SMS had an unexpected week off this July and, when asked what he wanted to do with the vacation time, he said “A Southern Road Trip.” Now, when I told my colleague this plan, he said, “Why would you want to take a trip South of Hell? It’s July in the South!” I took both of these thoughts into consideration, decided that AC was an amazing invention and started planning.
Several elements worked their way into the planning, ultimately deciding our itinerary. First, there is an accent map overlaid on an USA map. We decided to cover a large part of the “Deep Drawl, Low Country- Strong” swath. Second, SMS really wanted to see the Mississippi River. Now this was almost an overlooked item as I didn’t pick up on how much he wanted to go and I was hesitant to add in that much more driving. But as plans were finalized, I realized how much he wanted to go so Vicksburg made the cut after a little shuffling around of the itinerary. Third, there is a great three day road trip article in Bon Appétit highlighting the Florida panhandle so I copied a lot of that plan since it sounded delightful. It also results in the added bonus of being able to see friends from San Diego. Finally, I thought ending in Savannah or Charleston would be nice since they are both such trendy cities to visit. Ultimately, Charleston was cut to save time but I’ve been before. I will definitely be back but this trip is already an overstuffed BBQ sandwich (hmmm, what’s on my mind?).
Portmanteau Suitcase 