Orlando to Georgia
As with most legs to a trip like this, there's an option for a slow way to go and another option for a fast way to go. The morning I planned to drive from Altamonte Springs (Orlando area) to Kingsland, Georgia, I had big plans to take the slower A1A all the way from Daytona Beach to Jacksonville Beach. But as much as I enjoyed the morning drive up the coast, by the time I got to St. Augustine, the fast way started to look a lot better to me. The scenery was great, but the traffic was prone to sudden, unexpected slowdowns, which is not relaxing, and potentially even dangerous if you're trying to enjoy the scenery and drive at the same time.
First, I drove over to the coast at Daytona Beach, which is like a fantasy vision of Florida.
Daytona Beach is a clean, colorful feast for the eyes from the Welcome sign:
To the race track:
To the endless pastel mid-century buildings (which I can't find any good pictures of online) and brief glimpses of ocean waves along the A1A road. I happened to be there on a clear, cold, windy day in January, so it was not at all appealing to get out of my van. But as long as I stayed inside, the surroundings evoked a sense of perfect warmth, soft breezes, and the days when even a paleface like me could lie out in the sun without sunscreen or worries. Like I said, a fantasy. 😎
Heading North on A1A, there are stretches of driving right along the edge of the ocean, stretches of driving among mansions on stilts, driving past restaurants with outdoor seating on the roof that are either closed for the season or just deserted on a cold day, and one stretch that's been recently landscaped with little tufts of evenly spaced beach grass that looked like a bad hair plug job. There were bridges over marshlands and inlets. Lots of gorgeous stuff to see.
I took this photo while stopped behind someone turning left:
After St. Augustine, it was regular old freeway all the way to Jacksonville. That may be the first time I've found freeway relaxing on this trip. Then in the Jacksonville area, I saw a magnificent bridge up ahead. I got the following photo of it here: https://tinyurl.com/sxl6w5z
From the bridge there was a fabulous view of a major port in both directions. I didn't find a photo from the bridge, but I found this aerial shot that shows the port and the bridge. If you look closely, you can see more cargo cranes on the far side of the bridge. The photo comes from: https://www.ecomagazine.com/news/industry/florida-governor-commits-to-jacksonville-port-dredging
From there it wasn't far from the Florida - Georgia border. The side of the freeway was thick with billboards advertising orange-themed tourist traps and peach-themed tourist traps.
After a full week of being a guest in one person's house or another, I was back on my own again, trading the joys of visiting for the joys of freedom.
First, I drove over to the coast at Daytona Beach, which is like a fantasy vision of Florida.
Daytona Beach is a clean, colorful feast for the eyes from the Welcome sign:
To the race track:
To the endless pastel mid-century buildings (which I can't find any good pictures of online) and brief glimpses of ocean waves along the A1A road. I happened to be there on a clear, cold, windy day in January, so it was not at all appealing to get out of my van. But as long as I stayed inside, the surroundings evoked a sense of perfect warmth, soft breezes, and the days when even a paleface like me could lie out in the sun without sunscreen or worries. Like I said, a fantasy. 😎
Heading North on A1A, there are stretches of driving right along the edge of the ocean, stretches of driving among mansions on stilts, driving past restaurants with outdoor seating on the roof that are either closed for the season or just deserted on a cold day, and one stretch that's been recently landscaped with little tufts of evenly spaced beach grass that looked like a bad hair plug job. There were bridges over marshlands and inlets. Lots of gorgeous stuff to see.
I took this photo while stopped behind someone turning left:
This one while crossing the drawbridge into St. Augustine:
From there it wasn't far from the Florida - Georgia border. The side of the freeway was thick with billboards advertising orange-themed tourist traps and peach-themed tourist traps.
After a full week of being a guest in one person's house or another, I was back on my own again, trading the joys of visiting for the joys of freedom.
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