When I left you, we were on the way from Virginia into North Carolina. I thought it would be a good place to pause since it was very much the transition from North to South. Know how I know? WAFFLE HOUSE!
I seriously love Waffle House. The hashbrowns! The grits! The waffles! Amy and Molly had never been there, so I insisted we stop at the first one we came across. It wasn’t our last.
As I mentioned previously, we plowed through North Carolina in an effort to have more time in Charleston and Savannah. I don’t have much to report except that 1) We saw a lot of rainbows. A lot. 2) Corn nuggets are the best invention ever. An order came with my meal at some restaurant on the side of a country highway and we ended up ordering more for dessert because we liked them so much! Imagine really good (not canned) creamed corn, mixed with cheese, somehow battered and deep fried. Mmmm…
Anyway, back to the trip: we’re finally in South Carolina! We got the day started off right with chicken and waffles at the Early Bird Diner. The place is tiny and there was a wait, but it was so worth it! Molly loves the south and wanted to go on a plantation tour, so after breakfast we trucked out to Magnolia Plantation in Charleston.
To be honest, a big part of me felt like it was an insane thing to take a tour of… the plantation is not a tribute or a memorial to the people whose lives and freedom were taken there and at thousands of other places like it, it was simply billed as a pretty, historic property. And it was beautiful, but it was also hot and buggy and at one point so humid it was miserable to walk around for the hour or two we were there. It’s hard not to consider the misery it must have been to do physical labor there, day in and day out.
Anyway, the plan was to end the afternoon with a swamp tour, but as we got to that area, the humidity I mentioned turned into an all-out downpour. We bucked up and made the attempt—it felt kind of good after the intense heat of the day actually—but only lasted 15 minutes or so, as the rain kept pounding down harder and harder.
After a classic in-car wardrobe change, we headed in to town. We didn’t really do anything but walk around and take it all in… I don’t think I’ll ever get used to how beautiful old Southern towns are. I love the cobblestone streets and tree roots that have grown around the sidewalk, old doors and awesome architecture.
We spent that night in Beaufort, a teeny little town with cute restaurants and bars… including a tucked-away pub called Hemingway’s whose regulars showed us a great time.
The next morning we drove into Savannah. After grabbing some lunch and checking out the shops in the touristy historic district, we took a carriage tour of the city, which sounds cheesy, but it really was a great way to see a lot of the town and learn a lot in a short period of time.
The shop above was the original Ford showroom—how cool is that? After the tour we did even more shopping (such a great city for reasonably priced, super cute clothes!), and then we decided we wanted to see the ocean one more time before the end of our trip, so we headed out to Tybee Island.
The next morning, we headed to the airport and our trip was officially history. We drove a little more, spent a little more and fought a little more than anticipated, but it was so worth having an adventure with my sisters. Hope you’re inspired to plan (and not plan) a road trip of your own!
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