Author: Liliana

Saturday / Sunday 20/21 October 2018

Today is Sunday morning and we have everything packed and are ready to start travelling homeward bound. We’ve had a marvelous time on our road trip which took us to a few southern states: Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and now back in Florida to catch our flight back home from Orlando.

We met up with a number of Americans who were fascinated with our story saying that they themselves hadn’t visited so many states. We also met up with my dear friends, Carolyn and Aad and Ruth and Jay and we all had a chance to catch up with each other’s news.

As I had mentioned in my first page of this blog, I have always been fascinated with the making of America , how all these brave travelers sailed over the great ocean and settled in this new land. Of course there is also the dark side to all this, how the native Americans lost their land and how the African slaves were brought over to work on the plantations. We saw the church in Savannah were Martin Luther King used his famous words in his sermon…… I have a dream…… Many sacrifices took place but finally it seems his dream has been achieved.

Yesterday morning we left St.Augustine and drove down the A1A instead of going onto the Intersection 95 south.  It was already 11.30 am and we had 130 miles to drive to reach our last destination. We were already experiencing not just warm weather but hot reach the 90’s F or 30 Celsius.

My plan was to see more of the ocean coastline and perhaps stop at some interesting spots. After all this was the road through Flagale Beach, Ormond Beach and Daytona Beach. Well what we did not know was that although Daytona Beach is a Mecca for car and bike races on the sand, this weekend it was the Biketoberfest. It seems the German Octoberfest is catching up in the US becoming nearly if not more popular than the traditional St.Patrick’s Day in March. This is an annual motorcycle rally which attracts motorbikers especially as the pros compete in the Daytona International Speedway motorcycle races. So we had to stop here and watch the fun – Gerry claims he’s never seen so many motorbikes all together and mostly Harley Davidsons – well I certainly hadn’t seen that many bikes in all my life……. and not only motor bikes, but also bikers kittens, bikers in all shapes and sizes and age, so many tattooed people sauntering among the stands.

Well Gerry could not stop admiring these bikers but after some time we needed to stop somewhere to have something to drink and a snack. We made it to the lighthouse at Ponce de Leon located on a land tongue and here too were hordes of bikers. We managed to get a seat at the bar and while enjoying the view we had some beautiful oysters for our snack. After that we went back to the highway as we had another hour’s drive to reach our hotel.

Well now Gerry has packed all our stuff into our rental car and we’re off to the airport……

Friday, 19th October, 2018

This morning we woke up to another day of bright sunshine and although the temperatures were in the low sixties by the time we had had breakfast, sorted out our luggage and were ready to hit the road again, it was already 75*F.  We started driving at 10.30 and while at first there was heavy Friday traffic, we finally could cruise pleasantly free of traffic along the Interstate 95 South. Our drive from Savannah to St. Augustine was calculated by our GPS at being 175 miles taking us 2.5 hours.

As we had had a good breakfast (complimentary) at the hotel, we didn’t really need to stop on the way except to fill up the car with gasoline. This meant we had an early arrival  ( 1.30 pm) at our Best Western destination  which was located a few miles out of down town  St. Augustine. I knew we were very early to check in but I just wanted to ask if the reception had a local map for us.

Well we were checked in straight away so after settling down and freshening up we drove down to the old town centre. As we missed the first turning, we drove down to the St. Augustine Inlet and watched the boats which were going out fishing. A really peaceful spot where far out we could see the waves of the Atlantic crashing against a reef.

Well we made it back to the old town centre and parked our car behind Lightner Museum and City Hall and went on our walk about. We walked toward the sea front and came to the Bridge  of Lions – a bridge guarded by lions. Along the sea front we also spotted the Castillo San Marco, a historic fort built by the Spanish to defend their settlement over the years

We made our way to the the fort where we were given quite some interesting information. It is the oldest masonry fort on Continental United States and was constructed in 1672, more than 100 years after the city was founded by the Spanish Conquistador Pedro Menendez de Avilas. This fort changed hands many a time – Britain gained control of East Florida and named St. Augustine as it’s capital in 1763 but returned to Spain in 1783 only to be transferred to the United States in 1821…..

