Moonshine in Tennessee, Parking in Charleston, and a Last-Minute-All-Night Drive

We said goodbye to Tennessee today, but not before we tasted some moonshine. We had to! Ron found two great distilleries to try. The tastings were so much fun, and I’m glad we planned the stops. There were so many great flavours to try and we are coming home with bottles of moonshine to share with our little Patricia Court family (our neighbours). 

Today’s journey took us through five states: Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. That is a lot, yes.  We had originally planned a 7 hour drive and a night of camping in Georgia. That changed once we found out that NASA was having a rocket launch the following day.  If we pushed it we could make it to watch our first rocket launch.  That idea sounded exciting, so we decided to go for it.  

As we headed south the temperatures got warmer and the air more sticky. I also noticed that the forests were changing.  We were seeing a lot more swamps.  It’s exciting to see the scenery change because it means we are experiencing new territory along our adventure. The type of wildlife we can expect to see has changed too. For example, we saw panther signs in Florida. That was pretty exciting for the kids. I’ve also been noticing all the different birds that greet us each morning along this trip. I enjoy all the different calls, and the birder in me is always excited to check off another bird off my list. 

We broke up our drive with a stop for dinner in Charleston, SC. We brought our truck and RV through the streets and thankfully found parking. It was a bit tricky since someone swung the RV in very close to a tree. I won’t mention any names but there has only been one driver this entire trip, lol. We were “that RV couple” today as much as I hate to admit it.  I was saying “whoa” and “stop” and Ron was saying “What do you want me to do? I can’t go anywhere.”  Oh geez!! 

The walk to the restaurant was quiet for a little bit, but I am happy to report that our marriage survived this parking experience. Considering all the time we have been spending together and all the parking jobs we have had to navigate, one frustrating moment now and then isn’t too bad. And the stop was worth it. We had a delicious meal at Poogan’s Porch restaurant located right in charming downtown Charleston.

We were back to our epic drive after dinner and soon the kids were asleep.  It was dark by now, so sleep was easy for them. Ron and I called my sister, Farrah, and her husband, Cliff, to chat with them from the road. They got married while we were in the Great Smoky Mountains. We were sad to miss this special day; however, with Covid we would not be able to attend even if we’d been home. The borders are still closed and they live in northern BC. We had a lovely chat while we drove in the dark and it helped energize us for the 5 hours we still had ahead.

Ron played a Clive Cussler audiobook for us to listen to and then later we watched one of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. The kids and I traded off sleeping and staying awake to keep Ron company.  Five red bulls later we pulled into a rest stop close to Space View Park where we were going to watch the rocket launch. It was 5am at this point and we were all excited to get some sleep. We set the alarm 7am to make the 7:29 am launch. Ron is a champ for driving so long today.

Good morning from Florida!