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In early November I completed an item on my bucket list: To go on a road trip with my friends.
We got in a car and drove almost nine hours from Miami to Charleston, South Carolina (I’d like to mention I did zero of the driving).
Why did I embark on a road trip at the start of November? What great thing moved the butts of me and my friends. Books.
Yallfest is a yearly free festival hosted by Blue Bicycle Books in Charleston. Here readers have the chance to meet their favorite authors, get their books sign and snag copies of books that will be published in the next couple of months. But Yallfest aside, Charleston was beautiful and rich in history.
Back during the American Revolution, Charleston (Charles Town at the time) was a hub of not only trading but of the revolution. Where the loyalist and the rebels fought. Maybe it is my lack of memory, but I do not remember being taught on the significance of Charleston way back then.
However this is not a history lesson, I simply want to show you guys a few of the things I did. There is a beautiful park by the bay called the Waterfront park that has a pineapple fountain. Yup, a pineapple fountain. The park itself was adorned with still green-leaved trees (in November!), it reminded me a bit of Coral Gables here in Miami. Tree-lined paths that are perfect for strolling, relaxing and taking pictures.
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Since we were there for a book festival, the Charleston exploration was limited. We went to the park and the famous Rainbow Row — which I like to call rich abuelita houses.
Aside from walking down King street a few times to find places to eat, our Charleston trip only included the walking around the main touristy areas. Oh! I going into a dungeon/trade and exchange house where George Washington used to party after the U.S. Constitution was ratified.
Also had amazing Belgium ice cream!!
We visited Savannah, Georgia and attempted to find the location where the famous bench scene was filmed in the movie Forrest Gump, but we got distracted by vintage shops and old bookstores.
Savannah had the same feel as Charleston, the trees, the bay, the brick structures. Buildings in the north are truly a whole different ball game.
We had brunch at The Collins Quarter. The dish I originally wanted had run out when I was there, so instead, I had chicken sausage with eggs benedict with a matcha latte (which you can see if you check out my Instagram). It was yummy until it decided to make me sick…
We didn’t learn any Savannah history the way we learned about Charleston. But we learned that Savannah offers some damn good peach cookies. Also, most hotels in the downtown district charge you for parking, which is super lame.
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Our trip began on Thursday and concluded on Monday. On our drive, back down on Monday, we made an impromptu stop at St. Augustine, Florida. We were short on time, and wanted to make it to Miami before night time (we didn’t), but we visited the Castillo de San Marcos which is the famous fort that was built with limestone and seashells. Did you know St. Augustine is one of the oldest cities in America?
While in the city we decided to have lunch, and we thought we found a Colombian restaurant. (You can take us out of Miami but you can’t take the Miami out of us). But it turns out none of us know how to read, the restaurant was actually called Columbia…and it had Spanish cuisine. So close enough. We all had very Hispanic dishes.
While my road trip was quite short and its purpose wasn’t to truly explore, I was happy. I hope I can be part of more road trips in the future.
You can watch the videos I made of my road trip down below. (It includes Spanish subtitles)
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