English couple here, looking to perfect Deep South route

[Foy]

SandT,

I meant I'd forgo the Interstates altogether. The all-Interstate route from Savannah to Panama City would take you south to JAX on I-95 thence west on I-10, passing through considerable urban/suburban congestion at JAX and probably again to the west. The brief glance I took at a map showed highways through Waycross, Jesup, and Valdosta. The south Georgia Coastal Plain and its small towns would be a more enjoyable drive for most of us provided that time was not of the essence. In September one is likely to encounter school buses on the rural highways in the morning and mid afternoon, and logging trucks and farm equipment can be counted upon to slow you down at some point.

Foy

[ptb]

Hi SandT: The idea about the Blue Ridge Parkway is a good one. The parkway is a scenic, windy, mountain road with scores of turn-offs to get out and have a good view or short hike. You can drive it north from Asheville for as long as you wish -- one idea is to drive it up to Blowing Rock -- an adorable little mountain town with plenty of things to do. Right there is also the Moses Cone Estate -- a beautiful place to walk around -- one of the prettiest in the South, I think. If you want real, true southern towns, there just isn't anything more southern than Charleston and Savannah. If you want something smaller, there's Beaufort, SC just to the north of Charleston which is a wonderful little southern town. In between Charleston and Savannah are the popular resort/beach islands of Kiawah Island, SC, and Hilton Head with pleanty of beach, beautiful bike paths, and full of the big old trees with Spanish moss. But if you're set on heading to Florida for beach, then drive along the coast through Georgia to get there.