Drive, Don't Fly

If you‘re going to travel, and get the very most out of traveling, consider driving instead of flying. There are so many interesting and beautiful things along the way that you shouldn’t miss. We recently took a trip down the East Coast. It was a 12 hour drive. We had briefly considered flying. Then I thought that it would be a two hour flight, with two hours at the airport prior to that. That totals up to four hours of annoyance and it doesn’t even count getting out of the airport, finding luggage and getting a rental car. Then you have to do the whole thing over on the way back. That just seemed like a whole lot of BLAH to me. Driving allows you freedom to go at your own pace and explore the surroundings. Flying is sometimes necessary, I do like the convenience at times. However, it feels a lot like being part of a cattle herd getting shuffled along. So for this trip, we opted to drive and I am so glad that we did.

We stopped at the New River Gorge Bridge overlook after we drove across it. It’s a 3,030 feet steel arch bridge in the Appalachian Mountains. The views are breathtaking! There is a very nice visitor center and wooden steps leading to an observation deck, and there are many, many steps. You don’t have to go too far down unless you want to. This place could be a whole vacation in itself, as New River National Park with cabins, RV park, camping, kayaking, whitewater rafting and more. This will definitely be a vacation destination for us at some point in the future. For now, I was very happy to see the bridge and the views.

Driving through the Virginia countryside is always a treat. It’s so relaxing, seeing the mountains, barns and farms. Virginia is such a beautiful state, it may be my favorite on the East Coast. We took the opportunity to stop just North of Winchester at a fruit stand that has been there for decades. Anyone traveling through Virginia knows about it. We bought the best peaches in the country, my opinion, grown right there in Winchester.

A particularly favorite stop of mine was The Angel Oak Tree on St. John’s Island, South Carolina. It’s near Charleston. Wow! What a sight. If you are in the area or passing through the area, it’s definitely worth the stop. The park is completely free, although there is a donation box if you want to donate to help preserve this wonder. There is also a gift shop onsite, picnic tables and park benches. If nothing else, it’s a gorgeous place for weary travelers to stop, stretch their legs and bask in the beauty and peacefulness of nature.

We did stop in Charleston, South Carolina for a few hours to check out the cobblestone streets, drove around and looked at the architecture and went through one of the museums. It’s a beautiful city and maybe a trip just for there would be a good idea. I guess I scope out other vacations while vacationing.

Of course we stopped at Cracker Barrel to eat and goof around in the gift shop and get a good meal. Cracker Barrel restaurants tend to be reliable. I love seeing how the store and restaurant chains change the further you travel. Another eating stop was Sonic, my beau had never been there and I told him that it would change his life. He didn’t believe me, but it did. I have never seen an adult enjoy a nonalcoholic slushie as much as he did on that day. This was after stopping in Charleston, did I mention that it was over 90 degrees in Charleston? The walk on the breathtaking cobblestone streets was very, very hot and apparently the Sonic slushie hit the spot for him.

I encourage everyone to take at least one road trip instead of flying. We have a beautiful country with diverse landscapes and interesting things to see along with way. We honestly had a lot of fun driving and stopping to smell the roses, and the peaches at the roadside farm stand.