A SPRING ROAD TRIP THROUGH THE SOUTHEAST

This trip was our third almost-annual car-camping adventure along the coast, and it was an amazing time – filled with the bright lights of Nashville and charming streets of Charleston, the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains and unbeatable Emerald Coast beaches, the swampy forests of Congaree and the stunning, storied Cumberland Island.

We added one national park, one national seashore, two states, two state capitols and three state high points to our tally. But even better than those “accomplishments” were the experiences — and of course plenty of pictures to share!

day 1 • 04.09.26

From Missouri to Music City

It had been almost five years since our last trip to Nashville, and even though this was only an overnight stop, it was exciting to see it again and to experience the bright lights and bustle of Broadway after the sun had set. We also fulfilled a travel tradition of eating at Shake Shack – this one right across the street from Ryman Auditorium, which somehow made even a fast food spot feel a little iconic.

day 2 • 04.10.26

From city streets to a mountain sunset

Leaving Nashville, we crossed from Tennessee into the Carolinas — and I’d honestly underestimated how much I’d enjoy these views! They’d been a bit of an afterthought since the day’s main objective was just to do a lot of driving, but planning stops at Sassafras Mountain (South Carolina’s high point) and the nearby Caesar’s Head Overlook took us on a more picturesque route than the default. And while this slowed our travel on a day we were already losing an hour to Eastern time, it also landed us in the most scenic spot right at golden hour — so here’s to sometimes picking the impractical.

day 3 • 04.11.26

Congaree National Park + Cypress Gardens

This South Carolina national park was 42 of 63 for us, marking the two-thirds point in our quest to visit them all. Congaree protects one of the largest intact old-growth bottomland hardwood forests remaining in the United States and is known for its towering trees, rich biodiversity, quiet boardwalk trails and floodplain ecosystem.

Also on this day, we went to Cypress Gardens. It offers a more curated, storybook-style Southern landscape compared to Congaree’s wilder feel. With its cypress trees rising from a dreamy blackwater swamp, it has an undeniably cinematic ambience — not to mention a claim to fame for being the filming location for the rowboat scene in “The Notebook.”

Before heading to our hotel for the night, we made a stop at Costco. Other than the palm trees and Spanish moss in the parking lot, this felt like a strangely abrupt return home after having been in unfamiliar landscapes all day!

day 4 • 04.12.26

Charleston + Fort Sumpter

Our Sunday spent in Charleston, summed up: Church bells ringing, congregations singing, cobblestone streets and pastels so sweet. And in the harbor, a sailboat race with a great blue heron standing at rapt attention.

We also went to Fort Sumpter on what happened to be the 165th anniversary of the date the fort was attacked and the Civil War began — making this an especially significant time to visit! At the fort, Seth helped take the flag down, since our tour was the last of the day. The one flown there is the 1861 version, with 33 stars.

Bonus sights included a cargo ship up close on our ferry ride to the fort and dolphins in the distance on our return trip. All in all, a day filled with charm, history and everything I’d always imagined Charleston to be.

day 5 • 04.13.26

Angel Oak + journeying to Georgia

We stopped on our way out of Charleston to see Angel Oak – one of the most iconic and awe-inspiring trees in the South, estimated to be about 500 years old. Its canopy stretches almost 200 feet across, and standing under it is something of a cathedral-like experience.

We also made a stop in Savannah. This was our first-ever destination in Georgia and didn’t disappoint! We visited Chippewa Square, where the bus stop scenes in “Forrest Gump” were filmed, and then went to the original Leopold’s Ice Cream – which proved its fame with a line out the door even mid-afternoon on a Monday. The scoop of lavender and scoop of lemon we ordered were delicious and convinced us Leopold’s is worthy of all the accolades it receives.

day 6 • 04.14.26

Cumberland Island National Seashore

An image on Instagram of a wild horse standing beside the sea put Cumberland Island on my radar – and pretty immediately on my bucket list. It took a couple of years to cross off but was worth the wait, just as dreamy in reality as online.

In addition to wild horses, this island that sits a 45-minute ferry ride off the Georgia coast is home to the Dungeness Ruins – the remains of a grand mansion built by the Carnegie family in the late 1800s. It also has one of the most pristine beaches I’ve seen, which we happened to visit right at low tide. We found some amazing shells, and I was prepared to be content with that rather than hoping too hard for a horse, since they mainly remain inland.

But just as we were about to leave the beach to hike back to the ferry dock, Seth noticed a tiny figure in the distance. A look through a long lens revealed it was in fact a horse, strolling toward us and seemingly enjoying the sea breeze. To say it made my day to see a wild horse alongside the ocean would be an understatement – and I’m so glad this one created the Cumberland Island experience I’d imagined for so long.

day 7 • 04.15.26

Florida landmarks + a favorite landscape

We started this day with a visit to the Florida capitol in Tallahassee and then made our way to the state high point – which at an elevation of just 345 feet holds the designation of being the lowest of all 50 high points!

From that great height, we descended to sea level at one of our top spots, Gulf Islands National Seashore. We don’t have many places this far from home that we visit with much frequency, but it’s really nice to return to this one and have it feel familiar.

 

day 8 • 04.16.26

Just another day in paradise

In this car-camping stint of the trip, we awoke to blue skies and sun shining through the glass roof of our Tesla. And after having kept a pretty packed schedule our first week traveling, we had nothing on the itinerary this day but the beach. 

Back in the car that evening, we checked out a camper a little larger than ours on YouTube and then ended the night with “The Notebook” – which felt like mandatory viewing after our visit to Cypress Gardens five days earlier.

day 9 • 04.17.26

The fort + the final day

I know it sounds strange to say visiting a Civil War fort is like seeing an old friend – but given that this one is the centerpiece and namesake of an area that’s near and dear to us, it also sort of makes sense!

After stopping by to see the fort, we spent the next several hours soaking up every bit of beach experience on this final day for it. The sea was perfect for swimming, and leaving shortly before sunset was more bitter than sweet.

Fortunately, we did have another must-see movie to fit in this trip – “Forrest Gump.” So the fun wasn’t quite over even after Seth had to coax me away from the ocean!

 

day 10 • 04.18.26

Starting home + two more sights

This day took us from the sun and heat we’d come to consider standard to a much cooler, rainier climate as we made our way back toward Missouri. But the long stretch of driving did come with two notable stops – one at the Alabama capitol and one at Woodall Mountain, the highest point in Mississippi. Both were great sights to see and allowed us to make more of our return trip than simply crossing off miles.  

day 11 • 04.19.26

the final stretch

Finally, we packed up one last time and had our final day of road trip snacks and charging stops. The first order of business after unloading at home was taking our trusty Tesla to the car wash – getting rid of the grime that told some of the story of this trip but holding on to more desirable souvenirs and, of course, to memories.