We woke up this morning with a heavy heart, it was time for Fin to return home. It was a stressful journey to Miami Airport with the rush hour traffic making a sad experience even worse.
The process for handing back Fin was really simple and far too quick! We wanted to tell someone about his story, all the states we had taken him to, the miles we had done and the adventures we had. Instead we drove into an assembly line where we were ushered out of the car, signed a piece of paper and then he was whisked away to be cleaned and hired to the next customer.
It was sad and there was a tear or two as we walked away.
We had some time to kill so we headed into Miami Airport in search of somewhere to grab some breakfast. It had been a sad morning but our day was about to get better as Marina (who we met up with at the start of this trip back in May) was coming to visit for the day!
We met up with Marina and then headed back to South Beach. We spent the morning walking along the beach talking about the trip and drinking a very large margarita and then the afternoon checking out craft beers in some of the best South Beach dive bars outside of the main tourist area.
After a very competitive darts competition, we found a small sushi bar for dinner before eventually having to say good bye to Marina so she could make the journey home to the other side of Florida.
We walked back to the hotel via the lit up Art Deco buildings, discussing how what could have turned into a sad and sombre day was actually a huge amount of fun with Marina. We're so glad she came to visit us and be a part of our adventure for the day.
It was an early start this morning with the alarm going off at 6am so that we could make a trip to the laundromat. We are heading home in a couple of days but I would rather have all the dirty washing out of the way beforehand rather than spend our first few days in the UK trying to get piles stinking clothes washed and dried in our little machine (it's a normal-sized machine by UK standards but tiny compared to America). We also wanted to make use of the super-sized washers and driers to give our 4 sleeping bags a good clean, they will be going into storage for a while and I would rather they didn't fester in their dirtiness.
I was expecting to be the only person mad enough to go to the laundromat this early in the morning - in fact, I had to wait for machines to become available as it was packed! This is obviously peak time.
We arrived back at the hotel in time for breakfast and then spent a couple of hours moving suitcases from the car to our room on the first floor to be repacked and then back to the car. A couple of the other B&B guest became curious as to what we were up to and soon came to have a look at our packed up car and attempts at repacking ready for the flight home!
By the time we finally came to leave St Augustine, I was shattered! But there was one last thing we needed to do before heading back to Miami, clean Fin! I know that hire car companies expect a little dust and dirt here and there but we haven't actually washed Fin now for several months and we have been down dirt roads, up mountains, through streams, we have been rained on, snowed on, covered in sand and then in Florida, all that has been baked on in the Florida sun. Fin's lovely bright silver colour has turned into a dull grey and we thought the hire car company might notice. So we found a DIY car wash just down the road, the automated machine ones were not going to be strong enough to get off this much coated on dirt, and headed there with a purse full of quarters to give him a good clean!
Once we finally left St Augustine, we followed the A1A all the way down to Daytona Beach. It was a typical laid-back Floridian journey past beaches and inlets, scattered with little tourist towns and nature reserves. It was very pretty.
We arrived at Daytona Beach and decided to park up in one of the public parking lots (which only cost a couple of bucks) so that we could have a stroll along the beach. If was off season and most of the hotels looked closed for the season and the beach was pretty empty.
We reached the beach and realised that cars were actually allowed down onto the beach and there was even a road marked out (with cones) so they could drive up and down. The beach is open to vehicles from sundown to sunset every day from May 1st until November 1st and access costs $20 for the entire day. It was unusual to see cars driving up and down the beach and probably something fun to do as its different but once you've driven up and down once, I'm not really sure what the point is. I guess a car makes a handy wind break if you're happy to sunbathe alongside the fumes and the noise.
Our next stop was Cocoa Beach, another large beach town on the East Floridan coast. Again we parked up in a public parking lot and headed towards the beach. This place felt more like a party town but that might have been helped by the beach-side restaurant we found with live music and an even livelier atmosphere!
We could have stayed in Cocoa Beach a lot longer, even with all the party goers and posers but it was getting late and we still had a long drive to go.
