Boxster Road Trip

Day 62 of #BoxsterRoadTrip and we travelled from Monticello, Florida to Atlanta, Georgia.

We survived Halloween without any ghostly visits.  There was some moaning and groaning, but we don’t think it was supernatural.  We left the lovely Airbnb “Magnolia Room – Luxury for less“, also known as the 1872 John Denham House around 9:00 am and headed for Tallahassee, Florida for a Starbuck’s Clover Coffee.  If you haven’t had a cup of coffee made by the Clover Machine, you should try to find a Starbucks that has one and try it (although it can be hard to find a store with one).  It is coffee like you’ve never tasted!

While we were in Tallahassee, we stopped at a Costco for gas, where premium was $3.27 per gallon (the lowest we’ve paid was yesterday in Hilton Head at $2.99).

We continued on through the panhandle of Florida, where it seems cotton is a major crop (pecans, too).

Traveling on, we reached Alabama, our 37th state!  Only 11 states to go!

I should mention that today was COLD and WINDY.  The temperature hovered in the high 40’s and the winds were gusting over 30 MPH.  So, we did NOT put the top down!  Brrrr.

We reached the lovely Alabama town of Eufaula, and decided it was time for lunch.  We stopped at River City BBQ, which was good (but not great).  We continued on . . .

The back roads continued to be straight and very lightly traveled, with “telephone pole” pines growing on both sides.  Lovely.

As we got close to Atlanta, we stopped again at a Costco for gas.  This time, premium was $3.04 per gallon.  Clearly lower in Georgia than Florida (but not as low as South Carolina).

We arrived at the Airbnb “Private Room in Virginia Highland“, where we are staying for two nights.  Tomorrow we do a little sightseeing in Atlanta.

The journey continues . . .

Day 61 of #BoxsterRoadTrip and we traveled from Hilton Head, South Carolina, through Georgia, and on to Monticello, Florida.

We left Hilton Head and the sun was shining and it was another great day for traveling.  We did get on an interstate(I95) for about 30 miles and then we were on back roads once again.  It wasn’t long before we got to Georgia, the Peach State.  Oh, wait a minute!  It turns out that Georgia now generates more revenue from their Blueberry crop!  So, does that mean that they will soon be changing their state fruit and their license plates from Peach to Blueberry?

We stopped in Waycross, Georgia and had lunch at the Olive Garden (we wanted their soup & salad).

As the trip progressed, the scenery got prettier.  There is a stretch of US-84 that is covered with wildflowers.  This goes on for miles and it is just beautiful.

Before we knew it, we were in Boston!  That would be Boston, Georgia, home of the “Boston Mini Marathon”!  We continued on down the road toward Florida.

We arrived at 1872 John Denham House Bed & Breakfast, where we are spending the night.  Keep in mind, tonight is Halloween and this B&B is haunted!  If you don’t see a blog from us tomorrow, I guess you will know why!  We hope . . .

The journey continues!

Day 60 of #BoxsterRoadTrip was a day set aside for relaxing.

We decided today would be a day to relax, do laundry, read and get a massage (so no photos!).  We did the first three – relaxed, did laundry and read.  Then, in the late afternoon, we left to get our scheduled massage at Hilton Head Massage Therapy Associates.  Imagine our disappointment when we were told they would not honor our scheduled appointment for a couples massage because one of the therapists had a headache!  What about the other therapist?  All I can say is, if you are in Hilton Head and want a massage, don’t take a chance on these folks or you could get stood up and summarily sent away like we did.  Not a great way to treat customers (or show southern hospitality).  We really did wonder why the other therapist couldn’t have taken us.

Tomorrow we head to Florida and . . .

The journey continues . . .

Day 59 of #BoxsterRoadTrip is another side trip day, this time to Beaufort, South Carolina.

After a leisurely breakfast, Pam, Dennis, Steve & Jo headed off for a day of sightseeing in Beaufort, SC and then in Bluffton, SC.

We started in historic Beaufort, with a walk first through the old town (which is now mostly shops, some with beautiful handcrafted items) and then with a walk along the bay front.  While walking along the bay front, we discovered that there were lovely swings to sit on a look out over the bay.  While gazing across the bay, we noticed that the bridge was in the process of turning to let a sailboat through.

We then walked down a couple of streets with older homes and moss covered trees and we noticed the homes had blue ceilings over their porches.  We learned (from Pam) that the ceilings are painted blue to trick the birds into thinking it is the sky, so they won’t build nests on the front porches.  Kinda cool, eh?

