National Parks visited: Five Great Smoky Mountains NP in Tennessee and North Carolina Congaree NP in South Carolina Biscayne NP in Florida Dry Tortugas NP in Florida Everglades NP in Florida
12-Day Southeast U.S. Road Trip
It was a wonderful scenic road trip of 2,600 miles along the southeastern coast of the US dotted with charming colonial towns. We enjoyed spectacular views of the southeastern US, visited 5 National Parks (The Great Smoky Mountains NP in North Carolina, The Congaree NP in South Carolina, Biscayne NP, Tortugas NP, and Everglades NP in Florida). Along the way, we tasted the local unique food and encountered beautiful sceneries of the southeast. From having boiled peanuts from the road-side store, to visiting the amazing Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC; from the southern charm of Magnolia Plantation in Charleston, SC, to yummy Conch Fritter at a S.S. Wreck and Galley Grill along the Overseas Highway on the way to Key West; from the aromatic Cafe Cubano at Versailles restaurant to the uniquely delicious tropical fruits at Vietnamese operated orchards in Homestead, FL. We toasted our road trip with Mojito Cubano in Little Havana and satisfied our thirst with the unique Yuengling beer, America's oldest brewery, in Key West.
We had a blast!
Atlanta, GA We arrived a day early so we had a chance to visit the World of Coca Cola museum. Uber was our mode of transportation. It was quite convenient. Coke is a symbol of Atlanta. We got to see the 4D movie, where they squirted us, rattled us, shook us thru the journey of Coca Cola’s world. We checked out a few memorabilia, tasted all kinds of coke products all over the world before passing thru their gift shop to leave. I wondered why?…:)-. Seeing how popular is this place, I wonder what if instead of going to war, building tanks, drones, stealth bombers...etc, we can just kill the world softly with sweet stuffs. :)-
Great Smoky MountainsNational Park We started the day driving from Atlanta to the Smoky Mountains NP. Ridge upon ridge of forest, we saw. This is America's most visited national park. The mountains are blanketed with a smoky haze that the Cherokee referred to the area as “Shaconage” (Sha-Kon-O-Hey): land of the blue smoke.
We spent a couple hours walking around the area where they had these old cabins dated back in the 1900. Afterwards, we meandered thru a few quaint little towns before arriving at Asheville at around 5pm. We stopped by a little shop along the way to get boiled peanuts, the local favorites. Sometimes, life’s simplicity is life’s most memorable moment…J. Dinner at Moe's Original BBQ in Asheville was a hit. Moist ribs and juicy pulled pork with vinaigrette sauce was excellent. It went down well with a cold beer. The collard green and Mississippi mud pie were excellent.
Blue Ridge Parkway; Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC We spent the whole morning at the Biltmore Estate. George Vanderbilt opened this mansion in 1895 after 6 years of construction. Driving around this place would easily take hours. After lunch, we drove a short distance on the Blue Ridge Parkway, a National Parkway and All-American Road in the United States. We then stopped by the Governor Vance’s birth place before heading back to town. It's a misty, relaxing day.
Congaree National Park; Charleston, SC We started the day early then got to Congaree NP by 10:30AM. We explored this park by walking on the board walk until around 1:30PM. This area was the swamp at one time. After lunch, we headed to Charleston. It's about 2 hrs drive from Congaree.
We walked the city of Charleston, the charming colonial town, along the quaint centuries-old cobblestone streets. We passed multi-colored homes and magnificent restorations of architectural styles from the Revolutionary. Charleston is classic and elegant. One can imagine ladies carrying their parasols arm-in-arm with well-heeled gentlemen, promenading past gracious homes….etc.
We had dinner at Poogan’s Porch restaurant in a beautifully restored Victorian house with veranda in the front of the house. I had shrimps and grit, a traditional southern comfort dish, very rich but tasty.
