Solo Roadtrippin’…

I’ve taken many road trips: especially since COVID hit and flying anywhere was off the table. But, I haven’t taken a road trip—solo—since my college days. So, you can imagine my excitement when I was given the opportunity to travel to Savannah, Georgia to not only have some time to catch up with one of my favorite people, but also to house-sit in one of my favorite towns…by myself.

The call came a few weeks back: my best friend who is now in grad school at the prestigious SCAD (Savannah College of Art & Design) was going to be traveling to see family and needed someone to watch her house and her cats. I happily obliged and we set the date. I would spend the first day with her, sleep that first night at a B&B, and stay at her place for the next four days before heading back home.

I packed all of the things I needed for 5 days of doing nothing: a puzzle, books, iPad, tea, my cozy loungewear, my puffy coat and thermals—because it was going to get cold—and my favorite blanket. After brewing a giant mug of coffee, I drove out of St. Petersburg the morning after a chaotic Christmas Day and pulled into Savannah in just under 5 1/2 hours. Because I get severe motion sickness, I am almost always the driver on any road trip we take, so driving to Georgia was not anything new. I stuck with my usual system: coffee and Maroon 5–-years ago I discovered on a bleary-eyed drive home at midnight from North Carolina, that Maroon 5 is surprisingly invigorating.

Stephanie and I spent that first day catching up. As we dined alfresco at the corner of Habersham and E. Harris St, we took in the festive sights of Troup Square all the while enjoying chickpea stew and the ‘plant food picnic’ from Fox & Fig Café. More chatting ensued in the sitting area of the Parlor Room at my lodging for the night: Savannah Bed & Breakfast.

After a comfy night in a four-poster canopy bed, I awoke to the smell of bacon and a home-cooked breakfast. I spent that chilly day walking through Savannah’s squares garnering coffee and honey from Savannah Coffee Roasters and some much needed alone time. After a thirty minute wait to walk in the door, I spent far more than the recommended 15-minute allotted time at E. Shavers, Savannah’s specially curated bookstore—it’s one of my favorites, anywhere. I bought books, walked around more of the town, sipped tea from Yaupon Teahouse, viewed the churches through the trees, toured Colonial Park Cemetery and got one of Zunzi’s famous sandwiches. It was time to ‘check in’ to Stephanie’s place for the next three nights. The kitties were awaiting my arrival and we began by binge watching shows on Netflix. I forgot what it feels like to not have a huge list of things to do: it was exhilarating!

The next day was spent food shopping and just hunkering down for the day. I wrote, I read, I ate and I slept: it was reflective time that I really needed after the past nine months of being sequestered at home. I planned my next day: a day trip to Bluffton, South Carolina. When the Thai restaurant I was craving was closed for the holidays, I cooked up some sloppy homemade huevos rancheros complete with Stephanie’s homemade salsa. The cats and I finished off the day cozied up on the couch binge watching more of The Queen’s Gambit and just relaxing. 

Tuesday morning, I ate my breakfast, brewed my tea to go and started out for the next leg of my road trip. Bluffton had been on my list of “quaint small towns to explore” for the past year. It was the perfect spot to spend half a day. My first stop was the picturesque Wright Family Park perched atop the edge of town overlooking the May River bluff.  A pod of dolphins greeted me as I walked along the Calhoun Street Fishing Pier. I toured the grounds of the charming Church of the Cross, which has been around since 1854. Meandering toward the hub of Old Town, I patronized two Little Free Libraries and carried on in search of coffee and a snack. Corner Perk Café provided much needed caffeine and a slice of lemon blueberry bread.

Bluffton is an art-lovers paradise; the rest of my time there was spent popping in and out of galleries. Once I exited the last one, it was time to head back south—but not before lunch at Cahill’s. A veggie platter full of pickled beets, rutabaga, broccoli casserole and sweet potatoes was devoured in the parking lot—there was no way I was waiting until I got back to Savannah to eat. Fueled up for the ride, I stopped at the Bonaventure Cemetery for a quick visit to Gracie, Johnny Mercer and a few of the other famous residents. I had forgotten how large these resting grounds were: I parked and wandered for over an hour. The beautifully carved headstones were the main attraction—some dating back to the 1800’s. Gray clouds signaled my day was coming to an end. Back to the apartment with the ‘girls’ for the night to pack and prep for the morning as Wednesday I would return home.

I learned many years ago to not be afraid of being alone: it is the quiet solace that I embrace, not fear. I appreciate the opportunity for my mind to be calm and free from stress; I seize the moments when my stillness allows creativity to blossom and I am able to write, create recipes, photograph food, or just plain think without being distracted 25 times. Being on my own schedule—no matter how hectic or lethargic it may be—allows for the downtime that I am often without in my day-to-day life. By day four, I was missing the frequent beckoning from my boys at home, my needy feline, my very busy job, and the constant lists of things to do that swarm my everyday brain. As I drove home on day five I felt refreshed and ready to return to my norm. This pandemic has mandated almost too much togetherness, so I relished the chance to break away, rest, recharge, and have a long overdue girls’ night out. As a wife, mother, daughter, sister, aunt, friend and nurse, I am often prioritizing others to the point that I am lacking in my own self-care. My solo road trip reminded me just how important the little things we do for ourselves can be in relation to our overall health—and how I need to remember that a bit more often…

Thank you, Steph!