We arrived in Miami after dark but we were treated to an amazing sunset during the drive, one of those where you take hundreds and hundreds of the same photo as it just looks so good. I only chose of a few of these for the video!
It felt strange driving into Miami as we went along the same roads we were driving down 6 months ago when we started this journey, it felt like we were looking back in time as we went past the first hotel we stayed in, the bar / restaurant we went to on our first night and the sidewalks we walked down as we discussed the adventure we had ahead, the camping stuff we needed to buy and how big our cooler needed to be to handle all the beers we were going to buy!
We had chosen to stay in Miami Beach for the last few days of our trip, wanting somewhere where we could relax and party before we had to return to reality back in the UK. We have been to Miami Beach a couple of times before and decided this time to try one of the non-branded boutique art deco hotels. So we booked into the The Lord Balfour Hotel.
Parking was an issue. The valet parking would have made Fin inaccessible and we had a lot of unpacking to do that was going to take some time. We were eventually directed by the hotel to some street parking with a meter but it was expensive, costing $50 for the night, although it was just around the corner of the hotel so close enough to continue to go back and forwards with our stuff. We later found a public car park around the corner which was $20 for 24 hours and even had a 24 hour security guard, this would have been a much cheaper option and was only a 5 minutes walk.
We spent most of the night slowly unpacking Fin, getting funny looks from the staff as we went past them with case after case, camping equipment, cool boxes, even badminton rackets and chairs!
Eventually, Fin was empty and we were able to have a drink in the bar before heading to bed after a very long day.
As we reached the city limits, our route into St Augustine took us down a picture-perfect Spanish Moss-lined road which we later found out had been voted one of the prettiest roads in the US. Lee had his Spanish Moss fix and I was able to final appreciate how pretty it can be hanging off trees in a non-spooky Halloween style setting.
We headed straight to our B&B for the next two nights, Hemingway House. It was located right in the heart of St Augustine, next to the main street and within walking distance to most of the key attractions. We had chosen the B&B not only for its location and 5 star rating on Trip Adviser but also as each room comes with its own parking space and parking in St Augustine is a challenge!
We parked up in our allocated spot at the back of the property and were greeted by the owner of the B&B who showed us around the comfortably furnished common areas with books, drinks and snacks and best of all, homemade cookies! We headed up to our room on the first floor which had a huge balcony overlooking the front of the house, perfect for people watching in the evenings.
Every night Jerry, the B&B owner, offered beer, wine and snacks to the guests on the front porch. It was a great way to hear about the history of the B&B (and why it is called Hemingway House), to get some tips on where to go in St Augustine and to meet the other guests. We have met some amazing people in B&B's around America, it has made us think twice about booking hotels in the future, especially when visiting smaller, historic towns and cities.
We ventured out to a recommended bar opposite the B&B called the Tini Martini Bar. Here we sat outside and ordered martinis from the huge menu and listened to live jazz from a very talented pianist. The martinis are brought to your table in a shaker, the waiter then shakes them and pours you a glass, leaving the remaining liquid in the shaker for you to top up with later.
After all the driving we had done today alongside the sea, we were both in the mood for Sushi so we tried the Thai House and Sushi Bar. For a non-Japanese restaurant, the sushi was actually very good although the live music they had in their courtyard was so bad, we were forced to retreat inside to eat. No one should be allowed to play Michael Jackson hits on a Casio keyboard where the aim is to use as many of the pre-recorded beats as possible.
We finished the night off with a stroll down the main road and a nightcap at the Prohibition Kitchen.
The next day, we woke up to a tasty breakfast cooked by the B&B owner and then headed out to buy a ticket for a tour of the city on the Old Trolley Tours Company. There are actually 2 trolley tour companies in St Augustine, we chose the Old Trolley Tours as we have used this company a couple of times and all of the tours have all been really good fun with none of the tour guides taking themselves or the tour too seriously. In St Augustine, there was also the Ripley's Red Train Tours which looked very similar to the Old Trolley Tours and even had a very similar route.