Beaufort, SC;St. Augustine, FL We spent the morning at Magnolia Plantation. It’s the oldest plantation on Ashley River. It was definitely a worthwhile visit. We took the tram tour around the plantation. Saw quite a few Alligators, Ducks, Egrets, Heron, massive oak trees, all kinds of magnolia trees, and various flowering plants. One thing for sure, this area makes things look unique is that Spanish moss hanging from tree branches everywhere. We encountered an evidence of the famous Southern charm when we met a cute receptionist at the tourist information center in Beaufort. She can talk for hours and telling us all about her family all day with a big smile on her face…heheh
St. Augustine, FL; Ft. Lauderdale, FL We visited the beautiful St. Augustine, the oldest city in the U.S., founded in 1565. Plaza De La Constitucion in the downtown area is one of the oldest squares in the US. We then went to visit the The Castillo de San Marcos, a 17th-century Spanish fortress with views of the St. Augustine Inlet.
In the afternoon, we visited the Kennedy Space Center near Orlando. We took the bus tour to see the launch pad. Now a day, it’s also being used as a launch area for private space exploration.
BiscayneNational Park; Little Havana in Miami, FL We went to Biscayne NP this morning. It’s within sight of downtown Miami, yet worlds away. We drove thru the rural area to get to the park. Saw quite a few coconuts, palm trees farms along the way. It’s an authentic drive thru the rural Florida away from congested highways. It was very peaceful, unique scenery.
We strolled around the park and saw quite a few fishermen casting their lines. What a wonderful way to relax. We then headed out to Little Havana for an authentic Cuban lunch. We were not disappointed. We found Versailles, The world’s most famous Cuban restaurant. It was busy with lunch time customers. From what I can tell, they are the locals. The restaurant is big and our waiter was very attentive and friendly. We had Mojito Cubano with our great food and ended the meal with a strong, sweet, aromatic, and delicious Cafe Cubana. To work off our lunch, we strolled down the central section of Little Havana. We enjoyed live Cuban music from restaurants on the main street, saw people selling fresh sugar-cane juice, zapote juice …etc. We bought some mango and zapote for the road. Throng of people walking, dancing on the side walk, enjoying themselves.
Vietnamese fruit farms in Homestead, FL; Key West, FL We started out late today, and went to “Vuon Ba Chin”. It’s a big farming operation here. Other than fruits, they also grow vegetables for shipping within the US and Canada. We found Sabuches, Milk Fruits, and Papayas. We also attempted to visit “Vuon Co Trinh”, but the owner was not there when we arrived.
We left homestead at around 11:30AM, had lunch along our way to Key West, arguably the most well-known city of the Florida Keys, situated at the southernmost point of the US. We drove on this spectacular scenic drive, The Overseas Highway; a 113-mile highway carrying U.S. Route 1 through the Florida Keys. It was a nice drive with majestic blue oceans on both sides of the highway. We got to Key West at around 4PM. Checked out Hemingway house then went to see the monument marked the southern most point of the continental US.
We came back to the hotel in Marathon then went to see the sunset down by the marina. It was a spectacular view with great weather to complement.
Dry TortugasNational Park We left the hotel early around 5:30AM today to catch the 7AM boat ride to Dry Tortugas National Park, 70 miles west of Key West. The waiting lounge was full of people having the same idea as us. The catamaran was full of passengers; the boat trip included free breakfast and lunch on board. It took about 2hrs15min to get to the island. Fort Jefferson is the main cultural feature. This area was first named Las Tortugas (The Turtles) in 1500, by Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon when he saw so many turtles here on the island. It’s called “Dry” because there is no fresh water in the park. We saw people camping out on the island. I imagine it's very peaceful at night. We thoroughly enjoyed the park, white sand beach, wonderful fresh breeze, and mild weather.
EvergladesNational Park We took the airboat tour today, skipping, sliding at high speed over this unique wetland of Everglades National Park. It was awesome. We saw a few alligators basking under the sun in the mash along the way. Our friend even had a chance to pet a baby one. He seems to be fascinated with Alligator! They said Alligator have the strongest bite of all animals, it can slam its jaws shut with 3,700 pounds per square inch, but very weak in opening their jaws. The theory is that you can push down lightly with your finger on the alligator’s mouth and it won’t be able to open…heheh. Nobody dare!
We spent an evening in Orlando at our friend’s relative’s house. It was a wonderful evening with great hospitality and a delicious dinner.
Orlando to Atlanta We finished our road trip with a visit to the Ocmulgee National Monument near Macon, GA where people living in this corner of North America more than 10,000 years ago.
It was a wonderful trip full of laughter and camaraderie. As Ibn Battuta once said: “Traveling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.” .