A Slow Meandering Trip to South Florida

Overview

It’s early spring in Virginia in March and Nancy and I have gotten cabin fever after being home for 3+ months from our 6 1/2-month cross country road trip to Alaska and we ready to hit the road once again. This short 1-month trip down through the south enabled us to experience spring through summer and then back to spring again while we travelled down to south Florida and back to our home in Virginia. Along the way we stopped to sample some of the best areas the south has to offer along with a little bit of spring baseball. This included stopovers and visits to in the following areas:

• Lynchburg, Virginia
• Milledgeville, Georgia
• Clermont, Florida
• Hollywood Beach, Florida
• Fort Myers, Florida
• Savannah, Georgia
• Wilmington, North Carolina
• Wytheville, Virginia

We have made this journey many times in our lives and really like the slow meandering pace we can do now that we have more time.  Now that we’re retired, we take more time with stops paced about every 5 to 6 hours that allows us time to explore the areas as we pass through.

The map below shows a high-level view of the roads travelled.

Lynchburg, Virginia

After leaving our home in Round Hill Virginia, we decided to stop at Lynchburg Virigina for lunch and to stretch our legs. This little gem of a town is within easy striking distance from our home.  Occasionally in the past, in the winter, we have made a long weekend of coming down here and staying at the riverfront area. If you are ever looking for an area to stay that has really nice airBnBs and historic hotels, you can’t go wrong with a stop here. We had walked the riverfront trail before and knew there were some nice restaurants nearby. So, after a few hours of walking and lunch at the Depot Grille, we were back on the road again.

Milledgeville, Georgia

We are off to Milledgeville for a few days of exploring and relaxing. We had passed through this town a few years ago on our way back from Florida and were impressed by its appearance. We made a note to stay there sometime in the future – and the future is now.

Inn on North Jefferson

In our research on where to stay, Nancy found the delightful Inn an North Jefferson and booked us a really nice 2-room suite with a separate living room/study.

Milledgeville Homes

Milledgeville is a charming southern college town that has a lot to offer to tourists.  It is northeast of Macon and bordered on the east by the Oconee River. The rapid current of the Oconee River here made this an attractive location to build a city and it was the original capital of Georgia from 1804 to 1868, including during the American Civil War. When the war ended, the northern government decided to move the capital to Atlanta to help put the past behind them.  There are many glorious homes within walking distance of the downtown.

Oconee River Greenway

The Oconee River Greenway is a 2.2-mile paved loop trail located near the downtown area. The trail winds near the Oconee River and Fishing Creek offer a number of activity options such as walking, jogging, bicycling, and relaxing. The Greenway is located adjacent to the Oconee River, which has been an important source of waterpower since the earliest days. In 1892, a grist mill was built on the shoal of the Oconee River and was used in the early 1900s when it was converted to a hydro-electric plant, the first source of electricity for the City of Milledgeville.  

We found this to be a really nice area to walk around in.

Old Governer’s Mansion

We spent a few hours one day touring and hearing the history of the Old Governor’s Mansion which is one of the finest examples of High Greek Revival architecture in the nation. It was completed in 1839 and designed by noted architect Charles Cluskey, an Irish immigrant and built by Timothy Porter of Farmington, Connecticut. This home includes a hidden rotunda that you cannot see from the outside when looking at the house.

The Hidden Rotunda

One of the most striking features of this building is a rotunda which was built in such a way that from the outside you have no idea it is incorporated into the structure and flow of the house.  At the very top is a small set of windows in the roof that can be opened to enable air flow and ventilation which was really important in days before air conditioning.

Milledgeville Downtown

In the downtown area we found enough restaurants to hold our attention for a few days without exhausting everything that is available in the town.

Milledgeville Diners and Grills

Breakfast was at The Local Yolkal, included with our room.  Other places we enjoyed were Buffington’s, The Brick, Velvet Elvis and Amici Milledgeville.

