Long road home

Serafina
Rob & Sarah Bell
Mon 21 Oct 2013 01:49

Friday, Saturday & Sunday - 18th,19th, 20th October

 

 

I think it’s fair to say that Savannah didn't really grab us.  On Friday Sarah woke up with a migraine and although we managed a quick sortie out to the Bonaventure Cemetery (originally famed for the Birdgirl Statue on the front of the book, ‘Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil’, which has now had to be removed to the safety of one of the city's museums when tourists were found eating their picnics off her!) which was quite astonishing, housing many different religions in a vast, sandy area shaded by ancient trees all bearing the ever present Spanish moss; Sarah retreated back to bed for a few hours.

 

We made another sprint into town once Sarah had slept off the migraine, and managed to fit in the Jepson Art Museum and a bit more of a wander, before hunting down a Mexican restaurant recommended in our guide.  This, of course, had closed down but been replaced by another similar restaurant which proved very satisfactory.

 

So on Saturday, after another alternately stuffy, hot, noisy, or cold night dependant on whether the AC had burst into life or not, we set off back towards Virginia.  Our TomTom has been taking us in ever more unlikely directions and has developed a disconcerting habit of sending us one way, only to request a U turn immediately afterwards, so this has kept us on our toes.

 

As in the UK, highway driving is boring and monotonous, but considerably more restful than frantic British driving.  The only addition to our road kill list being masses more deer, possum and a coyote.  Off the highways, the countryside is much more interesting:  green, murky swamps are immediately replaced with pine forest, and fields of cotton.  Again hardly any fencing between houses, and a goodly percentage of the housing is trailer homes - and we did notice that these also seem to be inhabited by huge (wide) people.

 

We were going to be too early at our B&B stop so after a brief stop in Conway, we went on to have a general mooch around Myrtle Beach which is a big seaside resort.  It has miles of wooden beach accommodation on stilts following the coastline, but with beaches to die for, consisting of firm, fine, white sand.

 

We then went back to the B&B, Moore Farmhouse run by Harry and Cathy Pinner which was the most beautiful B&B we have ever frequented.  They recommended a lovely bistro for dinner and followed this with a breakfast of French toast stuffed with cream cheese and raspberries, so we have positively rolled back to the boat after a week's over-eating.  Apparently each B&B tends to do its own culinary speciality for breakfast, but I think Rob was a little disappointed not to lay his hands just once on the full fry-up.  The hotels we had stayed in all did very disappointing basic buffet style breakfasts which we opted ignore.

 

And finally, Sunday was just spent driving the last 250 plus miles back.  It was nice to be back on Serafina but we are definitely aware that we have left those nice warm Carolinas and Georgia, for the cooler climes north and west of the Gulf Stream!