The tour took us to 23 stops around the city, with buses coming to each stop every 10-15 minutes so there wasn't long to wait when we wanted to hop on and off. The tour covered the western themed Old Jail, the City Gates, the Castillo de San Marcos, the Sevilla and Valencia Church, the St Augustine Distillery, Whetstones Chocolate Factory, the Spanish Military Hospital, the Oldest House, San Marco and Old Mission, the Howard Johnson Hotel and the Fountain of Youth.
St Augustine is the oldest city in the US and we managed to meet the oldest resident, Old Senator is a 600 years old tree that sits in the parking lot of the Howard Johnson Hotel, maybe it helps that he sits right next door to the Fountain of Youth. We didn't have time to visit the fountain which I expect is something we are going to regret when we return home!
The location of our B&B made it perfect to head back to quickly if we needed refreshments, a rest or just a good toilet (as Lee did). We did this a couple of times during the day before jumping back on the tour. There were also plenty of bars in St Augustine for regular hydration stops, most of them had live music throughout the day and night and a good selection of beers and cocktails. It wasn't quite the party towns of New Orleans and Nashville but there was lots going on in this city.
After the wine, beer and nibbles back at the B&B, we went back to Prohibition Kitchen with fellow guests from the B&B Kevin and Lisa where we were introduced to a Floridan special, Collard Greens. We had a great evening chatting, laughing at some of the great Halloween costumes on display and enjoying the relaxed atmosphere of St Augustine.
We ended the night back on the balcony enjoying a glass of sherry people watching.
It felt like St Augustine had it all - there was history, culture, nightlife, beaches and a chilled way of life. We both really enjoyed visiting this city and compared it to Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard. Trying to see everything St Augustine has to offer in just one day is impossible, it felt like we didn't even manage to scratch the surface. This is another place we are going to have to add to the list of places to return to!
"We have really everything in common with America nowadays, except, of course, language."
Oscar Wilde
It is common knowledge that our American cousins speak a sometimes-strange dialect of English known as American English. Having been to the States many times before, we were fully aware of most of these differences, but some were new to us.
Below is a summary of some of the differences we came across during our road trip. This list isn't meant to be exhaustive, representative of the whole of the US, or ground-breaking insight for our British readers. It is just a random list of differences we have picked up along the way, and remembered to jot down.
American English
English
Scallions
Spring onions. This was a new one for us, requiring the help of Google.
Growler
Refillable glass 64-oz container for take-out beers. Throughout the whole of the road trip, asking at bars whether they could "fill my wife's growler up" and letting them know "it was a bit dirty and would probably need a rinse" would never fail to make me giggle - much to the confusion of the bar staff. Apart from one lesbian, who said she "most certainly knew what a growler was!"
Windshield
Windscreen. Two words so similar, yet the English version might well have been Chinese.
Fanny Pack
Bum bag. Yes, your bottom is still your fanny.
Mums
Chrysanthemums
Y'all
You. Equally at home being used to address a single person, it seems.
Yep
You're most welcome. This can come across as being quite rude until you get used to it. There's me being all polite and saying "Oh, thank you very much" to which I'd get an abrupt "Yep!"
Excuse me
I'm sorry
I'm sorry
Excuse me
Run that
Take payment on this credit card, please
Cheque
The bill, as in a restaurant
Bill
A bank note
Fall
Autumn
Autumn
Autumn. I was surprised to learn that Americans do know what "autumn" means and they are happy to use it in conversation
Parking lot
Car park
Garage
Car park
Elevator
Lift
Line
Queue
Sidewalk
Pavement
Pavement
Road. We were initially confused when seeing a sign saying that vehicles should stay on the pavement.
Truck
Articulated lorry
Tractor
The front portion of an articulated lorry, comprising the cab and engine
Trailer
The back portion of an articulated lorry, containing the goods being transported
Semi
A lorry comprising of its front portion and a semi-trailer, the latter being a trailer with no front axle which is usually attached to the front by a "fifth wheel" coupling.
Cart
Trolley, as in "shopping cart".
Rubber
Condom. Our friend Cheryl told us a story about a young English boy asking for a rubber at school, much to the horror of the teacher and the rest of the class!
