95, Headed South

After about a month of sitting in a lonely back corner cubicle of the RNC, I was cruising down the highway headed for Tampa. My last hours in Old Town were frantic, despite having had weeks of little else to do but plan for this move. I packed the final things, scrubbed down the bathroom, cleaned my room, ran to the bank and the library, attempted to fix the Post Office's serious error in my change of address, and a couple of other random Old Town errands that lacked the charm that the place typically boasts. I started feeling like I was bringing too much stuff, so held back on packing a couple of the items I had originally intended to bring. I left with no pomp or circumstance and settled in for the first 7 hours of my trip, stopping only once for gas outside Richmond.

I stopped for the night in North Carolina and was on the road again by 9:15 the next morning. I was very glad to have stopped and took my time on the road on Wednesday. At some point I found out that Courtney was on Myrtle Beach for Spring Break so I turned around and headed to the beach where we had a lovely lunch on the beach with margaritas.
I got back on the road and headed deeper into the south, experiencing allergies for the first time ever and therefore not realizing that Benedryl puts you to sleep!

I was fairly miserable by the time I pulled into Savannah, Georgia. It is a charming town, but I don't think I was in any shape to enjoy it. I stayed in a cute inn down by the water in the historic district, but I had to go to 3 rooms before finding one that had been cleaned. They also double charged me and I'm still trying to take care of that...I crashed pretty fast and got up early the next morning again. Apparently the founder of the Girl Scouts is from there, so my continental breakfast was eaten among green vests of all ages. I walked briefly down by the river, but wanted to get on the road. Someday I'll have to go back when I'm not alone and have some time to explore.

I decided to stop at a Civil War Fort (National Park, so I got a stamp in my passport!) and despite the runny nose, it was worth the extra few miles. Georgia's Fort Pulaski was originally part of James Madison's attempt to strengthen our defenses on the coast after the War of 1812. Work did not start on the fort for a number of years though, and it wasn't even finished in time for the Civil War. In fact, Robert E. Lee worked on the drinking system in the fort as a 2nd Lieutenant before getting sick and being sent to New York; crazy where he ended up. The brochure shared an ironic quote, "As it turned out, before the US troops could occupy the fort, they had to conquer it." The South quickly claimed the fort as an attempt to guard the Savannah River and the goods that were delivered into Savannah. They believed the fort inpenetrable. Unfortunately for them, the Union army attacked several days into the war, and with their new rifled cannon and 30 hours of fighting, forced the fort to surrender and fall into Union hands for the remainder of the war.

I got back on the road and was finally Florida bound with no stops in store. I was anxious to get to my place and quickly had trouble fighting the Benedryl-induced drowsiness. Florida offered no less than 6 country stations upon entering it and also changing speed limits every several miles on the 2 lane freeway.

I pulled in to my building around 5 and was excited to see where I'd be living the next 5 months!

**Photography not my own due to a dead camera battery and bad allergies!