Rose Hill at Lockery Arboretum

Rose Hill is a part of the Lockery Arboretum and is located a short distance outside of Milledgeville. Some of the locals had told us it would a great place to visit and that the flowers were in full bloom. It was very beautiful, but we found that most of the spring flowers had already faded. We will have to come back again on another trip and time the visit a little better.

Georgia Military College

Georgia Military College was right down the street from where we were staying, and we walked around this very scenic campus a couple times as we strolled through the town during our visit.

Georgia College & State University

It’s not too often that a small town can boast of 2 colleges, but Milledgeville also has Georgia College & State University located right near the downtown area.

Clermont, Florida

One of our boys moved to Clermont a few years ago and we spent the first couple days in Florida with him enjoying the St. Patrick’s day celebrations and watching the kickoff of the March Madness Basketball tournament.

Clermont, FL is known as the “gem of the hills” and is surrounded by gently sloping hills in an otherwise flat state. It is also known for its picturesque hills and pristine lakes. The historic downtown has not changed much in 50 years. The city is residential in character and its economy is centered in retail trade, lodging, and tourism-oriented restaurants and bars. Clermont is also home to one of the first constructed landmarks in Florida: The Citrus Tower.  This tourist attraction was built in 1956 and in its pre-Disney glory days attracted hundreds of visitors to view the once vast orange fields in the area. It’s still open today but we didn’t visit it although we drive right by it on St Patrick’s day. 

Universal Studios CityWalk

On St. Patrick’s Day we decided to head over to Universals CityWalk which is just a short drive from Clermont.  We wanted to see what it had to offer, and we found incredibly overpriced food and beverages. After a quick lunch at NBC Sports Grill & Brew, we decided to head back to Clermont and see what the downtown had to offer.

The Rest of the Day in Clermont

We walked around the St Patrick’s Day festival in historic downtown Clermont but found the lines were long and all the places to sit were already taken.   We decided to go a short distance back to where our son lives and go the Miller’s Ale House in order to have dinner and watch some of the March Madness Tournament.

Hollywood Beach, Florida

Celebrating with our In-laws

After a few days of hanging out with Carl we headed south to meet up with our in-laws, Ed and Rima Mullins. It was Ed’s birthday, and after tiki hut and bar hopping along the broadwalk, we had dinner down on the waterfront.  Nancy and Ed indulged in a bit of karaoke singing.

Hollywood Beach Condo

We are staying at Ed and Rima’s Condo in Hollywood Beach which has an incredibly beautiful view from the balcony and a heated elevated pool overlooking the ocean.

Hollywood Broadwalk

The Hollywood Beach area has a large 2.5 mile “Broadwalk” that wanders through a beautiful assortment of shops, restaurants, parks homes and ocean beaches. We found this to be a very safe and welcoming area to walk and explore.

Dinner with Tracy

While we were in the Miami area, we arranged to have dinner with Tracy Shields Graham and her husband Steve.  Nancy and I have known Tracy for 30+ years as she had been a long-term client of the company we had worked for before retiring. Tracy now works for the company and so we spent the evening catching up on a wide range of topics. Great visit!

Baseball Day

What’s a trip to Florida in March without catching some spring baseball? This was our first opportunity to go to a game since Covid hit as we did the long trip to Alaska last spring and bypassed spring baseball for the first time in about 10 years. As luck would have it, we got to see the Nationals and Yankees play before a sold-out stadium.

Fort Myers, Florida

Catching up With Old School Friends

I have known John and Renee Lowe and Ramona Nied going as far back as elementary school.  We made an overnight trip over to Fort Meyers (where they reside in the winter) to catch up and explore some of the area. We had a blast telling stories and laughing the night away.

Koreshan State Park

While we were in Fort Meyrs, John and Renee served as tour guides for some the local attractions. First up was Koreshan State Park which offers a window into the lives of a unique and eccentric pioneer group that made its home under towering oaks on the banks of the Estero River.

