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Barbara and Jeri’s trip to St. Augustine, Charleston, and Savannah

WHO WE ARE: Two friends who worked together for over 30 years and who’ve traveled together for the past 10 years. Barbara, a retired high school counselor; Jeri, a retired high school teacher and chairman of the social science department.

OUR TRAVEL HISTORY: Last year at this time, Jeri and I were in Egypt and Jordan. We were fortunate with the timing of that trip because a short time after we returned, turmoil in the area broke out and escalated. Had we waited, who knows when we would be able to satisfy our dreams of experiencing what remains of those ancient cultures.

The year before that, we were in Prague for a few days before flying to Budapest where we boarded a riverboat for a Danube cruise, visiting cities in Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, and Bulgaria along the way, with land segments to Varna, Bulgaria on the Black Sea, Romania, and Transylvania.

And the year before that we were in Kuala Lumpur and the Malaysian part of Borneo, visiting places along the coastal strip from Kuching in the south to Kota Kinabalu in the north, and ending with time on the island of Penang.
And so on. Over the years we’ve had some fantastic and often exotic adventures.

WHY THIS TRIP: This short trip of ours to St. Augustine, Charleston, and Savannah was different from what we usually do in that it was domestic. It was time, though, for me to experience more of my own country. I had never been in this region before. For Jeri, though, it would be a re-visit. She had been in each of these cities before, but since it had been at least 20 years, she was looking forward to the trip as much as I.

PREPARATION: Jeri needed very little regarding the history. She was a history teacher and an excellent one. Totally proficient in her subject. I, on the other hand, was lacking. I hadn’t had a US history class since my freshman year of college, half a century ago. Wow. That makes me sound so old. Let it be known that I’m still on my feet and that at least as of today, I have all my faculties. Tomorrow? Who knows?

Preparation for me consisted of three things—this board (and once again, thank you all for your input), the book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (Savannah), and the John Jakes’ historical fiction novel, Charleston. I loved that book. It started with the first settlement in Savannah and detailed the history through the Revolutionary War up until after the Civil War. There was obviously a bias—a northern one. And I was on board with that. So any of you are still reading this….Yes, I know. There is another point of view.

Basically, then, my preparation was scanty. Wish it had been more. As always, though, I travel to see and learn new things-- as does Jeri-- and that’s the way we approached this trip.

BASIC STRUCTURE:
Flight. We did a Kayak search and the best fare ended up with Delta flight from Lax to Memphis connecting with an Atlantic Southeast flight to Jacksonville, Florida. And return, of course. Total: $330.
Car. Hotwire. Hertz came up for $336 for pickup JAX on September 18 through drop off JAX on September 29. Toyota Corolla. Unlimited miles.
Hotels. I’ll specify as the report progresses.

OUR TRIP BEGINS:

OMG!! Our family had company the night before we were to leave. I had my bags packed and all my paperwork with the boarding pass, hotel and car confirmations, etc. in a folder, my carry on things and so on ready for my departure early the next morning. I had wanted to be sure all was basically in order because our departure from LAX was at 7:05 AM and we had to be there by at least 5:30 AM. It was midnight, though, before I got to bed. Had to wash dishes and all after the company left. And evidently I did not set the alarm. Thankfully, I woke up about 4:00 AM, half an hour before I was to pick up Jeri who lives half an hour away. I called my son-in-law Danny, who lives nearby and who was to take us to the airport. He, too, had not set his alarm. But he said he’d be right over. 10 minutes. And I just had time to get my clothes on. Contacts, yes. No make-up. And I never leave the house without it. Not even to go to the market. But, oh well…… “Oh, well” is a wonderful expression. It has served Jeri and me well over the years. It signals that we need to go from Plan A to Plan B without getting fussed up, and if Plan B doesn’t happen, then….Oh Well…..

So there I was with just my clothes and my contacts on, throwing my things into the car before getting our way to pick up Jeri. No time to do any last minutes checks to see that all was packed. About a mile down the road I told Danny, “I’m not sure I have my camera”. And a bit later, “I’m not sure I have my back-up contacts”. And, yikes!!, “ I’m not sure I packed my make-up”. And so on. It was going to be a thrill a minute when I finally got unpacked at our first hotel and saw what was really there. Never before have I left in such a hurry.

Bottom line, thankfully we did somehow make it to the airport about 25 or 30 miles away in time to catch our flight

This is the lead-up. The trip report will follow.