Odometer Reading: 4,983 Miles (Savannah, Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina)

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As with my past travels, at a certain point in the trip, you really start to long for your own bed, for a kitchen, for the convenience of doing laundry at your leisure. It was at this juncture of the trip, now four weeks in, that this feeling started to set in for Adina and I. That's not to say we weren't excited to see the awaiting Southern cities, but with each passing day, the idea of reaching the final destination became more and more desirable.

Fortunately, this feeling had come with only a few days left in our trip, and so, we drove to Savannah with enthusiasm to see what we had heard was an exceptionally beautiful town, while simultaneously looking forward to being one stop closer to Livingston, New Jersey.

Our intentions in both Savannah and Charleston, our subsequent stop, were nothing more than to walk around the city for a few hours, get as good a feel for the city as is possible in such an amount of time, and eat a tasty meal... nice and simple. Arrving in Savannah late on our day of travel, we saved most of our explorations for the following morning. The thunderstorms that had escorted us much of the way on our drive had made their exit, leaving nothing but sun and blue skies in the heavens above. The city's historict district, which is where we spent some time walking around, is home to 22 squares, each lush and green and with a canopy (again decorated with drooping Spanish Moss), that extends acrosss the entirety of each square, casting ample shade on the many park benches below. The center of each square is decorated with a statue or memorial dedicated to persons lost and historical events somehow relevant to the city. These squares, which are scattered every few blocks throughout the historic district, give the city its unique character and appeal. After a stroll along the Savannah River and poking our heads in a handful of shops, we got back on the road to head to Charleston.

We arrived early enough in Charleston to have a walk around the town before scouting out dinner. Like Savannah, Charleston was beautiful... something about it emanating a southern charm. Unlike Savannah, the downtown felt a bit pretentious and lacked a diversity of people. We walked along the French Quarter's Waterfront Park, overlooking the confluence of the Ashley and Cooper Rivers, while kids frolicked in all of the several fountains spewing water around us. We gradually meandered our way to one of the busier streets in the area, where a selection of restaurants all seemed to be doing good business. A combination of long waits to be seated and grumbling tummies growing louder by the second helped to narrow the selection. We took the first restaurant that would seat us, and lucky for us it was a stellar spot... the Southend Brewery and Smokehouse. Tables encircled large tanks of homemade brews, and a team of cooks calmly scurried around an open kitchen. This would be our last true "road" meal and it didn't disappoint. Crab cakes made from local dungenness crab made me full... happy and content...

The following morning, we got up early to explore a small bit more of Charleston before commencing our second to last drive of the journey. We departed our hotel for Folly Beach, one of several in the area. A wide, long, and crowded strip of salt and pepper sand reminded the Swedes of their beaches back home, and while, in my opinion, it resembled the Jersey Shore, this was far more appealing. We walked a small stretch of the beach, and felt the ocean, a colder Atlantic than just a few days before, with our toes.

With sandy feet, we once again loaded up in the car for another haul. Just one last stop before we put a fork in this epic road trip...

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Photos

Ice Cream on a hot day in Savannah
The city is filled with beautiful squares to sit, relax and people watch.