In 1893, the Koreshans, a religious sect founded by Dr. Cyrus R. Teed, moved here and built a settlement based on a commitment to communal living and a belief that the universe existed on the inside of the Earth. Living celibate lives, the enterprising Koreshans established a farm, nursery and botanical gardens.

The park is home to 11 immaculately restored and nationally registered historic buildings erected by the Koreshans between the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Being celibate, this group died out in the early part of the 20th century and the area was eventually donated to the state.

The Edison and Ford Winter Estates

Next up was a visit to The Edison and Ford Winter Estates.

Thomas Edison first came to Fort Myers in 1885 in search of a warm escape from the cold northern winters. On his first trip to Southwest Florida, he purchased more than 13 acres along the Caloosahatchee River. Edison returned to Fort Myers in 1886 with his new bride, Mina Miller Edison. For the next six decades, the Edison family enjoyed their winter retreat. Their elaborate guest house hosted famous guests included Henry Ford, Harvey Firestone, President-elect Herbert Hoover, and many others.  In 1947, Mina deeded the Estate to the City of Fort Myers. Nearly all of the furnishings in the Edison Main House and Guest House are original to the Edison family.

The tour includes a nice museum and a look at the large research lab he put in place looking for a replacement for foreign rubber. Henry Ford, Harvey Firestone and Edison formed the Edison Botanic Research Corporation and built out the lab right across the street from the Edison and Ford homes.

Ford Winter Estate

n 1914, Henry and Clara Ford, along with their son Edsel, visited Fort Myers at the invitation of Thomas Edison. They enjoyed the visit so much that two years later, Ford purchased the home adjacent to the Edison Winter Estate. The two-story riverfront home was built in the Craftsman architectural style.

Fort Myers Downtown

Fort Myers has a stunning downtown area filled with shops and restaurants. For lunch we stopped at the Ford Garage which was top notch!

Back to Hollowood Beach and a Stopover in Daytona

After our visit to Fort Myers, we head back for a wonderful afternoon of hanging out by the pool before beginning the transition north with a quick stopover in Daytona Beach across from the Daytona Speedway. Over the years of traveling to south Florida we have found that the exit to the speedway is filled with hotels and restaurants and it’s a convenient for breaking up the drive north. We check in at the Best Western we have used before and walk over for the evening to BJ’s for dinner.  In the morning, we head out in the morning for Savanah, Georgia.

Savannah, Georgia

Fort Polaski National Monument

We arrive in the Savannah area in the early afternoon the next day and can’t check into our Airbnb rental until 4pm.  We decided to visit Fort Polaski and Old Fort Jackson on the outskirts of Savannah.  Both forts are on our list of things we want to do while in this area.  As a bonus, once we do these, we can park the 4-Runner for the rest of our stay and not have to move it.

Fort Polaski was built in the early 18th century as large masonry Fort to defend against overseas enemies. During the Civil War in 1862, the Union Army successfully tested rifled cannons against the Fort’s 7-1/2-foot solid brick walls.

Even though the Fort has been repaired, to a large extent you can still see pock marks and even iron cannon balls imbedded in the walls of the Fort.

Old Fort Jackson

After visiting Fort Polaski, we drive a short distance towards Savannah to Old Fort Jackson. This fort served as the headquarters of the Savannah River’s defenses until 1864. It was abandoned just prior to the arrival of troops under the leadership of General William Tecumseh Sherman after his infamous “March to the Sea,” leaving Fort Jackson under control of Federal troops. The Fort was abandoned by the war department in 1905 and is now maintained by the nonprofit Coastal Heritage Society. There is a nice little museum inside the Fort and at 2:00pm every day, they fire a cannon. Since this Fort is right on the river which feeds the major port of Savannah, you can spend time hanging out on the walls watching the large ships go by as well as exploring the Fort itself.

