Southern States Road Trip!

Leigh and I left on our Southern States Road Trip on May 12. 

A view of the Blue Ridge Mountains from I-81. Really beautiful. I've seen some amazing sights in my 24 years, including the dramatic mountains of Alaska, but there is a very special place in my heart for the Blue Ridge. 

Leigh and I taking in the sights and taking some silly self-portraits.

After a quick stop off at parents' houses in Virginia for supplies and errands, we drove to Charlotesville, VA to camp out and visit Monticello.

Monticello from the front lawn

The gardens at Monticello overlooking the Blue Ridge Mountains.

The grounds at Monticello were simply fantastic. It was the best that Virginia has to offer with mountain views, lush foliage, walking paths and old tress. As Leigh said, "Yep, I could live here."

The most perfect tree I have ever seen.

After Monticello we started driving south. First we stopped off in Myrtle Beach where my dad and step-mom were participating in Bike Week. They were staying in a nice beach front condo and offered us a place to sleep during our long trip. After a restful night and morning, Leigh and I drove Hwy 17 south to 95 South to Jacksonville, Florida. My brother and his family live in Jax near the beach, so this was our primary target for our trip.

My brother's two kids, Isaiah and Abigail. They're such cuties and really good kids. We had such a good time visiting with them and taking it easy. We hoped to visit the Kingsley Plantation nearby and lay on the beach for a few days, but the weather simply wouldn't allow this. We got one good afternoon at the beach. 

Leigh getting a tan, or at least trying to! The beach we visited is a state park where you can drive onto the sand and set up for the day. It was really crowded and very redneck, but still a lot of fun.

Me getting a tan, and a little bit burned too. 

My car Betsy chillin' on the sand! She looks so cool like this! Of course, it took us a few hours to get all the sand out of the interior.

There are no height restrictions for cars in Florida. This truck was one of the lower ones we saw that day.