Travels with (A) Snowbird May 2012

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Travels with (A) Snowbird(s) May 2012

Wilmington, NC to Kingsland, GA.

Thanks to Laurie Dalton. She reminded me I should be blogging on this road trip. I have a few hours before sleep, a good internet connection, lots of good TV to watch, a DQ Blizzard by my side and I am ready to go.

I am on a non RV road trip to a family wedding in Clearwater Beach, FL. The daughter, Audrey Schade, of my cousin thru (ex) marriage, Valerie Hornell Schade, is getting married on Saturday, and I was fortunate enough to receive an invitation. My readers might remember that I visit Valerie each year when on my winter Snowbird trip. Weather permitting, the ceremony will be on the beach. I am looking forward to some quality beach time and/or pool time, as well as spending QT with this arm of my extended family.

I evaluated flying vs driving this trip. Expenses will be about the same either way – airfare vs gasoline and extra night hotel costs. I love to drive, and I thought it might be fun to drive the roads I know so well from my RV trips, and be able to stop at some of the places that are difficult to get in with the RV, and drive at 70+ mph vs 55 to 60 mph. Plus, when I get to Clearwater, no real close by campground, no way to get from campground to hotel, etc., etc. The logistics were not great.

I have built up enough credits with son Tim and his family (babysitting and other Nana helping things) that they willingly agreed to watch Winston for me. They also had him for the 2 weeks I was in UT visiting Kristine and Maggie. I think I am now on the short side of who owes who, as Winston still likes to lift his leg in strange places and I think he adequately marked his territory at their rugs and furniture during that trip.

It was actually kind of nice packing for this trip; I just threw a few things in suitcases, packed a cooler, my crocheting, some snacks and took off. It was pleasant not spending 2 days packing the RV!! I could get used to this (ABSOLUTELY NOT….ONLY JOKING!!)

The quickest way to FL is straight down I95. If I want to do this by interstate, I would take I40 northeast out of Wilmington, NC about 90 miles, then head south on I95. It always seemed silly to me to travel north before I go south, so I opted to go over the river and thru the woods on State Route 74/76 heading south and west, and coming on I95 near Dilon, SC (near ‘South of the Border’). Somewhere along the way I missed a turn. I did spend a lot of time on the phone this morning. Garmina was not liking the way I was going at all, and kept recalculating, so I travelled on my instincts. Ha, that sure was wrong. I went about 140 miles before I got to 95, somewhere near Florence SC I didn’t go out of my way, I just went further south than I originally intended. But, it was fun seeing some of the small NC towns along the way. I noticed that the corn is almost hip high already. It was different seeing the fields green with growth rather than winter brown. It rained off and on most of the morning. Since the bugs liked my windshield, the moisture was most welcome. Passing by Santee State Park was bittersweet, as it is a favorite winter stopping place. There were still evidence of logging, lots of filled and empty trucks on the road, and smoke and smell coming from the mills. The salt marshes looked odd as well, showing off their new bright green growth. I do love driving thru the Carolina low country, I never tired of seeing it.

It was unusual driving in 3+ hour stretches. No Winston pacing and ‘begging’ for a pit stop. Less of a need to stop for fuel. More comfortable than driving the RV, so I needed to stretch less. The Lexus A/C works wonderfully, and I stayed very comfortable in the 91 degree heat of the day.

My goal was to make Savannah before the end of lunch time and eat at Paula Deen’s Lady and Sons restaurant. I was amazed how easily I found a free parking place 2 short blocks from the restaurant. FREE!!! 2 hour downtown parking!!! I confirmed that with a shop owner. I asked how they knew 2 hours, and he said there are cameras that record license plates and they send you a ticket – no meter maids! I don’t know how true that was, as I looked all over for the cameras and didn’t see any, but I know, I watch that TV show where cameras record everything, Person of Interest. About 50 yards from the restaurant the skies opened up. I ‘ran’ for it (not really, I don’t run….) and only got a little wet. Most of the shops have wide awnings protecting the entire sidewalk; I guess it rains there a lot. (The southeast is in a major drought now. I heard on the Jacksonville news tonight how the St. John’s River is getting too salty due to lack of fresh water from the rivers, and the ecology of the river is changing – plants and animals are dying, more salt water species are invading. We, and I mean ‘we’ as Wilmington NC is included in the southeast, really need rain. Wilmington is down 13 inches just since the beginning of 2012.

