We are home again! Arrived last night in time to do a quick Costco run for basic supplies (wine and gas) and then enjoyed some pizza and wine while watching a little Netflix before going to our own bed. It’s nice to sleep in our bed again after so long in hotels and guest rooms.
But, where have we been for the last few days? Well, let me catch you up.
After leaving Helen, we went to Charlotte, NC to see a cousin. Vale had met this cousin and her husband before, but we never had the chance to introduce her to 2 of their children. Together, they have 2 boys and they are both amazing young men. It’s also been years since I’ve seen them and they have doubled in size since then. Of course, I had to point out that this is what happens when you feed them!
After a night in Charlotte, we spent the next day wandering the city a little before heading to Charleston, SC. I have an uncle and aunt, as well as one of his children, who live there and again we were very happy to be able to spend some time there. We spent 2 nights there, just enough time to enjoy some amazing ribs cooked in my uncle’s special smoker. Oh, and wine. Always wine.
Speaking of wine, there is an amazing wine bar in the Charleston area that we have visited multiple times in our travels. Stems and Skins is a great place to enjoy vintage vinyl records, great food, and fabulous wines that you otherwise would never find in any store. If you are in the area, it is a must see.
From Charleston we drove to Daytona Beach, FL to enjoy one last little bit of beach time before the end of the trip. After arriving, we had a great meal and then enjoyed a nice walk on the beach before calling it a day. The next morning we visited the Daytona International Speedway. We were lucky and they had a few different cars (private cars, mostly heavily modified street cars) racing on the track, so we were able to hear and see them going around. Neither of us are NASCAR fans, so we didn’t need an actual NASCAR race to enjoy the tour. For me, I actually enjoyed seeing the customized cars more than any NASCAR.
And then we drove home. Daytona is only a few hours from Miami so it was one of the easier driving days. It was a little sad to know that this was the last day of our tour, but also happy to be back at home. We have just under one week before the house is sold, so it was time to get back and start preparing for that. We will have the movers take all our stuff one day before closing, and we still need to do a little organizing on our own before that.
So now you are caught up! I hope you have enjoyed our little trip around the country. We both had a great time and feel very lucky to have been able to do this. There are a lot of places that we still want to visit and, as time and money permit, we look forward to our next road trip. Of course, the next one might not be in the US, but hey, that makes it even more fun, right?
To everyone that we saw during this trip, please know that you were the highlight of the trip. The places were amazing, but it was the people that made the trip special. Thank you for sharing some of your time with us.
To the people we didn’t get to see this time, hopefully we will see you next time! We will look forward to that.
And to anyone who actually reads these little posts, we wish you were here with us. Good health and good days to each and every one of you.
And so I say . . .
Ciao for now.