live TR - a southern road trip and a bit of Disney at the end :)

[karentan]

Hi everyone a big hello from Titusville!
I'm back in the states, so am live TR-ing again this time it's a 14 night southern road trip with a few days at Disney sneakily stuck in at the end.
The plan is one night here in titusville (Only really chosen as a starting point so we don't have to try and get out of Orlando tomorrow morning, and it means we're close to the interstate), one night at the DVC resort at Hilton Head Island in South Carolina, one night in Atlanta, 2 nights in nashville, 2 nights in memphis, 2 nights in new orleans, then a crazy rush back to Orlando for the last 4 nights.
Somewhere in the middle of all that I'm fitting in: beluga whale experience at the Georgia Aquarium, a show at the Grand Ol Opry, Graceland, a cruise down the missippee on a paddle steamer, discovery cove, and some more volunteering at Give Kids The World.
Gonna be a hectic couple of weeks but awesome too

As with previous TRs I've done, if anyone's got any comments or questions feel free to ask, I'll try and update once a day

 

[karentan]

Today has been a loooooong day, we stayed at Gatwick travelodge last night. I was already kinda sleep deprived because I'd worked a 16 hour day Friday, got barely any sleep, then packed, spent the evening with the BF, again didn't sleep well Saturday night, then had to contend with the hardest lumpiest bed ever created at the travelodge
ended up waking up at 5am Monday morning so lazed around the hotel til about half seven then headed to tesco for brekkie and to get some snacks for the plane.
check in was relatively uneventful, so spent the time before the flight in the wetherspoons in the north terminal.
The flight ended up taking off late because they were waiting on a few passengers coming in on a flight from Glasgow but we were on our way eventually without too much of a delay
the flight itself wasnt particularly enjoyable though, they had the aircon on full blast the whole way so it was freezing and the IFE kept breaking. Glad I had my phone full of things to watch!

Once we landed we managed to get through immigration and customs in less than an hour, picked up our massive mini van (how you can call something that size "mini" is beyond me!), then headed out.
We're staying at Titusville tonight at the Fairfield inn, the room is lovely and it's huge too. Had dinner at cracker barrel, I've never eaten here before and was pleasantly impressed, it's nothing spectacular but its tasty homely food and helps that it's across the car park from the hotel

The plan for tomorrow is grab brekkie at the hotel, pop to walmart for a few supplies then head off up the coast to south carolina. Staying at the dvc resort at hilton head island, really looking forward to seeing what the dvc resorts are like when there's not a theme park next to it

 

[wilma-bride]

Looking forward to hearing all about your trip Karen

 

[karentan]

Well today's been a bit of a strange day.
started off badly when I woke up at 4.30am and couldn't get back to sleep, but that's as much down to the insomnia ive been suffering from recently than it is jetlag Yay for 3's feel at home plan though as it means I've got full use of my UK plan allowances over here at no extra cost
We went down to the hotel buffet for brekkie (thumbs up for the make your own waffle station!), then headed over to Walmart to grab some drinks and some munchies for the supplies.
We hit the road about 8.15 and headed north on the i95. The drive up to Hilton Head SC took about 5 and a bit hours, so we eventually got there about 2pm ish. The DVC resort here let us check in early so we got a nice room in the building next to the lobby and have a bit of a water view from our balcony.
now I'll admit to not knowing much about HH apart from its a beach resort, and that there's a DVC resort here. it's somewhere I'm glad I've been to once cos I've been wanting to see what its like here for a few years now, but to be honest I won't be back. The resort itself is lovely, set on a small island off the main HH island. As with all Disney resorts the service is impeccable and I'll admit to getting a tad excited to see they still give ACTUAL key to the world cards
But here's where the place gets weird. Apparently there's about 250 restaurants on HH and there's the usual shops around, but everywhere looks the same and is set back off the main road with very little signage, so if you don't know where you're going, by the time you've seen somewhere you wanna stop at, you've already driven past it. There is also a lack of things to do here. I know it's a beach resort, but there's hotels and restaurants and a few shops. Thats it..... unless you know where things are, which we don't, if you stick to the main road that runs through the centre of the island, you won't find anything to do.

