1354. Southeast America Road Trip: An Epic 8-Week Adventure *Travel Diaries

Hey fellow travelers! Excited to share our recent Southeast America road trip experience. Here’s a breakdown of our journey, creating memories that felt like they spanned a year! 

Our hearts go out to the people affected by Helene. We planned to go through the Smokey Mountains to Shenandoah via Route 441 and the Blue Ridge Parkway, which these areas got hit pretty hard. We are safe and grateful for that. There’s always going to be more to see.

Trip Overview

• Duration: 8 weeks 

• Route: Philadelphia to Florida along the coast, then back up through the mountains
• Booking Tip: Reserve popular spots in advanced 

Itinerary Highlights and Places stopped along the way 

First Landing State Park – Virginia Beach, Virginia

• American Brew – LOVE THIS PLACE 
• Sealevel Vegan 

Huntington Beach State Park – Murrells Inlet, South Carolina ⭐️

• Our favorite beach spot – pristine and beautiful!
• Beech cafe 
• Hungry vegan 

Anastasia State Park – St. Augustine, Florida

• Copperline coffee 
• Farmers market 

Largo, Florida – airbnb. So much to do. 

• Whiskey Joe’s and the causeway 
• Clearwater aquarium 
• Taco bus 
• Tommy’s wood fired pizza 
• Gulfport brewery 
• Lowry park zoo 
• The Bricks 
• Dunedin mix 
• Crown and bull 
• The living room on main

St. Andrews State Park – Panama City Beach, Florida

• The press 
• Cava (our first time and first chain along the the trip besides Love’s) 
• Pier Park 
• Finns island style grub and snack shack

Chewacla State Park – Auburn, Alabama

• Thai house of Dothan 
• One Bike Coffee 
• Civil rights memorial 

Oak Mountain State Park – Pelham, Alabama

• Kings chair sunrise hike 
• Treetop nature trail 
• East 59 cafe 

Cloudland Canyon State Park – Rising Fawn, Georgia

• Yellow rim trail is SO worth hitting, although the overlook really is the best view 

Chattanooga, Tennessee – hotel

so much to do. Such a dope little city 

• River walk
• Art exhibits
• Mountains
• Ironman Chattanooga 
• Chattanooga Whiskey 
• Chalk Ally 
• Stone Cup 

Shenandoah: Loft Mountain – Lyndhurst, Virginia ⭐️

• Our favorite mountain spot 
• Skyline drive 
• Application trail 
• Riprap trail

Philly

• Order & chaos coffee 
• Hainesport 12 hour race (and 100 miler support)
• Explored the area with some things we’ve never done before
  • Liberty park 
  • Besty Ross 
  • Elfreth’s alley 
  • Spruce street spots 

Loose ends around the house

• Yard work
• Shed rebuild 
• Dryer vent cleaning 
• Painting
• Decluttering and vibing
• Finished closing out the year and planning for next year 

Successes, Challenges, and Improvements

Successes

• Exploring local cafes
• Collecting stickers and long sleeves
• Well-planned itinerary. Balanced exploration with rest days to avoid travel burnout
• Handled things well when they came up (Hurricane Helene, Roanoke, St. Andrew’s, Black Water)
• State parks where a hit
• Felt like the trip lasted longer than a month, yet we felt rejuvenated. Really took in all the experiences
• Car setup was simple and highly effective: Efficient organization with separate bags. 
• Useful gear:
  • Headlamps and 360° lights
  • Carabiners
  • Rtic Cooler
  • Microfiber rags and quick dry shower towel
  • Multiple individual hand sanitizers vs one big one 
  • Incense sticks was a vibe and decent bug repellent 
  • Baking soda to curb the smell of running shoes 
  • Umbrellas (2) that we used for back doors and rain

• Handwashing everyday stuff and getting laundry done about once per week.
• Baby wipe showers when necessary
• Managed finances throughout the trip

Challenges and Improvements 

• Uncomfortable stay (few hours) at Days Inn Roanoke – READ REVIEWS BEFORE BOOKING
• Bugs and heat in certain locations: get better bug kit (mini tiki torch, citronella candle, more incense sticks, bug net for face)
• Disruptive neighbors at Anastasia State Park – could have requested to move
• cargo box to free up space in the front seat and keep the car in “go mode” for easier departures, although it only took about 5 minutes to set up sleep mode and break down to drive mode 

• New 10×10 straight-leg canopy with sun shades (2) [replacing broken one]
• Consider something like a REI trail break tarp for more real estate in the sun and rain
• Camping Gear

• Better hatchet or saw
• Outdoor string lights
• Extension cord at state parks would be nice to have
• Foldable Camping table
• Cooler ice bags
• Smaller Camping pot
• Bring Pocket rocket / Longboard

• Keep daily temperature ranges in mind
• Try to Limit drive time to 4.5 hours per day (1.5 hrs driving + 0.5 hr break = 6 hr day)
• Although we only brought one bag, we can still bring less personal items: shirts, shoes, books (classics). Consider adding some sort of rain boots
• Buy necessary items on the road instead of overpacking
• Reconsider mixing family trips with future road trips

Final Thoughts

This 8-week journey took a lot of planning, but was incredibly rich and rewarding. Despite some curveballs, this road trip really was a massive success with tons of positive experiences. Flexibility was key – be ready to adapt your plans! Sometimes a shorter, well-planned trip can be more fulfilling than a longer one. This time taught us that it’s not always about the length of the trip, but the quality of the experiences and memories you create along the way.

Happy travels, and may your next road trip be as fulfilling as ours!