Experiencing Southern Soul in Georgia and the Carolinas

We landed early morning in ATL.

Took a wonderful city history bus tour with Roundabout Atlanta Tours that included stops at the MLK Jr. National Historic Park, the King Center, Wadada Healthy Market and Juice Bar, The Municipal Market, and Sweet Auburn Bread company.

We ended the day staying the night with family in Woodstock, GA, where we enjoyed Dinner at Ipp's Pastaria and drinks at Reformation Brewery.

We had every intention to wake up, pick up our van, and be in Greensboro by nightfall, but the road had other plans!

After a bit of a late start onto the road in Georgia, we ended up making the most of our stop in Greenville, and staying over in the parking lot of a Cracker Barrel. (Be sure to call and ask a permission to stay the night, and stop in for a meal!)

We enjoyed strolling through Falls Park, before grabbing dinner at the food market Gather Greenville. We passed by a really nice Jazz Bar that we would definitely recommend stopping at!

We of course started the day with a hearty breakfast at Cracker Barrel, before hitting the road again.

We made a quick pit stop at the Peach Basket. (*Fun Fact: Even though GA is famously known as the Peach state, they are grown in abundance in SC too!)

We met family for lunch in Charlotte at local regional favorite, Hickory Tavern. Afterwards we popped into Twisted Sugar for a few sweet treats. When we realized how close we were to the famous Charlotte Motor Speedway we also took a quick detour to check it out and take a photo. If you can plan your trip around a race that would be great!

On our way towards Greensboro, we made two fun stops in High Point and Thomasville to see "The Big Chair" & the World's Largest Chest of Drawers.

We ended the night rolling into Greensboro and spending time with family. We made it just in time to eat at a delicious local Peruvian spot, Inka Grill before they closed. Also in that area we'd recommend planning a visit to the historic Woolworth Counter within the International Civil Rights Center & Museum.

Our original plan was to head toward Santee State Park and spend the night there. However, it was getting pretty late as we were driving, so we pulled over at a truck stop gas station to get some rest instead. We decided to skip Congaree National Park the next day and head straight toward Charleston in the morning.

We hit the road super early in the morning and caught a beautiful sunrise over a field driving back down toward Charleston. Driving along we saw many historical markers, and even stopped over to read some of them!

Once we made it into town, we met family and got ready for a family photo shoot near Rainbow Row. After a quick visit to the Charleston City Market before it closed for the day, we enjoyed a magnificent dinner at Sorelle. (Be sure to reserve your table in advance!) We ended the night in solemn remembrance as we took a stroll downtown and reflected at the site of the historic Old Slave Mart.

We checked into our lodging at the Campground at James Island County Park for the night and enjoyed our rest under the stars surrounded by nature.

The next day was full of history and learning as we embarked on a wonderful and informative tour at the McLeod Plantation Historic Site. (Check site for set tour times). We first fueled up with a delicious breakfast at Miller's All Day.

In the afternoon we had an amazing time discovering more of each of our family histories at the Center for Family History within the International African American Museum.

In the evening we dined at Gabrielle, inside the beautiful Hotel Bennett for a delicious southern upscale meal. We then paid our respects at the Mother Emanuel AME Church (and future site of the Emanuel 9 Memorial) in remembrance of the "Emanuel 9".

A couple of fun things we did not have time to do were creating a personalized perfume at Tijon, and stopping by Pitt Street Pharmacy in Mt Pleasant (where a scene of The Notebook was filmed).

We set out early for St. Helena Island, after another quick stop for breakfast at Miller's All Day.

We first visited the historic Penn Center (previously called the Penn School) for an educational presentation and self-guided tour of the museum. We walked the beautiful grounds of the property surrounded by Spanish moss trees.

Just across the way was the site of the Reconstruction Era National Historic Park within Darrah Hall. Here we browsed and learn more about what freedom looked like for the newly freed families in the region after the Civil War ended.

There are many other historic locations within the town of Beaufort that we did not have a chance to explore, so be sure to check out the Reconstruction Era NPS website!

Before heading to lunch we stopped across the street to the Brick Baptist Church that was built by enslaved Africans in 1865, and is now a historic place of worship. It was also an educational site during the Reconstruction period and the place of rest for one of the first teachers at the Penn School, Ms. Charlotte Forten.

We planned to stop into Gullah Grub Restaurant to try some authentic Gullah cuisine, but it was closed at the time we went by. So we dined instead at Seaside Bar and Grill and enjoyed some delicious Lowcountry dishes.

Our next stop was Hilton Head Island, where we checked into our beautiful spot at the Hilton Head National RV Resort, before heading to dinner at the Old Oyster Factory. The sunset views overlooking the water were absolutely breathtaking!

We woke up surrounded by the beautiful trees of the Hilton Head National RV Resort. We'd highly recommend this lodging option for anyone RV'ing or Roadtripping in the area!

On this day, we planned for a Gullah Heritage tour throughout the island. But we first picked up breakfast to go from Squat N Gobble, where we had the best grits on our trip!

The meeting spot for the tour was at the Coastal Discovery Museum, which featured sea life exhibits, and even had a botanical garden featuring local plants that we walked around.

Our guided bus tour showcased the different local historic Gullah neighborhoods, shared the stories of the Gullah community in Hilton Head, and included stops at Bradley Beach, and the Mitchelville Freedom Park historic site, the first self-governed town of freed people. This was a very informational and impactful tour that showed us firsthand the resiliency and strength of the Gullah Geechee people.

After the conclusion of the tour, we took off on the road toward Savannah. Here we walked around the town for a bit, before ending the night dining at The Grey. We spent the night in our van on the streets of downtown Savannah.

We woke up bright and early to be one of the first in line at Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room after taking a quick stroll around Forsyth Park. Unfortunately, the fountain was under construction at that time.

Eating at Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room is an experience unlike any other, and a must visit on any trip to Savannah. They open only Monday - Friday from 11am to 2pm, and it's first come first served (no reservations, cash only, $35 pp).

We lined up around 9:30am and were one of the firsts to enter. We were seated with our family and a few new friends who happened to be local "regulars".

We dined on a spread of popular Southern dishes that filled the entire table, family style. It felt like Thanksgiving dinner!

Needing to catch our flight out of Atlanta later that evening, we got back on the road and headed west to drop off our rented van, and get to the airport. If we'd had more time in the city, we would have loved to stop by the Forrest Gump filming site in Chippewa Square, and see the famous bench inside the Savannah History museum!