The views from the ramparts are extraordinary and of course in the old days this was perfect to see where the attackers came from and send for help in Mexico or Cuba.

We then continued our stroll back into town by passing the City Gates in St. George Street

On the  way, we stopped at a bikers shop fully of Harley Davidson memorabilia – of course Gerry had to go in, thinking of his motorbike crazy older brother. Anyway he came out with a biker’s T shirt which he hopes to give to his brother Rob. We’ve met many bikers doing the same type of trip we are doing and they come from all over the world. But these ones we met here are truly deep Americans……

Our last stop in the city was to admire the City Hall and Lightner Museum – it was already gone past closing time so we had to admire it from just across the road. Also worth mentioning is the Flagler College – a majestic building housing a privately run liberal arts college. Of course we could not miss the Cathedral as well as the market place which is still used

After all the sightseeing, it was time to pick up our car and cross the Bridge of the Lions and make our way to the Atlantic Ocean – is it because we are somewhat homesick to cross the pond in a couple of days and get back home for a few days before heading out to Malta and Greece? Who knows…….

We strolled over the fishing pier and watched the sunset behind the beach and kids swimming and riding the waves – we also witnessed the making of a rainbow which was spectacular…….

Finally, on recommendation , we ended up at the Sunset Grille for a really exquisite meal of seafood – broiled oysters with a lobster sauce and cream to share, for me the Lovers Trio:blackened shrimps, scallops and sole while Gerry took the catch of the day: grilled grouper. An interesting note is that we had to cross the A1A road to reach the restaurant and at every crossing we found a stack of orange flags which you could use to help pedestrians  cross over. So of course we did that too – and the cars screeched to a stop…….

We spent a beautiful day and I guess St Augustine is one of the best places we have visited as it’s filled with history being the oldest city of the US nation…… tomorrow heading back to Orlando where the following day we fly back to the Netherlands….

My alarm went off at 8 am and it was good to wake up to a sunny warm day – we’ve been promised that temperatures were rising to the 90’s today.  By 9am we were having our breakfast as this was complimentary at the Best Western and soon we were ready to start our full day of exploring Savannah of which we had already had a taste yesterday afternoon.

The old historic town is only some 2.5 square miles – Savannah, Georgia,  is situated on the River Savannah which is also the state boundary between South Carolina and Georgia and was established back in 1733 by James Oglethorpe who arrived on the banks of the River Savannah with a 144 colonists. This was the first city established in the state of Georgia.

James Oglethorpe https://en.m.wikipedia wanted to give English debtors who had been thrown into prison a new lease of life by taking them to the new colony. Along with the released prisoners, Oglethorpe also had seeds for cotton and that is how the cotton growing business started and enriched the state of Georgia.

All this information was shared with us while we were touring the historic town in a trolley bus where the chauffeur also was our tour guide.

At times we stopped at various points of interest and different historical characters came on board to bring us up to speed on Savannah’s history.

Another interesting detail is that Savannah is used quite a lot for filming and one of the films which is well known is Forrest Gump – starting off with Forrest sitting on a bench at a square waiting for the bus and saying :life is like a box of chocolates…….The square was: Chippewa Square

When we reached the river front we decide to get off the trolley as we had tickets to take a cruise on the Georgia Queen – a paddle steamer – on the River Savannah. The weather was perfect for a cruise – sunny with a gentle breeze so we made our way up to the top deck  – fantastic views and certainly enjoyable with an afternoon cocktail for me and a large local beer for Gerry.

As we were cruising along the river, we had a charming guide who was also very informative  for instance, the Port of Savannah is a major seaport for the US and once the Jasper Ocean Terminal is completed in 2020, then it will be the largest port in the US.

Further down the river, we sailed along Old Fort Jackson where we were greeted with a cannon being fired.  This is one of the oldest brick fortifications on the east coast.