Anyhoo, back to the TR:
We checked in then headed out to the resort's beach house. This is a fair distance from the resort itself, but as the resort isn't actually on the beach it's a nice touch. There's a pool there, activity room and shower and restrooms, and the resort runs a shuttle between the hotel and the beach house.
From the clubhouse it's only a short walk over a walkway and the dunes and you're onto a gorgeous stretch of beach and the Atlantic ocean
we had a walk along the beach (which wasn't as crowded as I thought it'd be on such a warm day and in the middle of spring break) then headed back to the car.
We took a drive through the island trying to find something that resembled a "centre" of the island, but gave up after about an hour of driving around aimlessly
after calling it quits we ended up back at the resort, had a wander around and up to the main pool area (this is where the shop and community hall is) then decided to head back to the reception building and played some pool.
We were due to go out to a bbq restaurant for dinner but none of us were hungry enough so we ended up on a last minute run to publix and got a ready meal for dinner

All in all its been a kinda wasted day, we haven't actually achieved anything and as pretty as this place is, I'm not really a sit on a beach all day kinda person so it doesn't really suit me. I mean I'm glad I've been but won't be rushing back. But it is good to be back staying on a Disney property

Tomorrow is an earlyish start and the long drive to Atlanta

 

[karentan]

Today's been another long one, we woke up early and had a quick brekkie in the hotel then were out and on the road by 7.15. The drive to Atlanta took about 5 hours so we got there about midday ish.
it was too early to check in to the hotel so we stopped at a mall just north of the city for some lunch and for a wander round the shops.
We didn't really have much idea of what's in atlanta so decided to head in to the city anyway, we found the hotel and were allowed to check in almost two hours early so that was a result
we went for a walk around the downtown area of the city and ended up in the Centennial Olympic Park, had a walk round the coca cola shop (didn't wanna pay best part of $50 to go in), then walked back through the town, and went to Underground Atlanta, which is a strange group of shops and fast food places under the street level.
Grabbed some takeout for dinner and having a quiet early night in at the hotel.

Tomorrow ive got the beluga whale encounter booked at Georgia aquarium then we're off to nashville

 

[TotallyAngelic]

Looking forward to reading about your adventures ... how are you finding the driving and the roads over there. I have only ever driven in Florida and I would love to do a road trip but the idea of those massive roads is just a bit scary.
Anyway, it all sounds really exciting.

 

[karentan]

Hi Sarah, roads are fine over here. Done a lot of interstate driving and a lot of it, esp in georgia and SC was 2 lanes. Roads here in Nashville suck, not so much for driving but just the condition of the actual roads themselves.
We've got a sat nav so that's definitely helping with knowing where we're going!

 

[karentan]

Yesterday:
We had brekkie at the hotel then headed out to Georgia aquarium. I'd booked the beluga experience at the aquarium (i'd originally wanted to do the whale shark dive but it wasn't offered on the day I could do it on, so ended up with the beluga one instead).
After checking in with the aquarium volunteers outside, we were taken to the experiences desk inside. GA is the only place in the states (and I believe only one of two places in the world) that have whale sharks on display, I was checking in at the desk when I caught a first glimpse of them. they are amazing to watch and absolutely huge, despite the fact that the ones GA have are only juveniles and such aren't fully grown.
Once the rest of the group turned up we were taken to the coldwater quest section of the aquarium where we were taken "backstage". After a quick briefing and after changing into our wetsuits, we were taken up through the exhibit and up onto the beluga pools. One of the whales is pregnant at the moment so is separated from the other two while the experiences happen, she's due in the next few weeks and the trainer told us she is 8.5ft around at the moment
We got into the water (COOOLD!!!) then got to stroke, hug, feed and kiss the whales. After we'd finished with the whales we met one of the seals there (who coincidentally was called cerberus, anyone on here who knows me knows that my dog is called that so it was a funny coincidence)
we got a souvenir photo and a towel, and were let out into the aquarium after the experience finished. I managed to catch the last 2/3s of the dolphin show then wandered round the rest of the exhibits before getting to see the whale sharks properly before leaving.
After we left we headed on the road and drove to tennessee. As a state TN is so much prettier to drive through than georgia, it's full of rolling countryside and quaint little farms. After a few hours we got to our hotel in nashville we got some proper southern BBQ (I had the ribs, mmmm) then headed into downtown Nashville. After a lot of driving around trying to find somewhere to park (there's a huge basketball tournament on this week, so parking is $30!!!!) we finally found somewhere and had a walk round Broadway. It's mainly bars with a few shops dotted between but it's all lit up and neon so it's a pretty sight to see. We called it a night after that and headed back to the hotel