The host sits outside Lady & Sons in a booth. Starting at 9:30 am you can line up to put your name in for a reservation for later in the day. I have never had a problem as a single, I just walk up, and ask to sit at the bar, and get right in. Today was no different, but it wasn’t busy at all, so I got a booth in the bar instead. The building that houses the restaurant is an old warehouse. (It’s 2 blocks from the river, and this area stored the cotton before it got on ships) There are tables on all 3 floors, and a very nice bar on the 3^rd floor with lots of awesome family pictures on the walls. You can order buffet lunch/dinner, or from the menu. There is no choice for me, buffet is the way to go. While small in the world of buffet’s as far as items offered, what is offered is so darn good I don’t need many different items to have a feast. My choices made a wonderful white meal. Pork chops, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, creamed corn, the best macaroni and cheese I have ever eaten, cheese/garlic biscuit, and hocake. My second plate was more pork chop, more corn, more mac and cheese, a few green beans (they were not to my liking, too much salt) and candied sweet potatoes. Items I did not choose were lima beans, collard greens, BBQ ribs, and anything from the small but lovely looking salad bar. All washed down with wonderful unsweetened iced tea spiked with lemon and fresh mint and followed by a small serving of banana cream pudding (vanilla wafers, fresh bananas, pudding, whipped cream.) I was sated. Including tip, $22.

No rain on the way back to the car, I walked a different way and did a little window shopping and made it in plenty of time to avoid a ticket from the eye in the sky. Getting back on I95 was easy and I was again headed south. I was going to try to make it to Jacksonville, but soon realized that was unrealistic. I was too full, my tummy was stuffed, I was tired, and I figured out I would hit the loop around JAX at rush hour, not something I wanted to do. A quick conversation with Siri on my iphone found one each of every hotel known to man in Kingsland, GA – just north of the FL border, and at 5:00 I landed at the Comfort Inn. I was thrilled. $44/night before tax (I wonder what percentage that is?) for a double bed on the first floor, 50 feet away from where I parked the car. No smell, reasonably quiet but excellent functioning A/C, microwave, refrigerator, HBO, free internet, and free breakfast. Such a bargain!!!! Cheaper than camping!! Within walking distance are fast food and more substantial restaurants, and a Dairy Queen.

I was very happy I stopped when I did. The rain came down in buckets for 20 minutes and created a river in the courtyard, and hopefully got the bugs off my windshield.

I checked email, caught up on Farmville/Facebook, watched the news, then Survivor and now Criminal Minds. Back to that DQ. I didn’t need dinner, just something sweet. It was raining. BUT, if I walked under the walkway, thru the hotel lobby, down the side of the next building under the awning, I only had 50 feet out in the rain!!! The window was inside, so I hardly got wet at all. Small Blizzard, vanilla/M&Ms. Haven’t had one of them in a long time. Don’t tell my MD. I have to lose 15 pounds by 8/15. I am down just under 10 now, so I can go off dieting for a weekend and hopefully not cause too much weight to flow back on…..lol

My plans are to get to sleep early, eat my free breakfast and be on the road before 8. I am headed to grammar school and high school classmate Maureen Kelly’s house in Holiday, FL, I figure about 4 hours away and spend the afternoon/evening with her, then head on to the wedding hotel Friday morning in Clearwater Beach, about 40 miles?? Give or take. I will stay at Maureen’s Thursday night, then at the wedding hotel Friday and Saturday night, then regroup for the trip home. I still haven’t decided when I want to leave the area or which way I want to go – remember, all those wonderful RV stores are here, and maybe I should just do some window shopping…..

I hope to find time to write again on this trip. It just somehow completes my day while travelling. I wish I had blogged when I was in UT with Kristine and Maggie last week, but was so tired at the end of the day, and the altitude really hit me and I had a cold and awful allergies, it was all I could do to crawl up the stairs to bed. Maybe I will include some nuggets from that trip if I write more.

Kat out

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