So that’s it, right? Finished the drive over to New York. Enjoyed visiting family in between Seattle and Albany (some for a second time). Picked up the car. We’re done, right? I guess we should just go home from there.
But we didn’t.
Stopped to see friends in Baltimore. Stayed in North Carolina. Thawed out in Jacksonville. Since we had gone so far, we might as well finish the drive down to Miami, right? Maybe even chase a sunset to the Keys!
So we did that too.
Stayed over in the Orlando area, and enjoyed family there. Since this has been quite the adventure, we thought it might be wise to have a vacation from the adventure before we headed back to work.
Cedar Key was recommended as our layover spot, and it was perfect! We stayed at the beautiful Cedar Key Bed and Breakfast. Rode around on a tandem bicycle. Just had a good, restful night.
Our drive was going to take us right by Adrian’s dad’s house. So we decided to stay one night there. On the way there we passed a guy pushing a giant globe! So we had to ask him what he was doing! (www.worldguy.org)
Got to Baker, had a great time. Told them about our adventure.
Then we locked keys in car.
Again.
A friend drove up to unlock our car. There was just one problem – we couldn’t find the keys. So we were stranded in Baker, but at least we had good company. It took us three days, but we finally found the keys we drove home.
Home is where ever I am with you.
This short video only has clips from some of the trip! Not even all of it. We took over 200 videos with almost 2 hours of short clips from around the country, picked some of our favorites and condensed those into 2.5 minutes.
Keep checking back to the blog! There are two more posts from the trip. There will be other videos to be posted from the trip as well!
Nov 17
This gallery contains 27 photos.
Chicken in the Car and the Car Won’t Go… What’s that? Chicago. Our time in Dayton, Ohio was finished, it was time to make our way up North to Chicago. The time we planned to spend there was going to be short, and we were way out of budget so we needed to be cheap. […]
The trip began before we were ready, and will probably end the same way. It’s amazing what you forget when you are in a hurry. We forgot the basics; shampoo, conditioner, and later we realize, our tent. So on our fifth trip to Walmart (different Walmarts, same day) we finally unroll out sleeping bag successfully on the fourth day.
The first two days we were met with unconditional generosity. Everything from a place to stay and shower to a home cooked meal and an on-loan inflatable queen mattress. (A luxury we were going to forgo because of cost.) After being on the receiving end of such generosity it really makes you feel the love the world has to offer, and we know it is only the beginning of such kindness.
Our first struggle, as I expected, was staying in our budget. In 4 days we’ve probably dropped $400. That’s a far cry from $22 a day. ($88 vs $400). So here we are on day four, early in our schedule, and we are stranding ourselves in the middle of the woods for the next 3 days to begin making up for our little spending spree.
The first 2 days eating out got us. A drink or two at a bar and a tip would blow the whole budget. The trolly your in St. Augustine was the days budget and yet we still kept eating out. Jacksonville and St. Augustine were our lesson. Wednesday morning we made our way to Savannah, and made up for our spending in St. Augustine. With a flash of our trolly tour boarding pass we found ourselves with a 2 for 1.
Savannah just wasn’t our cup of tea, or in this case our bottled brew. Beautiful area with a lot of history, but after you’ve snuck on the trolly tour (or paid $60) you really find yourself with a lack of things to do. Pay to take more in-depth tours or eat out at restaurants. Or go the poor college kid route, buy your drinks at a gas station and lay at the park listening to the street musicians. This was nice for a time, but it’s not what our trip is about. So we cut Savannah short and headed to Myrtle Beach, which later our stop changed into Francis Marion National Forest. We almost made it to our destination, but stop short at a 24hr Walmart super center and call it a night. Laid our sleeping bag on the chairs in the car and were out.
St. Augustine was too touristy for us. Savannah was too artsy. Honey Hill Campground, S.C. was just right. We did realize as we were setting up camp that we were lacking the basics, like a tent, so that was another unexpected cost. Then we purchased some food to get us through the week, and I needed a good pair of hiking boots. So camping this round has had some unexpected expenses that threw us for a loop, but they will balance out as we continue camping.
Camping at Honey Hill has been our favorite stop. Something about connecting with nature really makes you feel closer to God.
Ashlee Karin 