After Beaufort, we went to the historic area of Bluffton, which it turned out, was mostly shops (and a great little French bakery called Midnight Bakers).

We ended the day with dinner at the Backyard (same as last night).  Again food was delicious and Jo even had a Lemon Shine!  Great end to a great day.

Tomorrow Pam and Dennis head back to Chapel Hill and Jo and Steve do a little more sightseeing and (yeah!) get a massage before hitting the road again.  Because, as you know by now . . .

The journey continues. . .

Day 58 of #BoxsterRoadTrip was an excursion to Charleston, South Carolina.

I am going to tell the day in pictures (pretty much).  We left Hilton Head around 9:00 am and headed off to Charleston, SC.  First stop in Charleston was at Drayton Hall, a house built in the “lowcountry”, that pre-dates the Revolutionary War!  Even the “outhouse” was brick and followed the same symmetrical architecture (and had a fireplace!).

Next we went to Fort Moultrie, a fort that also pre-dates the Revolutionary War (although this fort has been rebuilt a number of times).  Notice that the flag has fifteen stripes!

In order to get to Fort Moultrie, we had to cross a rather large bridge called the Arthur Ravenel Jr Bridge.  Jo knew this was coming, so she made sure Steve was driving.  This bridge was a doozy!

Since we started the day in the lowcountry, we decided to end it there, so we went to A Lowcountry Backyard for dinner.  Another great restaurant with very friendly folks working there!  Jo managed to spill Steve’s drink (a Lemon Shine – effectively moonshine and lemonade) and they insisted on replacing it for him.  We finished the meal off with a Banana Pudding, which we highly recommend!

A great end to a lovely (and exhausting) day.

The journey continues . . .

Day 57 of #BoxsterRoadTrip is a day of taking care of things.

I started the day by asking the service department at Porsche of Hilton Head if they could do a mini service and oil change today.  They graciously agreed.  So I took the car in around 1:00 pm and met with the Service Manager, Mike Lane.  Since the service was going to take a couple of hours, Mike gave me a 2014 Black Boxster as a loaner.  (Gunther, are you reading this?).  The loaner was an automatic and I think I could get used to this!  Nice car.  Very nice car!  The mechanic that serviced the car was from California and he said my license plate made him want to take extra special care of me (and it made him a little homesick).  I felt very well cared for by everyone at this dealer.  A special thanks!

While the car was being serviced, I decided a pedicure was in order.  Sort of a car service and a Jo service!

This evening, we went to Annie O’s for dinner with our good friend, Pam & Dennis.  We started with a local brew and followed it up with some good southern cookin’.  Jo had Shrimp & Grits and Steve had Fried Chicken.  OMG, everything was fabulous!

We came back full and happy.  Tomorrow we head off to Charleston.

The journey continues . . .

Day 56 of #BoxsterRoadTrip and we took a “day trip” to Savannah, Georgia.

Today was gorgeous.  Temperature in the low 80’s and sunny and not humid.  Perfect day to drive (top down, of course) from Hilton Head, South Carolina to Savannah, Georgia (about a 40 minute drive).  Then we spent the day walking around Savannah, just taking in the sights, especially the lovely old homes.

What adds to the beauty of the old homes are the fabulous trees and greenery!  Notice the ivy growing across the stairs leading up to the house on the right.

We drove back to Hilton Head around 4:00 pm to meet up with Pam and Dennis (from Chapel Hill), who are joining us for a few days.  The road we took back was canopied in lovely trees covered with Spanish moss.

This evening we sat out on the balcony, sipping wine and looking at the harbor, before breaking out the bread, cheese and paté.   Not a bad way to end the day.  For tomorrow . . .

The journey continues . . .

Day 55 of #BoxsterRoadTrip takes us from North Carolina to South Carolina.

We left Chapel Hill, North Carolina at 8:00 am and headed south (on back roads, of course).  Our first stop was at a Starbucks to “fuel up” and we continued south.  Not long after we got coffee, Jo spotted a Studebaker Avanti, and right in front of that were two Chevrolet Corvettes.

And then there was the Model A!  We suspect they were all headed to The Hilton Head Concours d’Elegance which, it turns out, is this coming week.  We may have an event to attend!

