Charleston and Savannah

Tim again.  This morning we awoke in Myrtle Beach to a cool but otherwise beautiful morning.  The view from our hotel was really nice (especially for the price!), and we got a late start to get on the road by 10 or so.  I don't know what it is about being on the road, but I can't seem to want to get an early start unless we're camping.  I'll definitely have to get back in a more normal sleeping routine soon.  I remember being up really early all the time on my previous trip, but maybe that was due to it being summer, with a really early sunrise, and temperatures rising quickly.  Plus, Paul (who I went with on the trip, for those not familiar) used to get all cuddly in the mornings and it creeped me out.  Just kidding, Paul!

Anyways, we really didn't stop in Myrtle Beach for anything site or souvenir-wise.  I suppose the place must appeal to some people, and probably is a good family destination, but I think I'd rather spend my vacations away from large groups of unfamiliar people.  That could be the introvert in me showing.

So, after a relatively short 100 miles on the road, we came to Charleston.  Using the Road Food book given to us by Nathan as a guide, we decided to stop at Jestine's Kitchen for lunch.  It was really quite good, probably some of the best food of the trip.  I had a fried oyster po boy (a sub for those from the north), and Kat had the fried chicken, along with the "table wine", which is really just sweet tea.  Believe it or not, it was my first sweet tea of the trip and I made up for lost time by drinking like 3 glasses of it.  After walking around town a bit and looking at all the fancy stores we couldn't afford to go into, we hopped in the car and headed towards Savannah.  Along the way, we stopped at a roadside shop and picked up some sweet potato butter (like apple butter), as well as some kinda praline mustardy glaze, and a praline for good measure.  I don't know that I've ever had a praline before, but I think I'll be having more of them in the future because it was really good.  I've actually started a list of some foods I've had or heard of along the trip to try making them when we finish the trip.  The south really has a lot of delicious food.

Upon arriving in Savannah we followed our normal "first time in a new city" routine.  First, we look for the first signs of any sort of visitor's center and attempt to stop there.  Then, we get frustrated when we get lost or can't find parking or encounter a lot of traffic (it never fails).  Finally, once we get our bearings we calm down and start to enjoy the place.  Kat and I were talking today and saying that we don't really like touring around cities.  I told her that I thought it was mostly due to the stress of working your way around an unfamiliar place, that we liked Rochester once we knew where we were going, and she agreed.  Still, even if the stress of unfamiliarity weren't an issue, I think I'd choose touring around a National Park over seeing a major metropolitan area.

Once we got ourselves situated and parked in Savannah, we spent some time just walking around, taking in the waterfront and a lot of the area around the capitol, as well as few trendy shopping type areas.  I've heard that the homes and the architecture around Savannah are really beautiful so I'm looking forward to seeing that.  I think tomorrow we'll do a sort of self-guided walking tour of some of the homes and such around town then hit the road to end up somewhere in southern Georgia, or maybe Florida.  Who knows.

Part of what I like about the trip is that we're constantly not really knowing where we'll lay our heads down at night, where we'll be exploring the next day, who we might meet, and what situation we might run into.  I've stated to some that I think my first road trip around the country with Paul was one of the best things I've ever done.  I don't think it was just the experience of seeing all of those sites or being on a 5 week vacation.  I'm beginning to become more convinced that it was the fact that we were going around the country and really had no idea what would face us on a day to day basis.  Things were unknown and new and sometimes a bit scary and it was all ok.  We made it through just fine.  I think it gave me the confidence to step out a bit more, to be adventurous.

Perhaps more on this later, but for now, it's time to hit the sack.