5-Day Low Country Road Trip: Northern Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina

March 21, 2015 - March 24, 2015

What could be better than a 5-day road trip from Florida to North Carolina - the US “low country” - eating the best southern food, learning the history, and (what we thought would be) warm, sunny weather!? With our first road trip under our belt (check out our 8-day Northern Road Trip Itinerary) and Dana’s road trip planning skills fully solidifed, we decided we wanted to give it another go. This time we added an extra adventure: camping! We also planned a shorter, Spring trip due to the upcoming events for Alicia’s Fall wedding.

Our 5-day Florida to North Carolina road trip itinerary took us on a tour of the Low Country including Northern Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. 

Day 1: Northern Florida

Alicia couldn’t resist dipping her toes in the ocean in Florida after leaving a snowstorm behind in Boston.

The plan was for Dana to pick up Alicia from the Jacksonville airport and spend the day beachside at Amelia Island State Park in Fernandina Beach, Florida. We had booked a horseback riding adventure on the beach, and we expected it to be a fun and relaxing day. Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other plans (Mother Nature: 1, Dana & Alicia: 0). A northeastern storm kept Alicia grounded and pushed back our trip by a day. Boo! We were bummed, but as seasoned travelers, we knew sometimes these things happen. We were not going to let it ruin the rest of our road trip!

Note from Dana: That horseback riding tour is still on my bucket list!

Day 1 (take 2): Fernandina Beach, Florida to Charleston, South Carolina

We hit the road in Dana’s car (already named Lucy) and headed first for a quick stop to dip our toes in the ocean at the beach. Alicia left the snowy northeast dreaming of that sandy beach. We had lunch in the quaint little downtown area of Fernandina Beach and stopped for some drinks (of course) at Florida’s oldest bar: Palace Saloon. Then we ventured north and made our way from Florida to Charleston, South Carolina. 

Our traveling home for the next 4 nights

When we arrived at the campsite at James Island County Park, it was already dark. Alicia had managed to pack her 2 person tent from home (thankfully since we had to set it up in the dark), and Dana brought all the other camping essentials since she drove up in her car. With our tent set for the night, it was time for dinner. The plan for the best camping food was hot dogs followed by S’mores for dessert. No luck on either. It had rained earlier in the day and it was too damp to get the fire going (or we are just really bad at lighting fires-hard to say). We fell back on our tried and true on-the-go meal: PB&J sandwiches. We ate in our tent by lantern light (Alicia laughed at Dana for this purchase, but who’s laughing now?!). Shortly after we settled in for the night, it started to rain (Mother Nature: 2, Dana & Alicia: 0). It poured all night long, but we stayed warm and dry in our cozy tent. 

Day 2: Charleston, South Carolina to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina

We took a horse drawn carriage ride in Charleston, South Carolina.

When we woke up, it was still overcast and rainy. After breakfast (more PB&J), we took a bike ride through James Island State Park, enjoying nature and taking in the beautiful South Carolina scenery. Then we were off to explore Charleston. We had a big southern lunch at Poogan's Porch (can you blame us after back to back PB&J meals?) of Fried Green Tomatoes and Biscuits & Gravy with mimosas (and the Great Mimosa Debate lives on…). Everything was delicious! With our bellies full, we meandered through historic downtown Charleston. We even took a horse drawn carriage ride! Since we had mimosas with lunch, we grabbed a quick flight of local beers before heading back on the road. Our rule for having “been” to a place is enjoying a local beer and a local meal.

We were now headed towards the Outer Banks of North Carolina. We booked a spot at Rodanthe Watersports and Campground on Hatteras Island. We were excited for some relaxation and exploration on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, but right away we realized something was wrong. The place was a ghost town! We soon understood why when we parked and stepped out of our car. It was cold. And windy. Definitely not good beach going weather! (Mother Nature: 3, Dana & Alicia: 0) I guess people who did not grow up in sunny Florida knew that it would be cold in North Carolina in the spring. Oh well! It’s all about the experience and the stories you can tell from it, right? 

Nothing says fun like s’mores and candy cane pajamas while camping on the outterbanks in North Carolina.

We set up camp and then went exploring. We took a walk on the beach (in our sweatshirts with the hoods up) and collected some shells, and we visited the Cape Hatteras Light Station. Then we headed back to our camp for dinner. It would be hot dogs and S’mores tonight (take 2)! Well, we couldn’t get the fire lit again. Guess we can’t blame it on the rain this time, but we were determined to have our proper camp cookout! We headed out to the closest convenience store and bought a firestarter log (that’s only kinda cheating, right?), and that did the trick. We got our fire lit (although full disclosure, we struggled even with the log), and enjoyed our meal of hot dogs cozied up to the fire with a gorgeous view of the bay. As the sun set, we made our S’mores for dessert and laughed as we reenacted the famous scene from the movie The Sandlot (“First you take the mallow…”). We were now true campers!

The later it got into the night, the colder it got as well. The temperature dropped into the low 40’s, and we were (stupidly) not prepared for the cold. To keep warm, we layered in almost every item we had (Dana won the fashion contest decked out in her candy cane PJ pants)! We crawled into our sleeping bags early to keep warm, talking and laughing into the night by lantern light. 

Day 3: Cape Hatteras, North Carolina to Savannah, Georgia 

It might have been cold, but this view of the sunrise on Cape Hatteras couldn’t be beat.

Pickle back shots on our pub crawl (0/10 do not recommend)

We woke up with the sunrise over the ocean and quickly prepared ourselves for the road. This would be our longest driving day as we looped around and headed back south. We splurged and booked a room at the Planters Inn on Reynolds Square in Savannah, Georgia and arrived just after dinner. What a difference a day makes! From roughing it in the freezing cold tent to the luxurious terry cloth bathrobes in our fancy hotel room. Our hotel resides in the Historic District across the street from the famous Olde Pink House (due to time constraints we were not able to eat here on this trip, but we loved Savannah so much we headed back a few months later for Alicia’s bachelorette and hit it up then). The hotel is thought to be one of the many haunted buildings in Savannah. With this information, we of course had to check out one of Savannah’s famous ghost tours! 

The Planer’s Inn in Savannah

We picked out a haunted pub crawl tour (ghosts and beer-win/win!) and headed out to meet up with our group just after sunset. The tour was part history, part ghost stories, and part drinking. Alicia and I were constantly holding up the group ordering more drinks at each bar and making friends with the locals! We were happy to learn, however, that Savannah has an open container policy-so we could bring our drinks with us on the street from bar to bar! We made a new friend, Genia, and with her guidance we experienced our first Pickleback shot: a shot of whiskey followed by a shot of pickle juice (in case you were wondering, it was gross). We had to run to catch back up with our tour group after that. Sadly we could not say for certain that we experienced any ghostly encounters, but it was a super fun time nonetheless.

Back in our room, we read some of the entries in the guest book (many previous occupants of the room reported seeing/hearing paranormal phenomena!) and drifted off into a comfortable but uneasy sleep (did you hear that creaking in the wall?!).

Day 4: Savannah, Georgia

We spent the final day of our trip exploring Savannah. We took a leisurely stroll towards Forsyth Park, soaking up all there was to see. From the beautiful moss covered Live Oak trees to the haunted mansions to the cemeteries hundreds of years old, Savannah is really a cool and unique city! 

Even with the many unforeseen obstacles on this trip, we are always able to make the best of any situation (though Mother Nature had us outnumbered this time!)! Another great Dana and Alicia Trip is in the books. Until next time :). 

Forsyth Park in Savannah

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