 

[karentan]

Today we woke up early again so grabbed brekkie at the hotel before trying to decide what to do for the morning. We ended up taking the short drive south to Franklin, which is a quaint little town full of little boutiquey shops. We had a wander round there for a bit then headed to Walmart to pick up some stuff I had to buy for friends.
After that we headed over to Opryland which is the home to the Opry Mills mall, the Gaylord Opryland hotel and the Grand Ole Opry.
We had a look round the mall and grabbed some lunch, then went for a look round the hotel. This place is insane. It's a 2880 room hotel and you walk into the lobby to find a huge waterfall in the atrium, only then did we find out that that was the small part and that the big atrium was further in. This place has a 3/4 mile river running through it with a boat ride you can take, a load of shops and 14 restaurants!
After looking through there we headed over to the Grand Ole Opry, as we had tickets to the show tonight.
Im not a huge country and western fan but I grew up with all that kind of music because dad listened to it in the car when I was a kid, but still found the show fun and entertaining. It was a good mix of music and had 12 acts playing tonight. Now back at the hotel dinner less cos none of the places near the hotel are still open so about to munch on some pop tarts

tomorrow we're off to elvis country, memphis

 

[janeyb]

Oh, I'm loving your trip report, thank you for taking the time to write it. It's bringing back so many happy memories for me. I went to school in Clarksville. TN and many a happy weekend was spend in Nashville. I had my high school prom at the Opryland Hotel and The Grand Ole Opry Christmas show was an annual event and fantastic. The hotel is so pretty done up for Christmas. I loved Memphis also, do you have a visit to Beale Street planned one evening? Definitely worth it. Also take a peek in The Peabody to see the Peabody Ducks waddling around the lobby if y get the chance. Have a wonderful trip. I'm so looking forward to taking my girls back when they're a little older to show them a little more than Orlando and where I spent such a happy period of my life. You can't beat the Southern hospitality.

 

[karentan]

Thanks for the kind words janey, it's lovely round here, I'm really enjoying seeing more of the states and the scenery is lovely in tennessee

 

[karentan]

Yesterday we headed out after brekkie and took the 3 and a half hour drive to memphis. It was a relatively easy drive but tennessee really needs to sort out their roads, the potholes on the interstates are horrific! Surprised we didn't damage the car going over a few of them...

One we got to memphis we managed to check straight into the hotel, our room had a great view of the Mississippi. We took a walk down to Beale street and one we got there we realised it was the St Patrick's Day celebrations and they had a parade at 3pm. We passed a bit of time checking out some of the shops then stopped to watch the parade. all the floats and cars were throwing out mardi gras beads and i ended up with quite a collection of them
we headed back to the hotel after that then ended up driving over the bridge that goes into arkansas for dinner.

 

[karentan]

Today we checked out of that hotel, then went back into arkansas for a drive round to pass some time. We are staying at a hotel next to graceland tonight so we headed over here and managed to get checked in about 11.30 ish. I did some laundry then we headed over to Graceland, our tour was booked for 1.45 so we picked up our tickets then went for a wander round the exhibits before our actual tour time.
It was pretty cool seeing where Elvis lived (I'm not really an elvis fan but you can't come all this way and not go!) but in my opinion, seeing the house is proof to me that money can't buy taste! The house looks lovely, but inside it's really gaudy! Was impressive to see though and I took loads of photos, the house isn't as big as I thought it'd be though. Did the touristy thing though and took my photo stood in front of the gates though
dinner tonight was at a bbq place down the road, it's been on diners drive ins and dives, and was really good

Tomorrow is the 6 hour drive to new orleans.....

