Continued from
A Spring Drive Through the American South – Part One, Part Two and Part Three

In a journey through some of the most romantic spots the South has to offer, start in Washington, DC, and head to Charlottesville, VA along the Skyline Drive.  From Charlottesville, take the Blue Ridge Parkway to Asheville, NC.  Then go from Asheville to elegant Charleston, South Carolina.

For the last of your Spring drive, journey from Charleston to grande olde Savannah, Georgia.

Before you go, you might want to immerse yourself in Savannah by reading (the oft-suggested) Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil or by watching (no, seriously) the Style Network’s “Ruby,” shot entirely on location.

From Charleston, driving time to Savannah is only about 1 1/2 hours.  Take the 95S to the 17S.

Give yourself 2-3 days in Savannah:

• Stay at the Forsyth Park Inn, just across Forsyth Park from the lovely white fountain that serves as the emblem of the city.

• While everyone else is combing the Historic District‘s squares looking for the illustrious Mercer Williams House and Girl Scouts founder Juliette Gordon Low’s stately white home, pop into Temple Mickve Israel for some peace and quiet in America’s third-oldest synagogue.

• For the love of all that’s holy, do not take an Old Town Trolley Tour.  Yes, we’d been schlepping all over town that day.  Yes, we were hot and tired.  But as soon as we heard Rich Little doing impersonations on the recorded narration, we knew we were screwed…for the next hour.

• Instead, retreat off your feet to the vintage Gryphon Tea Room, beside the Savannah College of Art & Design.  Sit, people watch, and preserve your sense of dignity.

• Have dinner at the utterly romantic Elizabeth on 37th, and hope that their ever-changing, seasonal menu includes their exquisite English pea soup.

• Arrive early for lunch at reservation-free Mrs. Wilke’s Dining Room, which specializes in the traditionally Southern meat-and-three.

• Do dine at Lady & Sons, Food Network star Paula Deen’s Lowcountry gorge-fest…but afterward, take a long walk to digest.

• Just outside of town, wander through the evocative Bonaventure Cemetery, overhung with moss and mysticism.  Bonaventure means “good fortune,”  an ironic name for this unlucky plot of land.

• Head over to Emmet Park to see the unique and quieting Vietnam Memorial sculpture with an empty Army helmet, boots and M-16.

• Get out into the nature that surrounds Savannah:

• Read our post about the perfect crowd escape, the Savannah Wildlife Refuge.

• Take a relaxing Bull River Marina dolphin tour from the north end of Wilmington Island.  Try to be here late in the day to glide through soft, Lowcountry marshland while friendly dolphins follow your boat.

• At the Isle of Hope just southeast of the city, meander along Bluff Drive for great views of the Wilmington River.  Where Bluff dead ends, take a stroll amongst restored antebellum homes.  Don’t miss a forest trail hike or the driveway lined with 400 live oaks at decrepit-but-lovely 18th century Wormsloe Plantation.

When your Southern trip is at last over, sigh deeply, put your head on your partner’s shoulder…and vow to someday return again.

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See also
A Spring Drive Through the American South – Part One, Part Two and Part Three

Travels With Two

Continued from
A Spring Drive Through the American South – Part One and Part Two

In a journey through some of the most romantic spots the South has to offer, start in Washington, DC, and head to Charlottesville, VA along the Skyline Drive.  From Charlottesville, take the Blue Ridge Parkway to Asheville, NC.

From Asheville, continue on to graceful Charleston, South Carolina.

If you’re eager to get there within 2 hours:  Take the 126 straight to Charleston.

For a more scenic journey:  Take the 126 to Hendersonville, NC, pick up the 25-S and take it to the 11 (the Cherokee Foothills Scenic Highway).  Stop for a seasonal snack at Perdue’s Mountain Fruit Farm.  Continue on 11 until it crosses 26.  At Harleyville, SC, stop at the Francis Beidler National Forest and take the 1-mile boardwalk through this gem of a Lowcountry swamp.

Spend 2-3 days in Charleston, SC…if not the rest of your lives:

• Stay in a market-side room at the elegant Planter’s Inn.

• Planter’s is adjacent to the 19th-century City Market, the perfect place to pick up South Carolina-specific souvenirs like Gullah-made baskets.

• Splurge on a lunch or dinner of rich Lowcountry food at 82 Queen, a warren of garden courtyards and dark-wood rooms in the city’s French Quarter.  Start at the bar and order a real mint julep, then work your way on back.

• Ogle gorgeous antebellum homes along Battery Park,  across the Cooper River.  Admiring houses here is a rewarding pursuit: Almost every time you’re in mid-wonder about a building’s provenance, you find it has a helpful, historical plaque.

• Watch the sunset from the Rooftop Cocktail Bar overlooking the Cooper River harbor and Civil War-era Fort Sumter to see one of America’s oldest and largest shipping ports at day’s end.

• Visit the fine old (and now, slave-free) Ashley River Plantations:

• Middleton Place, home of America’s oldest landscaped gardens
• Drayton Hall, the evocative remnants of a working plantation
• Magnolia Plantation for its stunning azaleas and winding paths.

• While at Magnolia, don’t miss the Audubon Swamp Garden (pictured above) for nesting snowy egrets, gliding alligators, and ancient oaks fairly dripping with moss.