We left the beautiful old homes of North Carolina and continued on, crossing the state line into South Carolina.  The road was straight and almost empty.  Once again, a US Highway just for us!

We arrived in Hilton Head around 5 pm and checked into Marriott’s Harbour Point, where we will be spending the next 6 nights.  Even though we are in one place . . .

The journey continues . . .

Day 54 of #BoxsterRoadTrip and we are still in Chapel Hill.

We had lunch with Ed and Jill and got so busy chatting, we forgot to take a picture!  Darn!  And once we realized it, it was too late.  Must be old age, eh?

So, since we don’t really have anything to show or share today, we thought we would give you some statistics.

To date, we have covered 33 states and have driven 10,058 miles.  We are averaging 45 miles per hour and are getting 29 miles to the gallon.  The cheapest price for premium gas we’ve found to date is $3.11.  Average price for gas has been $3.77.

We tried to book an appointment at Performance Porsche of Chapel Hill for an oil change (pretty simple request) and were shocked with the rude treatment we received.  In 45 years of owning and driving Porsches, Jo has never encountered a rude service specialist, until yesterday.  So we ditched that dealer and called Porsche of Hilton Head and the difference in demeanor was day and night.  They were very pleasant and only too happy to help us out.  Guess who gets our business?

Tomorrow we are on the road again, driving to Hilton Head, South Carolina.

The journey continues . . .

Day 53 of #BoxsterRoadTrip is in sunny Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

We got up late (yawn) and Pam prepared us a delicious breakfast and we decided to spend the day reading and relaxing.  Around 2:00, Dennis returned from his golf tournament and happily told us he’d won the tournament.  We joked about the size of the purse (what purse?) and suggested he could finance the kitchen remodel.  The smile vanished!  🙂

At 5:00 we met up with Chris and his lovely wife Dulcie and the six of us (Pam and Dennis included) enjoyed a beer and some nice background music at The Roost in Fearrington Village.  After the beer, we took a little walk around the area and got to meet the village pets – a flock of very quiet and very neat sheep.

Having worked up an appetite, we followed up the walk with dinner at Antonia’s in Hillsborough, where the food was almost as good as the conversation!  It was great to get caught up with Chris, meet Dulcie, and break bread with good friends.

Tomorrow, even though we remain in Chapel Hill . . .

The journey continues

Day 52 of #BoxsterRoadTrip and we are headed to Chapel Hill, NC to roost for a few days.

We left Lexington, Virginia and the sun was out and the air was autumn crisp, so the top stayed up.  We decided to drive down US-501, which would take us pretty much all the way from start to finish.  And it turned out to be a lovely road without many trucks (a few lumber trucks) and with very few cars.  Again, pretty much a back road dedicated to us!  And we are constantly amazed at the great condition of these back roads!

We stopped for lunch at a fabulous place in Scottsburg, Virginia called Spainhour Diner.  We had to wait for a table!  Now, if that doesn’t tell you how good it is, then I will!  The food was down home country darned good!!!  Jo had the ribs (with butter beans and fried okra) and Steve had pulled pork (with fries and onion rings).  We got to sit at the “locals” table and meet some wonderful folks.  Everyone made us feel right at home (even though we were obviously not from around here) and we had a great time.  Another truly unique and memorable experience.

The day continued to be sunny and was now warm enough to put the top down as we continued on our trek south.  We decided to make one more stop, this time at a winery called Rock of Ages Winery in Hurdle Mills, North Carolina.  We sampled 10 wines (5 white, 5 red) and bought two bottles to take with us for future consumption.  There was a real “oaky” Chardonnay that Jo liked and Steve leaned toward the Cabernet Franc.  The winery has an event center and there is a murder mystery dinner coming up in December, which looks like it would be fun.  But we won’t be here . . .

We arrived at Dennis & Pam’s in time for cocktail hour and settled in for a few days.  It is nice to be in our “home away from home”!

The journey continues . . .

Day 51 of #BoxsterRoadTrip finds us going from Virginia to Virginia (never leaving the state).

Today was a day of living on the edge (or, better put, the ridge).

We started the day taking the Skyline Drive (Shenandoah National Park) from Front Royal, VA to Waynesboro, VA, a distance of 105 beautiful miles.  Although the morning started out cool and misty, by 11:00 the sun was out, the top was down, and we were enjoying the scenery as we traveled the twisty road along the ridge of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

After stopping for a late lunch in Waynesboro, VA, we headed for the Blue Ridge Parkway, to continue meandering southward.  The Blue Ridge Parkway is actually 469 miles long, but we only traveled the first 47 miles (or about 10%).  By 4:00, with the sky looking rather ominous, we put the top up and five minutes later the rain came down!  However, the 47 miles we did travel on the Blue Ridge Parkway were beautiful.

