Let me tell you about one of my greatest travel adventures - a long road trip (3795 miles) all the way from New York City to Miami during the winter holidays - by myself!
The Plan
To cover all the eastern coastal states south of New York over 9 days starting Dec 24. This was going to be a packed trip, and crossed multiple cultural influences and weather patterns.
Day 1
Delaware and Assateague National Park - this is one of the only national parks where one can find wild horses! Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any due to the cold weather. I did hike the marsh trails and the sand trails and crossed one of the longest bridges in the US (Chesapeake Bay Bridge).
Day 2
Christmas shuts down everything. So I did all outdoorsy things -
- Duck town board walk
- Wright Brothers Memorial
- Jockeys ridge state park (lighthouse)
- Jennette’s Pier
Day 3
Christmas made me shuffle my plans. I had to visit Airlie Gardens on Christmas, so I moved it to Day 3. The willows look beautiful! Continued to travel south and ended on another light house to see the Sunset near a lighthouse. I spotted a beautiful rainbow over the lighthouse! Finally, I stopped over at Jacksonville after having some good sushi near Friendship Fountain.
Day 4
Went to visit Kennedy Space Center on Day 4. The museums are very informative and the model replicas look realistic. The best part was to look up close at Apollo 11. In the evening, I drove to Miami and saw some murals in the evening. These artists need more love. <3
Day 5
I visited a couple of Miami Beaches. Then spent some time with Jon Koehmstedt who happened to be in Florida! We Kayaked in rough waters in search for Manatees and Dolphins! Didn’t find any, oh well!
Check out the snaps!
Day 6
I visited three sisters springs, a sinkhole (Devil’s Millhopper) and made a new friend at Atlanta! :)
Day 7
Hiked Raven Cliff Falls, South Carolina. The shaded hikes are a lot different than the drier hikes on the west coast. Then, I drove the scenic Blueridge Parkway. The parkway host a lot of great views of the mountain ranges.
Day 8
Surbhi joined me on my last leg of the trip. It was chilly af in DC! Went to national mall, White House (goodbye Obama), had some of the best Ethiopian food and celebrated the first night event in the small town of Alexandria, VA. Happy new year!
Day 9
The trip just came to an end with a stop at the city of brotherly love, Philly - visited the usual historic downtown tourist attractions. Yes, I did eat the best vegan Philly Cheesesteak. <3
I wouldn’t mind doing this trip again! :)