Travels With Two

Continued from
A Spring Drive Through the American South – Part One

In a journey through some of the most romantic spots the South has to offer, start in Washington, DC, and head to Charlottesville, Virginia along the Skyline Drive.

When you’ve had your fill of Charlottesville, backtrack to the Blue Ridge Parkway and head straight into Asheville, North Carolina for forests, waterfalls, and a history of fortune.

From Charlottesville back to the Parkway: Take the 250W to the 29S to I-64W.  Stay on I-64W for about 18 miles.  Take Exit 99 for the 250 towards Waynesboro/Afton.  Turn right at the 250, right at VA-610, and left toward the Blue Ridge Parkway.

The drive is about 4-5 hours. The soft, gentle mountain scenery along the Parkway is positively stunning, and if you’re here between May and June, you’ll catch one of the greatest rhododendron displays in the U.S.

The Blue Ridge Parkway runs almost directly into Asheville.  Where the Parkway crosses Tunnel Road (US-70), take the 70W to the 25S to get downtown.

Spend 2-3 days in Asheville, NC:

• Stay at the Wright Inn in the Historic Montford District.  While there, take a walk around the neighborhood to see truly gorgeous Victorian-era homes.

• Run, don’t walk to the Biltmore Estate (pictured above).  The Vanderbilt family treasure is nestled into about a gajillion acres between the French Broad and Swannanoa Rivers.  Take a Behind-the-Scenes Tour to see this mansion as its countless servants did, with then-cutting-edge technology like an intercom system and a kitchen vault for priceless china.  Skip a visit to the awful winery included in your entrance fee and spend more time strolling the astonishing gardens; early April is all about tulips, while late April and May are heavy on azaleas.

• Visit fabulous craft art galleries in Biltmore Village (but be sure to skip Thomas Kinkade lest your eyes be forever wounded).

• Check out this list of romantic Asheville restaurants.

• Drive some of the Forest Heritage National Scenic Byway and stop to see Sliding Rock (which in summertime serves as a rocky version of a Slip ‘n’ Slide), the Cradle of Forestry and the sumptuous Pisgah Forest. We fell in love with the waterfalls here (see photo below), and the sun dappling through the tall trees.  Far from overrun with tourists in Spring, you can often feel like the forests are yours to explore.

• Nearby, visit Chimney Rock Park and Grandfather Mountain to see this gorgeous, green part of the world from on high.

Consider taking an extra day to visit the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, 60 miles from Asheville.  Take a hauntingly beautiful, often misty drive or two through the huge, rugged mountains and historic Appalachian homesteads here, enjoying the lighter crowds before the high July-October season.

Or, continue from Asheville to graceful Charleston, South Carolina.

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Continued in
A Spring Drive Through the American South – Part Three

Travels With Two

If you’re worried the best of Spring might pass you by, we’ve got a trip that will reconnect you not only to each other…but to the history of America, as well.

Drive yourselves from Washington, D.C. – Charlottesville, VA – Asheville, NC – Charleston, SC – Savannah, Georgia for full-blown immersion in mountains, flowers, forests, swamps, fine old homes, Low-Country cuisine and even wine from America’s oldest vines.

We reckon it’s time to jump on in the car and see the South for yourself.

Ideal timing:  9-14 days between late April and early June

Packing: Charlottesville, VA and Asheville, NC are very laid-back places, and in our experience there was little need to dress for anything but comfort.  Charleston, SC and Savannah, GA tend to be a little dressier, so be sure to bring a nice outfit or two for going out to dinner.  Bring good city walking shoes.  Sneakers or athletic sandals will come in handy for forests and swamps.  Rain is always possible this time of year.

For suggestions in Washington, D.C. (the beloved town of my birth), see the Top 5 Spots for Romance in D.C. and  Between D.C. and the Deep Blue Sea.

From Washington, D.C. to the Skyline Drive, driving time is about one hour. Take the 66 West to the 340 South towards Front Royal, Virginia; from here, it’s 4 miles to the the north entrance of the Skyline Drive, the stunning, northernmost stretch of Shenandoah National Park.

The Skyline Drive takes at least 3 hours. It runs 105 miles along the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains, has a speed limit of 35 mph, and approximately one gajillion scenic lookouts (one of which is pictured above).

It ends not far from our favorite Virginia town, Charlottesville. It’s the historic home of Thomas Jefferson and birthplace of American wine.

North Carolina via the Blue Ridge Parkway is another 4-5 hours of driving. Learn from our crushing, over-ambitious error in judgement…and take a break before you become both tired and stuck.

Take the 64E to the 250 E to Charlottesville.

Charlottesville, is worth at least one day of your time…if not two:

• Stay at the cozy Dinsmore House, a historic B & B right in town.

• Tour the grounds, gardens, and Rotunda of the University of Virginia.

• See the yuppified-vintage, pedestrian-only Historic Downtown Mall.

• Visit Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello (with its brand new visitor center) and nearby, James Monroe’sAsh Lawn-Highland.  Jefferson lived far beyond his means, and Monroe far more simply, but both houses are a fascinating but troubling glimpse of an 18th-century life built by slave labor.

• Follow the Monticello Wine Trail.  Jefferson fancied himself a vintner in post-Independence America, bringing choice (yet unsuccessful) vines back from France after his stint as ambassador.  These days, the vines and the region’s reputation are thriving.  Be sure to visit the Jefferson Vineyards, the area’s first winery.

Travels With Two