Eraser
Rubber
Camping
Any form of outdoors recreational living, whether that be in a tent or in a 16-wheel Class A Mega RV (recreational vehicle).
Tent camping
Camping
Buffalo
Misnomer for bison. Buffalo are found in south Asia and Africa.
Bison
Bison
Porta potty
Portaloo
Football
American Football
Soccer
Football
Hockey
Ice hockey
Field hockey
Hockey
Laundry
Washing. I know we call it laundry to, but I don't think you'd ever hear Americans "doing the washing".
Arugula
Rocket, as in the peppery green salad leaf
Collard greens
Not sure really! They are some kind of broad-leaf cabbage, common in Southern US cooking.
Flash light
Torch
Trunk
Boot (of a car)
Hood
Bonnet (of a car)
Panties
Knickers
Pantyhose
Tights. Also used when warning someone "not to get their pantyhose in a twist"
Rental
Hire, as in rental (hire) car. We soon learned to use the term "rental car" after getting a whole array of blank looks when talking about our hire car.
Vacuum
Hoover
Hushpuppy
A small deep-fried ball of corn-based batter. Most definitely not footwear.
Lee's obsession with Spanish Moss only intensified as we left Savannah and found that there was even more in the suburbs compared to the city! It is now the end of October and with all the Halloween decorations, it felt very spooky even at though it was just after breakfast!
We hit the interstate and headed south until we reached the small fishing town of Darien. I had read about this town before the trip and was expecting to find a quaint little fishing town that we could walk around over lunch. We drove around for a while trying to find some quaintness to get excited about before deciding that hunger was making us (well mainly me) a little grumpy.
Google found us a restaurant with a good rating called Skippers' Fish Camp. The restaurant wasn't along the main high street but tucked away next to what looked like timeshare apartments.
We sat outside overlooking Pompeii's Head until it started to rain, then we retreated inside to the bar where we had fresh fish and a beer or two (for Lee, I was driving!).
Outside the restaurant there were the remains of an old wall. This is what was left of the cotton exchange warehouses and naval stores built between 1815 and 1830 and it looked like it was built of oyster shells!
Refreshed after lunch, we hit the road again with me at the wheel! Lee was entertained (or distracted from my driving!) by the constant storm clouds, the roadside turkeys, the first roundabouts we'd seen for months (they do seem to be becoming more and more popular in the States) and finally, the Florida State Line!
Lee had a great plan to avoid the traffic around Jacksonville and stay off the interstates, we were going to take the A1A from Yulee all the way down to St Augustine.
The A1A is a Scenic and Historic Coastal Byway that runs all the way down the Atlantic Coast in Florida to the Keys. Interestingly, it is also the main road that runs through Miami Beach!
The journey was filled with lots more Spanish Moss (to Lee's delight), pretty coastal towns, bridges, small beach towns, wetlands, nature preserves and past some very impressive houses, including a castle!
Now, there is a slight 'challenge' with this road. At Ft. George Island, the road stops, there is no bridge to cross the 0.9 miles over the Saint Johns River. But we are planning pros by now and had already looking into this. There is a car ferry, called The Mayport Ferry, which for $6 takes you across the river so you can join the A1A on the other side in the town of Mayport.
The trip was going really well until we reached the ferry port and read the sign to say it was closed due to renovations, there would be no ferry today! Our only option was an hour's detour, we went inland until we reached the interstate, went down the interstate a few stops and then headed back towards the coast until we reached the A1A again.
Sadly there are no photos of this experience, I was driving and Lee had his nose in the map trying to work out what to do.
Once back on the A1A, we decided we needed to stop and get some sand between our toes. We found a carpark at Vilano Beach, the whole area felt like a cheesy 80's holiday destination with the art deco buildings and tourist shops but as it was off season, everything was closed... apart from the beach which we only had to share with the seagulls.
The houses backing onto the beach looked stunning, what a location to live in although it did look like some of the houses were getting a little close to the edge of the sand dunes and needed to be pushed back!
