2018 FALL ADVENTURE 10-27

On to Miami.

We’d hoped to amble down the coastline today and come to rest in Miami, but we discovered that the coastal route moves at about 35 MPH and has endless traffic and many traffic lights so we threw in the towel and jumped on the freeway. The ride was long (250+ miles). Hot (98 degrees) and very dull, so there are no photos of today’s journey to share.

We are camping tonight, and I must say the evening is lovely. It’s 8:45 pm and the temperature is 81 degrees with a light wind. It’s perfect. You know I’ve turned into a bird nut and to greet us while we set up camp was the sweetest flock of birds you can imagine. We had cooing doves and clucking parrots and some other unidentified creatures. It was nice to see them again. They have been noticeably absent during our mountain travels.

2018 FALL ADVENTURE 10-26

Zoom Zoom!

Okay, big surprise Savanna is the birth place of the Grand Prix in America. Whoda thunk it. Turns out there’s a Grand Prix race happening this weekend (along with about 10,000 other events) and the qualifying rounds were taking place on Thursday and again on Friday. We heard all the engine noise on Thursday from the big cars and caught a glimpse of some of the classic cars that would be racing this weekend, so before we said good bye to Savanna we stopped by the race track to check out the pits and a few qualifying heats. It was cool. I’ve never seen anything like that before and I was really impressed with the level of commitment expended on this little “hobby.” The cars came in all shapes and sizes and they were styling!

Originally, we’d plan to camp our first day in Florida, but the weather turned, and we opted for a hotel to be on the safe side. We lucked out and got a deal at a place right on the beach. Look what the tide washed in to our beach.

2018 FALL ADVENTURE 10-25

We spent the day getting acquainted with Savanna. We began in Bonaventure Cemetery. The cemetery became famous when it was featured in the novel Midnight in the garden of good and evil. It’s an enormous place with wonderful old graves, just as you would expect, but what really makes this place worth a trip is the unusual setting. The live oaks, the Palmetto trees and the old palms give the place a hauntingly beautiful ambiance. It was just lovely.

Bonaventure Cemetery

Amazing Grave Marker

Another Amazing Grave Marker

A Weird and Wondrous Place

After our trip to Bonaventure, we joined a bicycle city tour. Savanna's history, like all the great southern cities is rich and filled with juicy tales of human frailty and greed. We spun around town taking in the architecture, the wonderful and squares that define this city and of course the gossip. We’ve really grown to like this whole bike thing.

St. John The Baptist (Catholic Cathedral)

At the Fountain in Fontain Park

City Hall as See Across the Square

Beautiful Steps Home

Turns out, much to our surprise, that Savanna is the site of the first Grand Prix in the United States. I sure wouldn’t have guessed that and to honor that great tradition there’s a Grand Prix race happening this weekend. Speed trials were taking place today and we could hear the engines almost all day. I think we might check out a bit of the race before we leave town tomorrow. But I digress. There was a display of some old time specialty cars in the center of town to take a look at before heading home.

Vintage Dashboard

Groovy Race Car

F A S T

This one is for Maria!

Here is A Memorable One From My Youth In Germany

First winning the NASCAR race in Charleston now this, will it ever end?

2018 FALL ADVENTURE 10-24

I won’t even try to capture all that is Savanna. I couldn’t possibly. The city is a buzz with activity. Much busier than sleepy Charleston, but the energy is completely it’s own. Alas, just like Charleston, we won’t have enough time here to drink our fill, but we’ll try and soak up as much as time will allow.

Riding Through the "Low Country" toward Savannah from Charleston

Our Air B&B Place

Join Us in Savannah 

The Apartment Faces Out on This Park

We had to scoot back to our room because, after visiting Fenway Park in Boston, I have become a Red Socks Fan and game 2 of the World Series was on.

Non Competitive None Sports Wendy Watching Second Game of the World Series

(The Red Sox Are Now Her/Our Team Ever Since the Fennway Park Visit)

We’ll explore more in the morning. Go Red Socks.

2018 FALL ADVENTURE 10-23

We grabbed a couple of bikes to make today’s touring a bit easier and we were off. First stop: Magnolia Cemetery. This place is old and enormous and beautiful and strange. Everything a good cemetery ought to be. It also apparently has a gator or two living in the lake, but I didn’t see em.

Gearing Up

Wendy Scoping Things Out

Magnolia Cemetary

Magnolia Cemetary

Strange Infant Grave

Our lunch spot was as Southern as it gets. Martha Lou’s soul food. D E L I C I O U S E. This place was just the kind of hole in the wall local joint you always long for, but rarely find. We both ate too much and loved every bite. (burp!)

Time for lunch

YUM!

Next stop, a walking tour of the French Quarter to look at fabulous buildings and hear some of the stories about this incredible city. We could stay longer, but alas tomorrow we leave for Savana. I’m sure it will charm us just as much as Charleston .

2018 FALL ADVENTURE 10-22

On to Charleston

Good bye Drew and Michelle, hello Charleston! A quick, uneventful and undocumented ride down the interstate brought us to Charleston this afternoon. We have officially arrived in the antebellum South. There can be no doubt of that. The houses are completely different. The trees, the food, the pace. This is THE SOUTH and it’s beautiful.

An old and very interesting Church

Yep, another grave yard

So many steeples, so many churches

Oh, the Architecture!

A Secret Garden

Another beautiful church, at night

We got to take a quick look around after we arrived, but tomorrow we’ll take a better look at this beautiful city.

2018 FALL ADVENTURE 10-21

And now we R I D E!

Map of the Day 92 Miles

We awoke to the most beautiful morning.

The sky was perfectly blue without a single cloud in sight. The morning started out a bit chilly, but warmed up beautifully. Just the kind of day for a ride. Drew put together a route that took us through some beautiful countryside and charming towns.

The highlight of the ride was a stop at a 200 year stone bridge (Pointsett Bridge) that was on the road from Greenville to Asheville. This little Gothic bridge looked like it came right out of The Hobbit. So sweet.

We made a pit stop at a wonderful roadside restaurant called The Junction. A perfectly southern buffet with Southern treats to fill us up. I'm afraid we showed little restraint (except for Michelle) and we were all groaning with the pain of our excess when we left. But it was worth it.

We've had a wonderful visit here in Spartenburg and Drew and Michelle have been lovely hosts.

 We'll be sad to leave tomorrow, but leave we must. Onward to Charleston!