A Southern Car Trip

     I am antsy to get back on the road.  We missed our fall trip last year, and, instead, mostly finished remodeling the cabin bathroom.    In two weeks we will be leaving cold and snowy Minnesota and driving our car - not our motorhome - south and east.  It will be quite different for us to stay at motels instead of campgrounds, but we decided that Midwest weather will still be very unreliable in mid March and we hate to drive the RV on icy roads.
     Our first destination is Savannah, Georgia.  We will be staying in a Georgia State Park cabin just outside of Savannah.  Rick's brother, Terry and his wife, Connie, are joining us as we tour the old Southern town as well as wonderful plantations, and historic forts.  Then we move on to a State Park cabin near the wild beaches of Cumberland Island.
     After ten days of sightseeing in Georgia, Rick and I will head further south to visit friends in The Villages in central Florida.  Easter Week will be spent in a town house on Sanibel Island with our children and grandchildren. Midweek my niece and her family will stop by as well.  I am excited about watching them all enjoy the wonderful white sand beach.
    We have been to Florida several times before, but have never made it as far as Key West, so this trip Rick and I are driving to the southern tip of the U.S.  This is not supposed to be hurricane season, so hopefully we won't be caught out on the long chain of islands with only one highway.  One of our excursions from Key West is to Dry Tortugas National Park - another place I learned about from reading Nevada Barr books.
    I am finding it hard to pack.  I am used to having many items in the RV - binoculars, first aid kit, rain gear, etc.  I have been making lists and more lists.  We like to stop and eat picnic lunch at waysides rather than fast food restaurants so I also have my list of picnic items to pack.
    Our trips are often pretty solitary, but this trip will be filled with friends and family.  I can hardly wait to stop packing and start driving.  Hoping for clear weather!