We left the beach and were just 10 minutes away from St Augustine. If you are staying in St Augustine, this is definitely a day trip you need to make, more so in the off season when the holiday makers have gone home and you can just enjoy walking along the beach with no one around.
By the time we got to Savannah, GA, it was dark. It took us a couple of circuits of the small, steep cobbled streets down by the waterfront - guided by the hotel over the phone - to find our accommodation for the next couple of nights, The Olde Harbour Inn (note the correct spelling of Harbour!)
The hotel was a real gem! It had a lot of charm and, as you will see from the video, the room was huge and well-appointed. A complimentary bottle of bubbles was waiting on ice in our room, but we were just in time for the free wine and cheese evening in the reception, so after dumping our bags we headed there to have a chat with the staff and other guests.
Refuelled, we headed down the steps and found ourselves right on River Street, lined with bars and restaurants and bustling with people. We couldn't have chosen a better place to stay. We found a bar for some food and a nightcap before turning in for the night.
The next day, we did the standard tourist thing and got a ticket for the all-day hop-on-hop-off Trolley Tour. In all honesty this is a great way to get your bearings and cover a lot of ground in a short space of time - either jumping off or making a note of things you wanted to explore more of later.
As ever, the driver was both fun and informative. She had an awesome Southern accent which was great to listen to, even if we couldn't make out 100% of what she was telling us! We learnt a lot of local history and anecdotes, but it was soon time to jump off and start exploring on foot.
Savannah is famous for its parks - and the mansions that surround them - and the largest and most popular was our first stop. Forsyth Park's centrepiece is an impressive fountain and it was very peaceful wandering around this 10-acre park.
Savannah is also known for its Spanish Moss. This is a plant that grows on large trees such as the Southern Live Oak and is immediately recognisable by the way it drapes down from its host tree. I remember seeing this when we were in Florida all the way back in June, but it seemed to be everywhere here in Georgia. I'm not sure why, but I became kind of obsessed with Spanish Moss, to the point at which I was saying to Sam, "Ooh, look at the Spanish Moss on that tree!" every few minutes. I soon realised I was trying her patience, so scaled my obsession back to only a few observations every half hour.
We did some daytime exploring of River Street's cobblestone streets and overhead walkways as we weaved through historic buildings, housing, shops and restaurants. We also took a look at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, taking the title of the most impressive building in all of Savannah.
In search for non-alcoholic refreshment, we headed for Leopold’s. This ice cream shop has stayed the same since 1919, when it was opened by Hollywood producer Stratton Leopold. Ice cream is made on site with awesome ingredients and using old recipes that have been handed down through the generations.
Savannah felt really safe to walk around. To be fair, there were lots of tourists around by both day and night, and we didn't venture that far from the area around the hotel. Having said that, it still felt one of the safer places we've had the pleasure to visit on our Road Trip.
That evening we headed for a quick drink at The Rail Pub. After playing a few tunes on the jukebox, we noticed another couple playing some very similar kind of music - mostly early electronic and Indie British bands like Depeche Mode and The Smiths. It wasn't long before we struck up a conversation with Bethany and Blake, and our quick drink soon turned into quite a few more!
Not surprisingly for a road trip, our rental car - Fin - was at the centre of most of what we did. Not only was he transport, he was also a massive suitcase on wheels, a familiar sight in unfamiliar surroundings, and at times a safe haven from insects, wildlife and extreme weather.
You may have noticed how full we had crammed Fin in the background of some of our videos, but to give you the full picture, here is Sam giving you the complete tour...
Our (ok, my) emotional attachment to this car was very, very real and when it was time to hand back the keys, I was genuinely upset and shed a tear or two. Silly, maybe, but after you've relied on a car to take you 26,000 miles across 48 states without letting you down once, it becomes part of the team. This road trip was definitely a team effort of three: Sam, Lee and Fin.
Footnote:
On our return to the UK, it was time for Sam to choose a new lease car for work. Once we realised that the Ford Edge was starting to become available back over here, it was a no-brainer. So now, Fin's UK cousin - Guy - can be seen on the roads of Hampshire and Wiltshire as a little homage to our great American adventure and in particular, our trusty rental car.