Our Lodging: Bird Baldwin House

Nancy found us an incredible multi-room apartment at Bird Baldwin House, originally built in 1838 and located in the heart of Savannah’s Landmark Historic District – one of the largest areas of its kind in America, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Bird Baldwin has a total of 6 apartments available in the centrally located area of Savannah. This house was built in two stages – the original wood-sided portion (left side) was constructed in 1838 and the stucco portion (right side) was added in 1860. Lewis Bird, a prominent Savannah attorney at the time, began the original construction but sadly perished with his entire family on the Steamship Pulaski when it exploded off the coast of North Carolina and sank on June 14, 1838. Mr. Bird’s mother completed the house and later sold it to his law partner Mr. Baldwin who lived in it for many years. As one of the nicer manor homes along Liberty Street in Savannah during the Civil War, the house was seized and occupied by General Sherman’s staff in December 1864 as part of their capture of Savannah during the infamous Sherman’s March to the Sea.

Savannah Homes in the Historic District

Every morning while we were in Savannah, I took advantage of walking through the numerous parks and most of the 22 squares that adorn the Savannah Historic district. It’s filled to the rim with antebellum homes, large imposing churches, fountains and monuments.

Savannah Riverfront

Not to be outdone by the parks and squares – is the Savannah Riverfront which is filled with restaurants and shops. You can spend a lot of time in this gem of a city and not get bored.

Savannah Museum

The first morning we were there, it rained.  Fortunately, near the downtown area is the Savannah Museum which offered a perfect way to keep dry for a few hours.   The museum lets you learn how the area was settled, how the city was laid out with town squares and its role in the American Revolution. You will also find the park bench for the movie “Forrest Gump”.  You can easily send a couple hours here.

American Prohibition Museum

The American Prohibition Museum is the first and only museum in the United Stated dedicated to the history of prohibition.  We opt for the self-tour and are truly lucky to be “one room behind” a guided tour which enables us to listen in and catch more of the story.  This was a truly fascinating museum and we learned a lot.  Did you know that it wasn’t actually illegal to consume alcohol during prohibition (1920 – 1933) – it was only illegal to produce and sell alcohol?

Riverboat Cruise

What’s a trip to Savannah without getting out on the river for a couple hours? The Georgia Queen takes you around the riverfront and then up river to Old Fort Jackson that we talked about earlier. It’s one way to spend a couple hours on a really nice spring day.  Definitely the most touristy thing we did in Savannah, but sometimes you just have to act touristy.

Mercer Williams House Museum

While one can tour many of the historic mansions in Savannah, we chose to tour the Mercer Williams House Museum. The Mercer-Williams House was designed for General Hugh W. Mercer, great-grandfather of celebrated songwriter Johnny Mercer. Construction began in 1860 and was subsequently interrupted by the Civil War. It was eventually completed in 1868, after General Mercer sold the unfinished structure to John R. Wilder. Thus, no Mercer ever actually lived in the house that bears their name.  It is well known as the site of a famous murder in the 1970’s that was the plot for the movie “Midnight In The Garden of Good and Evil”.  The movie was filmed in Savannah and some scenes were filmed in the house.  Unfortunately, they didn’t allow any photography – so if you want to see it yourself, you’ll need to take the tour.

 

Hearse Ghost Tour

Another touristy thing we did was take a ghost tour.  Savannah has a rich history for ghost stories and there’s no shortage of tour companies eager to take your money and take you on a tour.  There are walking tours, pub crawl tours and the one we chose for our last night in Savannah, was the Hearse Ghost Tour.  We rode around in a modified Hearse with only 2 other people and had a delightful time learning some of the ghost stories buried in the history of this glorious town.

Wilmington, North Carolina

Wilmington Waterfront

After 5 days of fun in Savannah, our next stop was Wilmington, North Carolina.  The kind folks at The Best Western Plus upgraded us to their 2-story suite called The Tower Room in the Waterfront District. We had just booked a regular room but one of the perks of being a rewards member is that they will upgrade you for free from time to time. This room had a wonderful view of the Cape Fear River, the North Carolina Battleship and was located at the edge of the downtown area.