We are spending the night at a lovely Airbnb in Lexington, VA called “Near Lexington cozy room w adj bath“.  Tomorrow we head to Chapel Hill, North Carolina to stay with our dear friends Pam & Dennis.

The journey continues . . .

Day 50 of #BoxsterRoadTrip and we continue southward.

Today we covered another 4 states!  We started in Pennsylvania, then Maryland, back to Pennsylvania, back to Maryland, into West Virginia and then to Virginia.  We have now done 32 states (with 16 to go)!

Another sunny day!  We have been so lucky on this trip (and Steve was worried we’d be chased by tornados, encounter hurricanes and have to dig our way out of snow banks)!

The first part of the trip was mostly driving.  But we were sticking to back roads and the scenery was great.  It is so much nicer to go through the small towns.  One such town was Middletown, Virginia (just outside of Fredericksburg), where we enjoyed the Halloween decorations all down the center of town.  These are only a few of the fun “characters” we encountered!

Then some of the decorations were a little bit scarier!

And some were just fun or inspirational . . .

All of them were well done and show Middletown’s Halloween “Spirit”!

After the fun, we got a lot more serious and stopped at the Antietam National Battlefield, where 23,000 soldiers were killed or wounded in one day of Civil War fighting.   We wanted to go to Harper’s Ferry, also, but spent so much time at Antietam that we only drove by Harper’s Ferry on our way to Strasburg (our stop for the evening).

Tomorrow is the drive down the Blue Ridge Mountain’s Skyline Drive.

The journey continues . . .

Day 49 of #BoxsterRoadTrip finds us sightseeing in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.

We started the day by stopping at a salon to get Steve a haircut (which greatly improved his mood and appearance) and then  a walk around downtown Kennett Square.  It is a lovely small town, with quaint shops and loads of restaurants.  I should also say that this part of Pennsylvania is known for its mushrooms – it is the Mushroom Capital of the World!  First thing we did was stop at Portabello’s Restaurant and book a dinner reservation.

After wandering around town, we walked down to La Michoacana Ice Cream, where Jo had corn ice cream sprinkled with chili powder.  She also had a scoop of peanut butter with fudge (Andi, eat your heart out!).  The corn ice cream was the most unusual ice cream Jo’s ever had and she loved it.  The peanut butter fudge was so much better than the normal chocolate with peanut butter that you usually find.   Yum.  Steve had his usual, one scoop of mint chocolate chip and one scoop of coffee.

After our ice cream, we headed to Longwood Gardens.  All we can say is WOW!  We thought Butchart Gardens in Victoria, BC was spectacular, but it pales in comparison to Longwood Gardens!  We could have spent an entire day just in the conservatory.  I wish we would have set aside two days for touring these gardens!

What they do with Chrysanthemums is amazing.    Who would have thought you can train Mums to grow into a tree?  I can barely get mine to grow, let along create a “mum sculpture”!

Then there are the orchids.  And there were hundreds of them and they were all beautiful, as were the Lady Slippers.

And as if that weren’t enough, there was a water garden with more water lilies than we’ve ever seen in one place, some of them almost big enough to walk on!  If only there was a way to sneak one out of the pond and take it home with us!

We ended this fabulous day with dinner at Portabello’s, which we had booked earlier and which was yet another highlight and another restaurant we would highly recommend.  All in all, this was another day to remember.

And the journey continues . . .

Day 48 of #BoxsterRoadTrip took us from Spring Valley, New York to Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.

When we left New York, it was overcast.  By the time we got to New Jersey it was pouring.  But when we got to Pennsylvania (and Delaware), the sun came out and the top came down!  And the scenery was beautiful.

Steve has voted Pennsylvania as the state with the worst drivers (so far).  The speed limit signs seem to only be suggestions and, if you aren’t doing 20 MPH OVER the limit, the drivers crawl up your tail pipe and get real aggressive.  We saw an 18-wheeler try to run a van off the road.  All we can say is “crazy”.

We are spending tomorrow sightseeing in and around Kennett Square.  Hopefully, in the sunshine!  And, hopefully, the Sunday drivers are a little more mellow!

