It was really, really cold when we left Virginia – at least too cold to consider spending the night outdoors, so we drove straight through to Charlotte and “camped” at a Quality Inn. Driving down I 81 gave a new view of the Shenandoah Valley. So many times we’ve looked down on the river from the Skyline Drive; this time we looked up at the park from down below. All along the way the remains of the last snow storm lay piled in the fields and roadsides. We couldn’t wait to leave it behind!
Determined to reach Savannah GA for our first actual camping night, we took two hour shifts and made the Georgia border in no time. As we drew closer we were drawn to a sign for the Savannah National Wildlife Reserve and decided to spend a few minutes seeing what what could see. Two hours later we reached the city and accidentally wound up at the riverfront. Of course, we had to park and revisit the Shrimp Factory for a nice meal. Regrets came later when we had to pull into the Skidaway Island SP campgrounds after dark, tired and very, very cranky. Thoughts of turning back and selling the van vanished after a good night’s sleep, though, and we headed out again, taking some scenic detours through roads lined with palmettos and live oaks dripping with Spanish moss. I have to dig out the camera and charge it up so I can post some pictures. We finally felt like we were in the south.
The Ultimate Road Trip 