Wilmington Downtown

Wilmington has a surprising number of foody restaurants and we really didn’t come close to exhausting all of them while we were there.  Some of our favorites included Hell’s Kitchen, Michael’s On The Waterfront, Elijah’s and Rebellion NC – all of which were used when filming the late 1990’s/early 2000’s TV series Dawson’s Creek.

Wilmington Homes

Wilmington has its share of old homes down by the riverfront that you can walk to and admire.

Bellamy Mansion Tour

One of the grand old homes is the Bellamy Mansion, which  built between 1859 and 1861, and is a mixture of Neoclassical architectural styles, including Greek Revival and Italianate. It is one of North Carolina’s finest examples of historic antebellum architecture. We signed up for a guided tour which took about 2 hours and was really informative and we learned a lot about history of the house and the town.

Meeting up With a Former Co-Worker

One evening we meet up with Tom Rodgers who we knew through work. We had a wonderful evening enjoying dinner and talking about life.

Carolina Beach

Nancy and I decided to explore some of the beach areas that are located near Wilmington and headed down to Carolina Beach to see if it is somewhere we might want to come back and adventure to. We walk around for a bit and then find a roof top bar to have lunch at.

Airlie Gardens

Tom Rodgers and some of the people we had met in Wilmington told us not to miss Airlie Gardens which is just a short distance outside of Wilmington. We wished we could have gotten there a couple weeks earlier as it was past peak for spring flowers but we still had a few hours walking around the grounds. We will definitely have to make it a point to stop sometime when things are at peak.  This is yet another frequent filming location for Dawson’s Creek.

Oddities Museum

The Museum of the Bizarre  opened in 2015 and houses a medley of the macabre.

This was on Nancys list of places to stop by and for just $3, we got to see the pretty interesting the private collection of Justin LaNasa, a local tattoo artist. LaNasa was inspired to open the museum as his wedding day approached and he realized he needed a place to store his accumulation of abnormalities.

A life-sized Pinhead greets visitors upon entering, and there’s another life-size Freddy that people can take pictures with. Other items on display include a lock of Alexander Hamilton’s hair, letters from serial killers, a crystal skull, a two-headed calf, Harry Houdini’s ouija board, and vintage medical equipment. There are also slightly less credible objects exhibited, like an imprint of Bigfoot’s footprint, a unicorn horn, a chupacabra hand, and the remains of a mermaid.

It was a fun place to kill about an hour and the price was right.

 

North Carolina Battleship

The star of the attractions in Wilmington is the World War II Battleship North Carolina which saw a ton of action in the Pacific. It’s located directly across the river from downtown and is well worth spending a afternoon exploring. A really large part of the ship is open for exploring at you own pace with volunteer historians who can answer your questions stationed throughout the ship.

Wytheville, Virginia

Bolling Wilson Hotel

After a few days in Wilmington, we continue our slow meander home with a stop in Wytheville, Virginia. We love exploring historic hotels and especially those that are within easy sticking distance of our home. Nancy had been wanting to try out the Bolling Wilson Hotel and this was our opportunity to fit it into our schedule.

Built in 1927 and originally name the George Wythe Hotel, it was restored and renamed to Bolling Wilson Hotel in honor of Edith Bolling Wilson. Edith was the wife of President Wilsons Wife and who was born and raised across the street from the hotel.  The hotel also hosts a small collection of memorabilia from Edith’s life.

We found the this was a great place to stay with its rooftop eating area and being right on main street near other restaurants.

Walking the Streets of Wytheville

After Checking in we walked around town for a bit we take in the local scenery before heading out to dinner.

Log House Restaurant

The historic Log House Restaurant was built in 1776 had been recommended to us and it did not disappoint. It’s a pretty large restaurant with lots of character.  The restaurant also has an adjoining more casual tavern.  It also has a really nice garden area where you can eat outside.

Home

All good things do come to an end and by early afternoon the next day we are back home.  If you’re looking for a slow meandering trip down and back from south Florida, you can go wrong with the itinerary we just completed on this trip!  Places along the journey such as Savannah and Wilmington may also be destinations on their own.