 

[stephensmum]

Hi Karen. Arriving late to your trippie, enjoying it though, so interesting reading about a Florida trip with a difference.
How many of you are travelling, just wondered because of the minibus? Are you driving it?
How's the new job going?

 

[Nubbedy]

Fascinating trip so far Karen and you have managed to fit so much in. I know you're not a huge fan but I would love to go to Graceland

 

[karentan]

Thanks for the kind words guys

there's 3 of us but we got a big car so the person in the back wouldn't get stuck with being cramped in with extra cases. We've got a 7 seater, the trunk and the back row have the cases in, leaves the person in the back with the rest of the row to stretch out

 

[karentan]

Today we got up and out early then hit the road just after 8. We stopped for some lunch on the way and ended up getting to new orleans just before 3. We were able to get checked in early (although we had a bit of an issue because you have to check in before you can park. But there's no where to park so someone has to sit in the car while the other person runs in and checks in).
The hotel is lovely, we're staying in the Wyndham garden in Baronne street, and the French quarter is less than 10 mins walk away
We took a walk into the french quarter and down Bourbon street. I'd been told of a good place to get beignets so we stumbled across that on our way down bourbon street. We stopped there for beignets (tip, don't wear black trousers, that powdered sugar goes EVERYWHERE!!) and had a drink while listening to the jazz band that was playing. I'd been warned that bourbon was very tacky and oh yeah it is. It's the main street with all the bars and souvenir shops on, I'm not sure if it's always like that but it smelt of sewage too, was really gross. halfway down we decided to turn off and see some of the other streets so ended up walking through the french quarter, down to the mississippi river, through the french market and back again.
We stopped for dinner at daisy dukes near the hotel and getting an early night as we woke up stupidly early this morning

 

[karentan]

We got up early ish this morning and headed out to IHOP for brekkie. if you sign up to their loyalty club you get vouchers for free pancakes I got the bananas foster french toast, it was soooooo good but it got a bit sickly towards the end. But I still ate it anyway
After that we took a stroll through the french quarter and up to Armstrong park, then wandered back down towards the river. We had tickets for the 11.30 sailing on the Natchez paddle boat so checked in to that and decided to wait in line despite being stupidly early. good thing we did because by the time they started actually loading the queue was massive... its a 2 hour cruise down/up the Mississippi river, it takes you down river past the lower 9th ward (where the levees broke during Katrina) and down to the docks then turns round and goes back up. There's a live jazz band playing and it's a very leisurely way of spending 2 hours
After that we had a wander through the outlet mall then I took a stroll up to the Lafayette district and through the warehouse district then back to the hotel.
We headed back to the French market area for dinner then back to the hotel via the french quarter.
Today is St paddys day, so we headed out about 7.20 ish to watch the parade, only to be kept being told by various cops different times as to when it would get to where we are... gave up after sitting there an hour and a half and after being told that it was still at least half hour away. Shame really cos it could have been fun but got a long drive tomorrow so called it a night.

Tomorrow the 9 and a half hour drive back to Orlando....

 

[karentan]

Not much to report today. The drive back to Orlando took 10 hours and seemed like an eternity.
Staying at the regal oak resort behind old town, have got a huge townhouse for the next 5 days and it's even got a Jacuzzi on the patio

We checked in then headed to golden corral for dinner, grabbed some supplies at publix, then I went for a walk round old town. The cars had gone but the band was still playing so I stayed and listened to that til they finished then wandered back to the resort.

Tomorrow is discovery cove and give kids the world in the evening

 

[stephensmum]

That's some drive but worth it. Excited to read about your return to give kids the world. Are you doing any of the Disney parks?