Back on shore, we strolled along the waterfront and made our way back to the hotel. It had turned quite chilly once the sun set some needed to change into some warmer clothes before we went out for dinner. We decided that it was best to return the the water front as there was quite some choice of restaurants and great to stroll around here.  We finally settled for Joe’s Crab Shack which had a great verandah overlooking the river  so we got a table outdoors – glad I had put on my jeans and had a fleece jacket…… and we were in for a treat. First to share a sampler  seas and then a steamed bucket of crab, shrimps, corn and potatoes……..

What a way to close our day of exploring Savannah…… but no we weren’t ready yet …… we missed Gerry’s desert – ice cream – so we walked back to City Market and found Gerry’s ice cream parlour all decorated for Halloween  – and that was the close of day – tomorrow driving down to St.Augustine.

Wednesday, 17th October 2018

This morning we woke up in Charleston and tonight we are sleeping in Savannah – only 110 miles apart and a 2 hour drive.

Our hotel – the Holiday Inn – is situated on the other side of the river and overlooks two bridges. So before leaving the hotel we went up to the 7th floor where the restaurants are and took some really great pictures.

We then checked out just before 11 am and drove down town – to Market Street where we parked our car in a parking garage and we went strolling in this lovely town full of beautiful wooden homes and tree lined shady streets.

Our walk about took us down to the water front and there we found a pretty restaurant – The Fleet Landing – and as we hadn’t had any breakfast we decided to have an early lunch – well it was already gone noon so that’s acceptable. We were shown to a table outdoors facing the mouth of the Cooper  river  leading to the Atlantic. There was quite some activity there as we saw quite a number of  container vessels going in and out of the harbour as well as sailing boats and not to mention the flocks of pelicans perching on a railing way out in front of the restaurant verandah.

Lunch included a pre lunch cocktail for me called Peach Tea. It was made up of peach tea, lime juice and an old recipe of moonshine liquor……. good job I did get my Caesar salad on time as this just one cocktail knocked me out.  And that had repercussions during our drive down to Savannah – I was badly in need of a nap and once out on the freeway 17 I did fall asleep for a while.

Temperatures have gone up to the 90’s now  and by the time we reached Savannah at 4pm we were badly in need of a shower and fresh clothes. We are now staying at the Best Western located in the historical town and down by the river close to the city hall.

We booked two sightseeing trips for tomorrow – travelling on the old trolley busses as a hop on hop off activity and then we are also taking a trip on the paddlewheels and this time during the day so that we can see the riverbanks in day time. However we went on a short walk around and did see some of the lovely squares in the old town.

The  rest we will be seeing tomorrow,

Monday /Tuesday  15/16 October 2018

We spent a leisure Monday morning with Ruth and Jay as well as their son Ben who came to visit. So good of him to have come over yesterday and to catch up with him.  Anyway after having joined Ruth for a brisk walk in her neighbourhood ( and it was all up and down hill!) we had a healthy breakfast of scrambled eggs prepared by Ben, cheese on toast and Greek yoghurt with fresh berries.

Ben took the men for a spin in his new Audi S4 while Ruth and I spent time together  – well we didn’t realise they were away for a long time but apparently the boys stopped for an ice cream – and I wasn’t there to take a picture of Gerry with his ice……. mind you he has been good on this trip and not having ice cream every day…..

Before Ben left, we took some family pictures and hopefully we won’t wait 9 years to meet up with The whole family once more!

We then drove down town and had lunch at a Lebanese restaurant- Tassi – and by the time we got back to the house it was time to get ourselves packed for our trip to the airport.

Meeting up with my friends, Carolyn and Aad in Nashville and Ruth and Jay in Raleigh was a change I put into our itenarary . By staying one night in Memphis instead of the planned two nights and staying with Carolyn and Aad for one night in Nashville, Imwas able to smuggle the weekend in Raleigh. I just could not come on this road trip in the southern states and not visit with my good friends…….

We had an hour’s delay which meant that our whole plan to start driving once we got to Nashville might not go through depending on Gerry being fit to do so and me being wide awake to act as co navigator…… anyway we did drive that same evening starting off with a packed snack bag and coffee to go,prepared by Carolyn and hence we made it to Gatlinburg at 3am …..

