Our first day of vacation started dark and early. Katherine and I had agreed that I would meet at her house at 7:30 that morning, so I loaded up at 6:30 so I would have time to stop by Starbucks and grab some coffee on the way.
I loaded my remaining luggage into the car and turned my GPS on, ready to plug in Katherine's family's new address. As I turned the device on, it flashed a message up at me that said, "No maps available." "That's weird," I thought. I then realized with horror that when the map upgrade I'd tried to download before the trip had failed right at the end, it had cleared everything from my GPS. I had an atlas and had an idea of which interstates we needed to take--and Katherine has a GPS--so I wasn't worried about that. The problem was: I didn't know how to get to Katherine's new house. So our trip started off with me calling Katherine to get directions to their house.
I knew packing lightly didn't fit into my vocabulary (that's the problem with wanting to be prepared for practically anything--you tend to carry around too much stuff), but as we started loading everything into the car, I was embarrassed to realize just how much stuff we had--most of it mine. *laugh* I have got to learn to pack only the essentials when I'm traveling!
I trust technology--but not completely. ;) We followed the GPS, but kept the atlas handy.
Katherine took the first driving shift and we traded out in Spartansburg, SC.
Driving through North Carolina
Katherine behind the wheel
We drove for a while along I-26 and then Katherine's GPS directed us to get off the interstate. I didn't think anything about it at first. It directed us through a small town that reminded me a great deal of my parents' tiny hometown of LaGrange, Ga. Actually a lot of southeastern South Carolina reminded me of southern Georgia. Rural, relaxed and sprinkled with small towns. The highway continued to direct us down a two-lane highway (very similar to Highway 11E in East Tennessee) and then Katherine and I gradually began to realize that her GPS had directed us along a country route. It took longer, but it was pretty. We drove through lots of small farming communities and beautiful countryside.
One good thing about the longer, country route--it took us directly to Savannah, instead of bypassing it. We wanted to stop there and at least drive through the historic district, so that worked out perfectly. We stopped and took a bathroom break, then walked around the Savannah Visitor's Center quickly. The building is gorgeous. It's a restored, former train station and the architecture and design is beautiful. The Savannah College of Art and Design was across the parking lot. By that point though, our trip had already taken us several hours, so we didn't stick around too long. I would love to go back at some point though and spend a least a few days there.
Katherine and I drove through the historic area and then hopped back on the interstate, where we encountered bumper-to-bumper traffic for a good 30 minutes or so. It was around 5:30, so I'm not sure if that was commuter traffic headed out of Savannah or if there was some kind of accident. At any rate, we weren't going anywhere faster than a snail's pace.
We eventually moved beyond the traffic jam and continued down I-95 in southeastern Georgia. I love driving through that area. The landscape is dotted with the occasional Low Country-style, gorgeous homes and small towns, criss-crossed by dozens of small rivers, creeks and swamps. And in a way, I have a little bit of a claim on the area. My dad joined the Navy out of high school and served 8 years, working on nuclear submarines. For the last two years of his military career, he was stationed at the Kings Bay Naval Base in Kingsland/St. Mary's, Georgia. We moved there when I was almost 2 years old and left shortly after I turned 4.
Kingsland is about 45 minutes away from Amelia Island/Fernandina Beach, and although I was very young and don't really remember it, we used to go to the beach from time to time. So in a way, I have a connection with Amelia Island that goes back to my early childhood. We drove by the exits for Kingsland on the way down and I was surprised to notice as we drove by that the small, mostly military town now has a welcome center. Kingsland is moving up in the world...
Anyway, back to our journey. :) We finally arrived at Amelia Island and checked into out hotel around 8:30, about 12 hours after our trek began. But before we checked in, we drove out to the ocean for a quick peek.
One of my favorite things about approaching the ocean is looking ahead toward the water and catching that first glimpse of "the end of the road"--that point where the road ends and the ocean stretches out endlessly ahead. It sends a small thrill through me each time.
Katherine and I parked the car and stepped out into a heavenly sea breeze. We both inhaled deeply and smiled and squealed a little with delight as the wind blew our hair and we turned to look at the beautiful, mysterious ocean and the pretty white sand.
After sticking our feet in the ocean and letting the waves wash over them for a few minutes, we reluctantly walked back to the car and drove to the hotel, full of excitement and ideas for heading back to the beach the next morning.
We stayed at Residence Inn Amelia Island, only a few blocks away from one of the beach access points. It is a very nice hotel. Thanks to a nice discount my uncle secured for us at the hotel (he's a pastor and a member of his congregation works there), we stayed in a two-bedroom suite, complete with a full kitchen and separate bathrooms attached to each of the bedrooms (it was really nice to not have to take turns in the shower or getting ready!).
After unloading our stuff, we took a quick dip in the hotel's hot tub before settling in for the night and heading to bed.
Well, this is more than enough detail about our trip down to the beach! I'll start sharing about our adventures on the island in upcoming posts. :)
