Southern Road Swing Down I-95, December 28, 2009-January 3, 2010

Posted: January 26th, 2010 | Filed under: Out Of Town

“Whoomp” or “Whoot”? According to Sentra, we traveled 1678.8 miles at an average speed of 41.2 mph with a fuel economy of 27.3 mpg. Total time spent in the vehicle (not counting the time spent in the car scarfing boiled peanuts in the lot where Timbo has his trailer) was 39:33:07, including absurd traffic in Northern Virginia outside of D.C. and delays from two stupid accidents along northbound I-95 in North Carolina and I-95 in Virginia.

Monday, December 28, 2009: Philadelphia to Chapel Hill

Took I-95 out of Philadelphia to I-495 around Wilmington, connecting back with I-95 south of Wilmington, onto I-95 in Maryland. A “pit” stop at Chaps in Baltimore (third visit, this time medium pit beef after trying rare and medium rare; medium rare might be the way to go). Through the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel, then through D.C. via New York Avenue and 395. Zooming along past the Washington Monument, Pentagon and U.S. Air Force Memorial:

All is good. Then we hit Northern Virginia traffic, which appears as if it’s there all the time. But that was just as well, because there’s a charming new development called Potomac Club in Woodbridge, which we got to see after using U.S. 1/Jefferson Davis Highway as a detour:

The traffic meant that we made it to K&L Barbeque in Hopewell just in the nick of time (Dairy Queen for dessert):

We made it to Chapel Hill late, had a drink or two at The Reservoir in Carrboro, then spent the night at the Red Roof Inn on Durham-Chapel Hill Boulevard. In North Carolina if a bar doesn’t sell food they have to be “members only.” So we were signed in as guests:

Tuesday, December 29, 2009: Chapel Hill to Charleston

Country breakfast at Mama Dip’s in Chapel Hill. Food shopping at A Southern Season in the University Mall and driving through Sunrise Biscuit Kitchen over on Franklin Street to save a snack for later on.

The GPS took us through Rowland on our way to South of the Border (you can’t miss it — their billboards are everywhere):

Interstate 95 in South Carolina is basically like Interstate 95 everywhere else, except that it’s clear from the advertisements along the way that South Carolinians love their fireworks. There is a Sept. 11 memorial at the rest stop in Santee with an engraved quote from Bush 43.

We got to our hotel in Charleston across from Marion Square late in the evening and ate at the popular Hominy Grill, where there is a picture of Lou Reed in the bathroom:

We drank strong beer at Southend Brewery and regular beer at Social Wine Bar on East Bay Street to close out the day.

Wednesday, December 30, 2009: Charleston

First, a Shrimp & Grit & Fried Green Tomato breakfast at Marina Variety Store Restaurant, then a visit to Drayton Hall, the former plantation. During an educational talk we got to see a Gullah New Testament. This is John 3:16 in Gullah:

Stop by Timbo’s Hot Boiled Peanuts on Ashley River Road on your way to or from Drayton Hall. The boiled peanuts are really, really, really good:

Stuffed with peanuts, we made the obvious choice and headed down to Bowen’s Island Restaurant for an early dinner of steamed oysters before taking in the Holiday Festival of Lights at James Island County Park:

Then we had a late dinner at Gullah Cuisine in Mount Pleasant.

Thursday, December 31, 2009: Charleston to Savannah

Breakfast at Virginia’s on King where they offer a Fried Green Tomato BLT. Sublime:

Then some sightseeing around the historic parts of Charleston — White Point Gardens and East Battery. And no visit to Charleston is complete without a trip to the Pineapple Fountain in Waterfront Park:

Waterfront Park has nice views of the Ravenel Bridge, one of three (three!) cable-stayed bridges we crossed during the trip (they’re all the rage!):

We left Charleston via US 17 to Savannah, bought fried peanuts at Carolina Cider Company in Yemassee and crossed the cable-stayed Talmadge Memorial Bridge into Savannah. We rested at the hotel in Savannah before heading out for the evening. Drinks at Pinkie Master’s Lounge on Drayton Street, dinner at The Olde Pink House on Reynolds Square, wandering around Rousakis Riverfront Plaza to see the aftermath of the New Year’s Eve celebration along the river, then finally a takeaway drink from Spanky’s on River Street. (We were told that Savannah is one of only four places in the U.S. that allow public drinking — the other three being Las Vegas, New Orleans and Key West.)

Friday, January 1, 2010: Savannah

A late start. Coffee and smoothies at The Sentient Bean across from Forsyth Park on our way to Bonaventure Cemetery:

We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring Savannah’s squares. The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, off of Lafayette Square, has an interesting creche (that seems to be a duck next to the baby Jesus):

The Big Map threatened to become a parody of itself after a furtive swing by the Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace. Then we killed time before our Savannah Ghosts Walking Tour at Wet Willie’s on River Street, which serves frozen drinks made with grain alcohol. This didn’t make the tour scarier, just boozier. We had dinner at Local 11 Ten and Milky Way Martinis at Lulu’s Chocolate Bar around the corner from Jacob’s Jewelers (they were closed, otherwise at least one of us would have gotten gold teeth made).

Saturday, January 2, 2010: Savannah to Chapel Hill

The billboards along I-95 in South Carolina worked, and we stopped at Hobo Joe’s, though we didn’t get out of the car:

For lunch we enjoyed the all-you-can-eat barbecue buffet at Sweatman’s Bar-B-Que in Holly Hill. Highly, highly recommended:

We tried buying pecans and eventually succeeded in Orangeburg County.

Then the car accident-related traffic in North Carolina. The backup starts at 4:56 p.m. and we didn’t get to the end of it until 5:55 p.m. (People, please pay attention when you drive!):

Back to the Red Roof Inn, then dinner at Crook’s Corner and drinks at Local 506 and The Reservoir (again — slow night in Chapel Hill during winter break, I guess).

Sunday, January 3, 2010: Chapel Hill to Washington, D.C.

More great barbecue at The Pit in Raleigh (highly, highly recommended):

Crossing the third cable-stayed bridge of our trip! And another idiot causes a backup on Interstate 95:

Six days later, the Washington Monument is right where we left it:

Six days later, the U.S. Capitol was right where we last saw it:

Picked up sandwiches at Taylor Gourmet on H Street in D.C. before getting the bus back to New York from Chinatown:

Final thoughts . . .

• I can’t stress it enough, don’t drive like an asshole on the interstate — you’ll just cause a stupid accident and waste everyone’s time. The Interstate Highway System is a gift — you should treat it with respect!
• Google Street View is everywhere, even in Rowland, North Carolina (though not in Eutawville, South Carolina and not directly adjacent to the Pentagon); it helps so, so much when you’re trying to figure out where you went to, and makes the country seem really small.
• I like both South Carolina mustard-style barbecue and North Carolina vinegar-style barbecue. Barbecue might be the United States’ greatest contribution to civilization.
• Though I never said it out loud, I thought the Lee Brothers were silly to sell boiled peanuts in New York City. That was before I actually tried boiled peanuts. Oh my god, they’re that good.
• The Pal Superette on Drayton Street in Savannah segregates its porno DVDs. No kidding.
• And though they look like something from Tron, I think I’m warming to cable-stayed bridges