saturday) to a park ranger hollering at us from outside the camper.  The wind still rattled.  It was time for us to go.  The park was closing and the island had issued a 'visitors evacuation' for all travelers who were able to drive out of the Keys.  We stayed calm.  The forecast hadn't changed, and anything serious was to occur the following day.  It rained incredibly hard that morning and took us hours to exit the islands.  

As we know, Hurricane Isaac didn't develop until after blowing over the Keys as a tropical storm.  Perhaps the locals were right.  They have been through this before.  Many, many times before.  But for us, it was a first, and it was time for us to continue north.  For it wasn't fear of our personal safety, but rather fear of destroying our camper and having to call it quits on such a grand adventure.  We made the right choice to get out of dodge that day.  Besides, we may have never returned home if it weren't for Isaac.  The Keys were that spectacular. 

We continued north on the east coast of Florida as fast as possible.  After exiting the Keys that Saturday morning, we made our way to Miami by afternoon and had an unfortunately quick visit.  We wanted to stay longer, but the storm seemed to follow and the wind and rain grew heavier.  



It wasn't until the next day when we were finally able to relax.  As the storm intensified, we traveled further and further away from it. 

We made a few great stops as we traveled north.  Including, Saint Augustine.  Not only is Saint Augustine a super cute town, it is also home of the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument, originally a Spanish fort.   





Our stay in Florida ended just north of Jacksonville, where we camped off the ocean and witnessed an incredible sunset.  



We have traveled a long, long way since Florida.  I'll be working on my east coast post very soon!  My apologies go out to our folks who have been patiently waiting for our long overdue updates.     

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