The journey continues . . .

Day 47 of #BoxsterRoadTrip and we have travelled from Boston, Massachusetts to Spring Valley, New York.

I will never complain about California roads again!

Thunk thunk thunk whomp thunk thunk thunk kerplunk thunk thunk thunk and so it goes!  There are more ruts and holes and gouges in these roads than one can imagine.  And no matter how hard you try, you can’t avoid them.  I am so glad Gunther talked us into replacing the struts on the Porsche before we left on this trip!

Today we were in four states:  Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and New York.  The fall color is pretty nice and the weather was, once again, sunny.

We left Boston about 9:00 am and headed south into Rhode Island.  Stopped for coffee and continued west into Connecticut.  The only stop we made after that was for a quick lunch and then across the Hudson River and on to Spring Valley, NY.  There were no planned sightseeing stops today.

We were a little homesick, so decided to have dinner at Bombay Grill in New City, NY.  Turned out to be an excellent choice.  Dinner was delicious!

Tomorrow we head south!

And the journey continues . . .

Day 46 of #BoxsterRoadTrip and it is raining!

Woke up to a grey and cloudy day, which quickly turned to light rain and then to a down pour.  So today we did pretty much nothing except meet up with our good friend, Irene, for lunch at the Chart House.  Then it was read, relax and play some Phase 10.

Tomorrow we leave the lovely Marriott Custom House and hit the road.

The journey continues . . .

Day 45 of #BoxsterRoadTrip and another sunny, warm, fantastic day!

We started the day by sleeping in.  It is, after all, supposed to be vacation, so why not pamper ourselves?  Late in the morning we walked over to Al’s State Street Café and got a large “Italian Italian” sub to take with us on our travels (and to have later on).  Then we headed off to the Boston Tea Party Ship and Museum.  This was, perhaps, the best tourist spot in Boston (in my humble opinion).  After the Tea Party, we ate the sub (yum) and then headed over to Faneuil Hall.

There is the “shopping” side of Faneuil Hall (the Marketplace) and the historic side.  We spent most of our time in the historic hall and had the opportunity to listen to a presentation done by one of the National Park Service people, which was very informative (and very well done).

After Faneuil Hall, we wandered back to the Custom House for a lazy evening, for tomorrow . . .

The journey continues . . .

Day 44 of #BoxsterRoadTrip is another day of sightseeing.

Today was in the 70’s and sunny.   Yeah!  This made walking around very nice indeed!

We started the day with a walk by Cheers!  A little too early for a drink at the bar, however.

Next we saw the tortoise and the hare (near the Boston Marathon Finish Line).  At this point, we are both feeling like the tortoise!  (And, believe it or not, we are both getting itchy to get back on the road!)

Next we took a self guided tour of the Trinity Church.  Both of us thought this church was very dark and dreary.  It would be difficult for me to feel uplifted in this church.  Although the architecture is certainly impressive.

In the church is a bust of Phillips Brooks, sculpted by Daniel Chester French (we toured Chesterwood on Day 37 of this trip).  Daniel Chester French is most noted for sculpting the Lincoln Memorial.  Phillips Brooks wrote the lyrics to “O Little Town of Bethlehem”.

After morning sightseeing, we wandered around Copley Plaza, had lunch at California Pizza Kitchen and then headed over to Jo’s old Boston office on Harcourt.  The space looked to be empty!  Ready for someone (else) to set up office!  We caught the tour bus back to the Long Wharf, passing Fenway Park (and a few other sights) along the way back.

Tomorrow is another day and . . .

The journey continues . . .

Day 43 of #BoxsterRoadTrip and we are sightseeing in Boston.

Woke up to another beautiful sunrise.  The weather was supposed to get warm and sunny but no such luck.  It stayed quite cool and overcast all day but, thankfully, it didn’t rain.

We started the day by jumping on the Old Town Trolley tour bus and taking it to the USS Constitution aka Old Ironsides.  We toured the museum and then the ship.  A bit of history and very interesting.

After the ship, we continued on the trolley and got to see a little bit of Boston.  But it was cold and not a great day for walking around, so we ended the sightseeing when the trolley returned to the Long Wharf.

This evening we had dinner at Legal Seafood.  Jo had lobster (surprise)!

Tomorrow the weather is supposed to warm up (we sure hope so) and . . .

The journey continues . . .