Help Wanted: Florida to North Carolina

[elektratig]

Due to a convention on one end and family on the other, my wife and I will be spending 7 to 10 days driving from Miami to the North Carolina coast in October. The straight route is of course along the coast, but I'm not adverse to veering inland.

I'm looking for any and all suggestions, from CW and historical sites, museums and other sights to visit, to good barbecue, to inns or other unusual or romantic places to stay. Help!

Thanks in advance.

[johan_steele]

Fernandina Beach/Amelia Island just north of Jacksonville FL has Ft Clinch and a Lighthouse that is well worth the 30 odd mile round trip detour off the Interstate. You'll also be passing w/in spitting distance of Ft Pulaski outside of Savannah & Savannah itself is well worth the stop.

Then there is Charleston... you can spend a week there and still not see even half the ACW sites.

7-10 days isn't enough time. I lived in SC most of a decade and enjoyed my weekend jaunts around the area.

Also expect the park sites to get their $ from you. IIRC $7-$10 per person for admission is a reasonable estimate. Also add the Four Corners Cafe/Blind Tiger (between church & State streets downtown) to your must stops in Charleston. Best bar I've ever been in; though I haven't been there since 98.

[ole]

Do not pass by the Crab Shack on the interstate just at the first Savannah exit. The motel at that exit is also very nice and just a short hop into Savannah proper. Park your car at one of the outlying tour-bus lots and ride around town. The one we took (wasn't Grayline, was another on the Western edge of downtown), and presumably the others, let you jump off one bus at a stop of your choosing and catching another later--they ran at half-hour intervals.

You might be able to drive around Savannah in October, but we went in April and I wouldn't have done it then.

ole

[larry_cockerham]

I've been up and down that coast several times as well as the more inland piedmont routes through North and South Carolina and Georgia. If I were making one trip, I'd us US 17 as a reference and stay close the coast. There is a break north of Morehead City because of the Pamlico Sound which requires a two-hour ferry ride one way from Cedar Island to Ocracoke. There is a reasonable lodge at the ferry landing. The Morehead/Beaufort/New Bern areas has much to offer in food, scenery and history. Fort Macon at Morehead is a jewel, part of the 1820s era coastal fortifications. Wilmington is a very pleasant little city with beautiful floral displays in season. The little coastal towns between Wilmington and Myrtle Beach are a seafood lover's paradise. Charleston as Shane suggests is the most interesting of the coastal cities. History abounds on the entire trip.

[ole]

If you haven't been there, do not fail to stop in St. Augustine.

ole

[Will Posey]

A captain in the 25th Tennessee Infantry Regiment (CSA), my great grandfather was one of "The Immortal 600" Confederate POWs imprisoned for a while in Fort Pulaski outside Savannah. Take time for a visit.

Will Posey

[elektratig]

Thank you all for your pointers. I haven't had a vacation in several years, so I'm getting psyched!

[ole]

There is far too much to visit on such a journey. Take another two weeks.

ole

[cw1865]

I am not sure what your wife is interested in, but the Biltmore Estate in Asheville is fantastic. Built post Civil War, but lots of things to do there, including a winery too!