Seniors heading South

[Buffalo Jack]

Finally, after 40+ years we have retired.

As residents of the Buffalo NY area we dread going through another long winter. We would like to head south after the first of the year and spend about 6 weeks on the road and seeing some the USA. We don't want to spend the winter in some condo. Any ideas for an extended road trip through the South would be appreciated.

[AZBuck]

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

Having 'suffered' through a number of lake effect winters myself, I understand your desire to go south young man. However, without knowing a bit more about your interests and desires, it's a bit hard to make recommendations. The South is chock full of beauty, history, nature, art and culture, great food, shorelines and mountains, rivers and lakes. You could certainly wander a bit, or find a few locations to settle down in for a week or two at a time and explore at your leisure. What did you have in mind?

AZBuck

[Buffalo Jack]

Thanks for your quick reply.

We would like to spend a couple of weeks in Florida. Exploring some beach towns and finding some historical spots. My thoughts would be to "home base" somewhere and then spoke out from there. As a senior, "mouse town" and busy cities are not on our wish list. Oh yeah...the $$$ thing. Any suggestions for the budget conscious traveler?? Hotels, restaurants, etc.

In addition. We eventually will have to make our way North. With the same criteria in mind can you suggest some places to visit (preferably without snow)

[AZBuck]

Then I think a good 'first cut' at a central location for you would be northern Florida. That puts you within striking distance of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, the Okefenokee swamp and other natural locations as well as the historic venues of St. Augustine, Warm Springs and Andersonville in Georgia, Charleston, SC with its Revolutionary and Civil War history, etc., etc. What my wife and I like to do on trips like this is to rent a house (or yes, even a condo) for a week at a time and take day trips. We find that we can do almost as well price-wise doing this as we can with motels, and having a full kitchen at our disposal lets us have two meals a day 'at home' and prepare a picnic lunch for while we're out, saving considerably over eating out all the time. Have a look at web sites like VRBO, CyberRentals, GreatRentals and others. As some examples of what might make good home bases, we like University towns in the summer, such as Gainesville or Tallahassee, or out of the way resorts like Cedar Key

AZBuck