Once we arrived at our destination – River Terrace Resort, we were lucky to get an extension on our check out time till noon. However by 11 am we were back on the road again – this time for a mammoth drive through the Smoky Mountains through to Charleston- 340 miles taking up more than 5 hours.

It was quite an exciting route, first driving through narrow roads in the country side where we saw some trailer camps and an old dumps for broken down cars – didn’t really feel safe driving through this area but luckily we were quickly on the high way and that was a different excitement. The roads had lots of curves, elevations and filled with loads of lorries overtaking each other.

After 5 hours and a couple of stops to have our brunch at Waffle House and then to fill up the car, we arrived in Charleston just before 6pm.

Charleston is such a picturesque city and we are looking forward to exploring more of it Tomorrow as tonight we only had time to take the shuttle from our hotel across the river and go into town for dinner at Hyman’s seafood restaurant  – super delicious – and finally we had sea tasting oysters…..

After such a great dinner, we walked down Market street and were just in time to take the shuttle back to the Holiday Inn  – we will be back tomorrow to have a proper look around before continuing our trip to Savannah.

Saturday 13th October and Sunday 14th, 2018

This morning we got up when our alarm went off to 7 a.m. and that’s when I jumped into the shower as today was another travelling day – this time we were heading Raleigh, North Carolina but we were taking a flight up there leaving our rental car at Carolyn’s and Aad’s house.

By the time we were downstairs, Carolyn was preparing us a cooked breakfast – omelette filled with onions and home grown paprika’s  on toast together with some strong freshly brewed coffee. By 8.30 am we were ready to drive to the airport – we left our rental car at Carolyn and Aad’s place and Aad drove us to the airport.

However passing through security was no easy job – Gerry hadn’t packed his hand luggage properly and he was stopped for inspection…… he still had his corkscrewdriver and a knife which we used for our fruit and wine when we were in the hotels; so they got confiscated……

Our one and a half flight to Raleigh went smoothly – well I slept most of the the way……  at Raleigh airport we were met by my dear friend Ruth and her husband Jay and in a while we were sitting at their lunch table at their home. It was so good to meet up even though we had seen each other last year in Croatia.

We spent quite some time catching up and the I nthe evening we went out for dinner which was exquisite.

By the time we reached home, we were quite tired and whilst the men went off to bed, Ruth and I remained up just chatting. Our friendship goes such a long way starting off with being pen pals at the age of 10 when I was at school at the Sacred Heart  in Malta and Ruth at school at the Convent of Jesus and Mary in New Delhi.

By 1.30 made it to bed and the following morning – Sunday – I only got up at 9am while Gerry was still asleep. Of course Ruth and Jay were already up and getting breakfast read – today we were going o the North Carolina State Fair. This is a fair exhibiting rural and agricultural products as well as masses of food stalls and fun fair activities. It was so very typical and of course loads of people as this event attracts the country folk for miles around and they all stream into the fair grounds.

Well by the time we had seen quite a bit of the grounds and watched people stuffing themselves in huge turkey legs, corn on the cob and loads of burgers, we made our way to the car which was parked a few miles down the road and were ready to go back home.  We had some lunch at home and then some time out till Ben, Ruth and Jay’s oldest son came to visit. it was so good to see home as it’s been some 9 years since I last him. Same sweet young man Ive  always known since I first met him back in 1984 when he was a toddler.

Tonight it was dinner at home and we picked up some salad and desert at the local supermarket and while Ruth prepared the lasagna, I made the salad with a mustard honey dressing. A lovely evening at home and enjoying each other’s company till it was time to go to bed.

Tomorrow we will spend some in down time Raleigh and the in the evening we will be flying back to Nashville to pick up our road trip again and driving to Gatlinburg.

Friday, 12th October 2018

Our alarm went off at 8a.m and today we were continuing our road trip with some deviation to the original plan as we cut short our stay in Memphis by one day to visit my friend Carolyn and her husband Aad in Antioch, Nashville. And then we were cutting short our stay in Nashville to fly out to Raleigh to spend the weekend with my friend Ruth and her husband Jay.

