Life at Cloverhill

Dogs Honeymoon Road Trip Travel

Honeymoon Road Trip – Part 10: Visiting Family in South Carolina & Making Our Way Home

I can’t believe that it’s already the last Honeymoon Road Trip post! I’ve loved going through our photos every week with Garrett, writing up the stories and sharing them with all of you. There has been such an amazing response from readers, new visitors to the blog (hi!) and fellow road trippers out there. Thank you all for joining us on this adventure and I hope it gives you the itch to get out there and do some exploring too – even if it’s just in your own town. It’s amazing the things that you can find out there when you open yourself up to it.

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Day 13

After a morning of shopping at the market, we left the coast in Charleston and headed into the mountains to the beautiful area surrounding Greenville, South Carolina to visit Garrett’s aunt and uncle and their family. When we saw the route we’d be taking back home on the trip, we knew we had to stop in for a visit. There was a wonderful homemade dinner ready for us when we pulled into the driveway. There’s that Southern hospitality again! It was so nice to see real vegetables again – and she made the most amazing homemade pound cake with fresh strawberries and whipped cream. We were having such a great time, that I totally forgot to take any pictures!

I’d never been to Greenville and I couldn’t believe how lovely their downtown is. So many cute shops, interesting restaurants and tons of green space.

They have a beautiful park system in the heart of downtown.

It even has a waterfall!

I hope we can come back again and explore more of this lovely city.

 As the sun set, we took a little detour through the gorgeous campus of Furman University.

 

Day 14

Garrett’s Aunt Judy was so nice to take us over the state line to visit beautiful visit beautiful Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. After our visit, we came back to enjoy another delicious meal with the family.

 

Day 15

After a big breakfast (homemade pancakes and all the fixin’s – yum!), we headed out on the road again. We stopped for a quick visit at the miniature horse farm, and within seconds we had some friends making their way towards us.

They were so cute. I wish we’d thought to bring them carrots! After some nose rubs and head scratches, they realized that we didn’t have anything worth eating and headed back to their barn.

We drove through the coolest mountain range (maybe the Smokies?) and it made me realize how much amazing geography we came across in our travels. It’s so cool to think you can be in one country and experience so many different things.

We only stopped for important things, like gas, washing giant splattered bugs off the window and treating ourselves to a chocolate coated ice cream cone at McD’s. Due to the whole nut allergy thing, it had been years since I’d had one – so I enjoyed every last lick.

We saw a sign for a scenic lookout, so we pulled over and did the whole tourist thing…because well, we’re tourists.

By the late afternoon, we hit the 5000 kilometer point of the trip (almost 3107 miles)…and we still had several states to go before we’d see our familiar red and white flag at the border.

After a long day of driving we made it to Pennsylvania. We grabbed some takeout and headed to our hotel for a lazy dinner while watching some random movie on TV (I just remember Jim Carrey was in it) and then a quick swim before bed.

Day 16

When we woke up on the Sunday, I could hard believe that we were heading back home again. After over two weeks on the road, I was ready to go back to routine and I missed Whiskey a ton, but it was also bittersweet to let go of this nomadic lifestyle that I’d come to love so much. Exploring new places and meeting amazing people along the way was such an incredible experience to do together for our honeymoon.

Of course, this was also the day that we welcomed a new member to our family. We picked up Cola from a rescue in Pennsylvania (he is originally from West Virginia) and he spent pretty much the whole day sleeping in the back seat in his new bed. Now that we know his personality (and energy levels) better, we realize that he was absolutely exhausted that day. So much change for a little pup!

Although he did rally for little pieces of our lunches and for front seat cuddles. We got home in the late evening, picked up Whiskey and unloaded the car. It felt so good to be back home in our bed, with our toothbrushes in their holder and our shoes at the front door. Sometimes having a nice long break from routine makes you appreciate the everyday stuff just a little more too. That whole “absence makes the heart grow fonder” thing.

I’m so glad that we did this trip for our honeymoon. Sixteen days, visiting sixteen states (Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and New York). It was an adventure of a lifetime – and a pretty epic way to start a marriage!

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Just in case you’ve missed the previous Honeymoon Road Trip posts:


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