Today, we depart Savannah after a brief two-week run. After spending the entire month of July in Longboat Key, Florida, these last 14 days went by in the blink of two eyes. It was our first-ever visit to this wonderful southern destination. During our time here, we have enjoyed walks along River Street Marketplace, appreciated historic sites like Wormsloe, dined at the Olde Pink House, and even made our way to the beach (Tybee that is).
Along with one of our kids, we sang our hearts out at the dueling piano bar, attended a concert where Debbie and I were NOT the ideal demographic and made two individual trips to Charleston SC from Savannah. If you were about to ask if we went on any ghost tours, don’t. We didn’t. Just not our thing but many others enjoyed the adventure.
While Debbie was working, I enjoyed visiting and learning about Congregation Mickve Israel, one of the old synagogues in the America. Its history dates back to 1733, 43 years before the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. Started by Sephardic Jews from Portugal, the synagogue began with 42 Jewish settlers. The congregation’s first torah, shown below, was most likely scribed in Spain or Portugal prior to the Spanish Inquisition (1478). I may have failed to mention the scroll is also written on deerskin. According to South Magazine, it is the oldest Torah in the United States.
Leaving all of this well documented history surrounded by beautiful tree-lined streets is not easy. The city is filled with comfort. With our change of scenery, it is the perfect time to take a look back at what has transpired since Debbie and I packed up the house and departed Northern Nevada.
While we haven’t gone around the world (yet), we have logged a really nice and memorable adventure thus far. It has been 82 days on the road since we began and I’ve compiled a few fun facts and visuals to bring you up to date.
Debbie and I have visited or driven through 11 different states thus far. That’s 22% of America since we began. We are not done. Form Nevada to South Carolina, here is a list of the states we have covered.
Nevada
Alabama
South Carolina
Lucky 11: In addition to the 11 states, we have also stayed in 11 difference locations. This includes short term rentals, hotels and family homes. Here’s a breakdown by type of accommodations we have enjoyed.
Short Term Rentals: 4 - Dana Point (2), Longboat Key, FL (1), Savannah, GA (1)
Hotels: 6 - Las Cruses (1), Katy (1), Tallahassee (1), Del Ray Beach (1),
Miami Beach (1) and Charleston, SC (1).
Family: 1 Arizona
By far my favorite stop in the state of Georgia was a solo effort. Early one morning last week, while Debbie was in the grey area of sleep and the sun had yet to show its light, I climbed into the Rav4 in darkness. I drive an hour and 40 minutes south while blasting classic rock music on Sirus XM’s channel 25.
Driftwood Beach on Jekyll Island was the destination. Though I did not make it in time to capture the sunrise, the density and the beauty of the trees lining beach was overwhelming. I’ve became a bit obsessed with Georgia-based trees since arriving here and I took the opportunity as a morning solo visitor to search every angle for cool photographs during what appeared to be low tide.
I only discovered after my visit that the region apparently has a visitors and convention bureau (CVB) called The Golden Isles. Also, Travel + Leisure named the Golden Isles (and Driftwood Beach) as the #1 Best U.S. Islands in the 2023 World’s Best Awards.
It was all just dumb luck I happened to stumble upon this beach by doing a bit of research on Instagram.
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Road Trip By the Numbers
1 - Vehicle we have used. It is a Toyota Rav4 and its been packed floor to roof pretty much from the get go. The lack of space also limits how many additional items we can purchase to take with us.
2 - The number of our children who have stayed with us thus far. Two down and two to go. We also have planned visits from other family members soon.
4 - Books I’ve read to date: Sparring Partners, James Patterson by James Patterson The President is Missing and 3 Days to Live. I am on book number five of the trip as I type this and number eight since the beginning of the calendar year.
4 - The maximum number of people (including us) under one roof at any one time since we began. Twice so far but we will enjoy a third time here in a week.
11 - The number of states we have visited or driven though to date. It is also the number of hotels, short term rentals and family residences where we’ve slept.
31 - The longest numbers of days we’ve stayed in one place. This was the beach condo on Longboat Key, Florida.
82 - The number of days since this adventure began.
4,377 - The number of miles driven from destination to destination.
8,000+ - The total number of miles put on the Toyota Rav4 since we started.
In case you missed recent posts….
Showing Grit and the Power to Know When to Walk Away
Your photography is stunning. Love sharing your adventures and now I want to go to Savannah; those tress!!!!