So after breakfast we were ready to start our drive  which was well over 220 miles to be accomplished in 3hr.15 mins.

However, we decided that we should first take a look at Graceland, Elvis Presley’s home turned into museum and showing most of his memorabilia such as his mansion, planes, motorcycles, clothes, films and clothes. While it was a short drive to this museum, we got into a traffic jam as there were quite a number of cars driving towards Graceland.  We bought our parking ticket and made our way towards the entrance, however there were such long queues, that we gave up trying to visit Graceland – instead we took a look around the grounds and by 10.30 we were on our way as we wanted to reach Nashville by 3 pm.

The weather was great however perhaps because it was Friday, we had quite a bit of traffic on the way and indeed as we stopped for a coffee break on the way, we only reached Carolyn’s and Aad’s home at 4pm.

It was good to meet up with old friends and while we sat out on the porch, we found out that both Gerry and Aad came from the same neighbourhood in Rotterdam and spent some time reminiscing over the old days.

Carolyn had made reservations for the evening at the Aquarium restaurant which was close tot the Grand Ole Opry where we had also reservations for the Friday evening show. This was quite an experience to watch the audience entering the big hall ( it actually takes in some 4,500 spectators and the various singers who took part this Friday evening included some dinosaurs from the country and Western music as well as newcomers and also what’s interesting is that the show is transmitted live over the radio……..The public was very enthiusiastic and applauded and sang along. Also we were lucky to be present on the Grand Ole Opry’s 93rd birthday.

Well  once the performance of country and western as well as blues was over, it was time to return to our friends’ home and get a good night sleep as  we had to have an early start tomorrow – flying out to Raleigh to meet up with Ruth and Jay.

Thursday, 11th October, 2018

While in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas were being battered by Hurricane Michael, we on the contrary, woke up to bright blue skies but somewhat nippy morning. On the weather channel we saw what havoc Hurricane Michael did on the beaches of Panama Beach and other coastline townswhere we had been just a few days back.

After breakfast we got all our stuff packed into the car and as soon as we left the Holiday Inn hotel, we filled up the car with gasoline (petrol) at the first fuel station just down the road.  By 10.15 am we were on the road again – this time we drove 250 miles in 3hr 30 minutes, crossed state lines from the state of Mississippi to the state of Tennessee. On the way we saw cotton fields amidst the thick green trees. It was difficult to take pictures as we could not stop on the motorway. We arrived in down town Memphis at our hotel Comfort Inn at 2 pm  – well we had stopped for coffee and snacks on the way and also to enjoy the sunny weather and get out of the airco car and move around.

We are again staying at the Comfort Inn and it is located right in the middle of Memphis city just along the banks of the great Mississippi. Our view from the 10th floor room is just fantastic  – a network of bridges, highways and a silver coloured pyramid

Once we had settled in, we went out to explore the neighbourhood – all the interesting highlights were in walking distance and it was a pleasant sunny stroll along the Mississippi. Our hotel was on Front Street and this is where the Cotton Row is also situated  – large buildings were cotton trading took place  as well as warehousing. By late 1840’s riverboats loaded with cotton lined the river banks  and cotton became very important in the economy of the city of Memphis. The cotton market had actually started as early as 1825 and by the start of the Civil War some 400.000 bales of cotton was being handled in Memphis. Front street became the heart of the cotton trade.

Of course we could not miss Beale Street which is the birthplace of the Blues and Rock n Roll – a significant location in the city’s history of the Blues, however nowadays all the clubs and restaurants that line Beale Street are just major tourist attractions. Also interesting to see were the street cars or trams, in our language, and trolley busses  and the little stations.

Just before we ended our tour, we stopped for cocktails and beer on a rooftop bar. The sun was still shining and it was warm sitting there while I sipped my Pink Flamingo and Gerry his local draft beer.

As it was getting quite chilly, we returned to our hotel  and after some time out, we changed to warmer clothes before going out for dinner. We were dead tired and decided to walk back after dinner – this way I had time to finish my blog before turning in.

Tomorrow, we’ re off to Nashville and visiting with my friend Carolyn. Another  3 hour drive ahead of us.