Today, Malcolm and I are heading north for a fifteen day road trip. Hotels are booked from Georgia to Rhode Island and although we have a few activities planned, a lot has been left to chance. We learned a long time ago to not overschedule, or impose impossible deadlines on ourselves. There is nothing worse than facing a twelve hour drive at 5:00 in the morning if you don’t have to. Road trips should be leisurely and accommodate spontaneous exploration. Otherwise, what’s the point? I say this, as we walk out the door at 5 a.m. to begin the first leg of our journey. 🙂
Themes
Most of our road trips end up with a name, either by choice or happenstance when I write about them here, or when I publish the photos in our annual Shutterfly book. The theme for this trip emerged very quickly and quite naturally. Late springtime is considered waterfall season where we are heading, so the logical choice is ‘Chasing Waterfalls’. The winter snows are melting, springs and creeks are filling and waterfalls are generally at their peak for viewing.
A road trip through Texas Hill Country in 2019 was devoted to ‘Chasing Bluebonnets,’ the state flower that blooms heartily each spring. Finding the right location, at just the right time is tricky. We completely missed out the first time we visited in 2018, but the road trip in 2019 was perfectly timed and the bluebonnets were glorious. Springtime in Texas is a must for road trip enthusiast.
Another road trip was all about ‘Finding Fall‘ in North Carolina. The seasons blend together in South Florida and the only noticeable distinction is a change in temperature. It is nice to be able to hop in the car and head a few hours north to the foothills of Georgia or North Carolina for a change of scenery. Leaf-peeping and enjoying family time were highlights of Finding Fall.
This trip was called Island Hopping on The Sun Coast, for very obvious reasons. Discovering all of Florida’s ten distinctive coasts has been our mission since the inception of this blog. You can read posts about our Discover Florida road trips by clicking the tab on the menu above.
The Route
After assessing the route to our northernmost destination, we chose Alpharetta, GA, (Gibbs Gardens) Louisville Kentucky (Cumberland Falls) and Corning, NY (Watkins Glen) as stops along the route, with our final destination being Block Island, RI (Highlights). We scheduled multiple nights in each location, based on points of interest and drive time. I have added one link for each destination so you can see what attracted us there.
The return trip is under construction, but will likely include a one night break in Ashville, NC. We’ll see where the wind blows…
We all travel in different ways and with different expectations, but a good ‘old fashioned’ road trip is one of the best ways to get out and make discoveries. RVing has become very popular during the pandemic, but you don’t need a fancy rig to hit the road; just plot a course and hop in your car. If your not sure where to start, I highly recommend choosing a theme based on your interests; tulips, cherry blossoms, canyons, caves, or botanical gardens. Maybe you’re into light houses, national parks, churches, historical buildings, or baseball parks? The possibilities are endless. What are some themes you might suggest?
We won’t have another blog post until the end of May, but I will be posting photos as often as possible on Instagram. If you would like to come along on this adventure, please follow us here.
Picture Retirement 
Travel safely and have a great rime.
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Bon Voyage! And thank you for the map – often when people in the US or Canada talk about tripping around I have no idea where they are or where they’re going, so I have to head off to Google to try to wrap my head around it all. Your trip sounds lovely and the blog will be here when you get back. Happy Travels x
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So happy to hear you will be hitting the road again soon. Your Chasing Waterfalls adventure sounds wonderful! I like that you break up your trip to see things along the way. I also like that you don’t just take the shortest route! I love that you choose a theme for your road trips. When we made a two month spring RV trip to Texas a few years ago we called it the “Lonesome Dove Cattle Trail, Gulf Coast, Cajun Country, Whooping Crane, Bluebonnet and Brisket Tour”. Wishing you safe travels and happy trails.
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I’ve had Prince’s song about chasing waterfalls in my mind all week. How cool that you mention it here. Your plan is impressive and I look forward to seeing where the road ultimately takes you. Happy trails
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Sounds such fun..looking forward to your future posts.
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Suzanne, This itinerary looks fabulous. Have a safe and fun-filled trip! Thank you for linking with #weekendcoffeeshare.
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I love your themes. Enjoy your waterfalls.
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Sounds like a delightful trip. Have fun and safe travels during your adventure.
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Oh, that sounds like so much fun! I miss taking road trips and hope to plan something soon. Safe travels! I look forward to seeing your beautiful photos of your trip.
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What a wonderful itinerary. I love waterfalls. And I enjoy the idea of themed trips. Unlike you, though, I NEVER plan out our road trips. Those are usually based on getting from point A to point B the fastest. Our nomadic lifestyle is more leisurely and entirely up to chance. If I would go on a vacation, however, which hasn’t happened in twenty years (!), I would do research and plan things out as well, since you have a short amount of time. Happy road tripping, Suzanne and Malcolm!
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You guys are going into territory that we know absolutely nothing about…gonna be reading thus intently!
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Have fun! Drive safe!
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Now that song about chasing waterfalls is stuck in my mind. Stay Safe and enjoy your long awaited travel!
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Suzanne,
We name our trips and the one we are on now is “West by Northwest.” Not very catchy, but we do a loose-leaf notebook for each one with a cover page plus tabs for each stop to compile notes.
I have always wanted to plan a long trip around “Fairs, Festivals, and Food.” I think that would be a lot of fun.
We will be with you and Malcolm all the way on your waterfall pursuit. Enjoy!
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Fantastic itinerary, I will be looking forward to following along. Have a fabulous time.
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How fun to plan your trips around themes! As I reflect on our travels, I realize that we had mini-theme trips within our seven years of full time travels. For example, we did a kayaking extravaganza on the beautiful rivers in Florida. And a Cajun/Creole food and music themed trip to New Orleans. Now you’ve got me wanting to plan an autumn leaf trip to Georgia and North Carolina in October!
Enjoy chasing those beautiful waterfalls!
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I agree with you and Malcolm, Suzanne. Building flexibility into a road trip is more relaxing and fun. Even the name “Bluebonnet” evokes a beautiful image. You also remind me how researching a trip is part of the fun. We have had different themes over the years, all memorable in their own way. One example was visiting Hot Springs. I look forward to seeing your photos along your adventure. Safe travels.😀
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Your trip sounds fun! It reminds me of the route we took on our Florida spring break trips, back when I lived in Michigan.
BTW, I love the blue bonnet pictures! We have lived in Texas since 2013, and this spring we finally saw a bunch of blue bonnets at family camp. 🙂
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Chasing waterfalls was the perfect name for your adventure and you certainly did capture some beautiful ones. I’ve given some thought to doing a road trip this fall but walking out the door at 5 a.m. to begin a trip just to get out of our state of Florida is something I never look forward to. Nice that you broke your trip up the way you did.
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Karen, when we lived in Miami taking a road trip meant going to Orlando! It’s a long freaking state!
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