Richmond to Key West in Dec/Jan

Hi all

Im from Ireland and my friend & I (both 27) are going to drive down the East Coast from Richmond (VA) to Key West (FL) in Dec & Jan for 2weeks!! We want to drive down the coastal roads as much as possible, to experience the east coast; we’ll stay mostly in motels and treat ourselves to a few nice hotels along the way! We fly out of Miami early Jan.

We fly into Richmond, renting a car and plan to drive to the ‘Outer Banks’ – We’d like to take our time going round, would it take a full day? I’m sure it’ll be cold but are we nuts going out there in winter, are there places even open?

We have 3/4 days to play with from Richmond to Savannah (we’d like to be in Savannah for New Year – I’ve heard it’s an amazing place) – does anybody have any suggestions of where we should stop for a few hours or towns to stay overnight between Richmond & Savannah? I’ve heard that there is a ‘swamp’ in Savannah and you can go out on it in a boat?

After New Year we’ll head down along the Florida coast line – again what places should we spend a few hours in and what places would be good to stay overnight?
St. Augustine – is supposed to be a beautiful place. We want to go to the Alligator Farm, Fort Lauderdale and of course Fountain of Youth (in the hope of keeping us forever young)
Miami – is this a place to just stay for a day & night - I’ve heard it’s just a strip of bars with a beach?
Keys- Would 3 days be long enough to go down to Key West & back up to Miami?

We were thinking of maybe buying a little fridge that hooks up to the car to chill some drinks & sandwiches (so we don’t have to eat out the whole time) – does anybody know if these can be bought cheaply if so where’s the best shop to buy them?

As you can tell we need all the HELP we can get with our road trip or we’ll end up missing out on all the impressive sights the east coast has to offer, any suggestions that anybody has will be very much appreciated.

Thanks for taking the time to read this!

Céad Míle Fáilte!

You could easily spend more than a day on the Outer Banks, even in Winter, and while many of the tourist shops will be closed, the beaches will certainly still be there. There are also plenty of restaurants and hotels at the northern end, around Kitty Hawk and Manteo, at the southern end, in Ocracoke, and even in the middle, at Buxton, to keep body and soul together year-round. And the ferry also operates year-round, although on a reduced schedule.

As you continue down the coast, you'll have plenty of opportunity to see the beaches in their much less crowded winter state, and I suspect that you can find someplace along the way where the water will be warm enough for people who consider Brighton swimable long before you come to Florida where the density of people will start to build up. One town you should plan to spend some time in is Charleston, SC. Even if you're not a 'fan' of our Civil War, there is plenty there to keep you interested, including old plantations, the world's first successful submarine, and some somewhat more modern warships.

I don't know of any swamps right around Savannah, but one of the best where you can rent small boats, but not the big noisy air boats you may be thinking of, is the Okefenokee Swamp, southwest of Savannah, near the Florida state line. St. Augustine would be another great place to spend a day or two. As you work south along the Florida coast, you'll note that it will get more crowded. Winter is the time of year when many retirees head for its warmth, and it will be considerably more built up, in general, than what you've been seeing up to this point.

I had one of the little piezoelectric refrigerators you're talking about, but it did eventually burn out. They're really not for heavy duty use and I was using mine 24/7 in my office. Also, they tend to get warm quickly when not running, and so can't be left for very long while you go off on out-of-car excursions. They can be had for around $100 at most truck plazas along the highway, such as Petro or Flying J. But for that kind of money, you might want to look at just getting a cheap polystyrene box and replenish it with ice (about a dollar a bag) daily. I didn't answer all your questions, but I hope that helps.

AZBuck