SOUTHEAST
U.S.A
07/03/20 - 07/18/20
DAY 1
Day 1 - 2020 was a challenging year for travel. With restrictions high due COVID-19, and a Spain trip cancelled, we set out for our first ever road trip down the east coast with stops in South Carolina, Florida & Georgia. There is so much to explore in the U.S., so we were excited for this adventure! We woke up early (around 3:00 AM) and headed south bound to South Carolina. We were able to book an ocean front room at the Residence Inn Myrtle Beach for our first stop. The ride was approximately 850 miles and took about 13 hours in total. We took a nice walk on the beach to stretch our legs, explored the area very close to the hotel for a little bit and had dinner. Our stay was short but the room had a beautiful view of the ocean for a quick recharge!
DAY 3
Day 3 - Our reservation included breakfast daily, so we headed down to their outside breakfast area to kick off the day. We decided to play a little round of mini-golf early, before the day heated up! Michael & Mom had research a course close by, so we headed over directly after breakfast. By 11:00 AM, Dad had scouted a nice set up on the beach for us. We spent a few hours building some sand castles and taking some quick dips! In the evening we ventured off property and had dinner at "World of Beer". Michael enjoyed their giant pretzels! Their outside deck had a few games which we played with a few other families; followed by a delicious sweet treat from the famous Kilwins fudgery!
DAY 5
Day 5 - After a quick breakfast, we were on our way to Florida! By 11:00 AM, our first official Tinelli Family drive to Florida was a success as we crossed an interstate bridge from Georgia and celebrated the "Florida Welcomes You!" sign. We then took a little break from driving at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm about 90 minutes south of the border. Definitely an interesting place to walk through! The farm houses tons of different alligators, turtles and reptiles in a natural setting. If you are feeling daring, one part had a suspended bridge over a pond of alligators! Once done with our visit, we headed to our next stop, Cape Canaveral (home of the Kennedy Space Center) and got settled into our hotel.
DAY 7
Day 7 - Today's plan had us heading down the Florida coast approximately 200 more miles to our furthest point south, Fort Lauderdale. To break up this leg, we stopped at Vero Beach for a mid morning stretch, a quick snack and a game of mini golf! By lunch, we were checking in to the beautiful beach front hotel, W Fort Lauderdale. This was Dad's favorite! We had an amazing ocean view suite with 2 balconies! After getting settled, we checked out the pool for a swim and got some dinner on their pool deck. It was so relaxing! After dinner, we settled on to our main balcony with a bottle of wine and watched the sunset. Dad could have stayed out there all night enjoying the weather and changing colors.
DAY 9
Day 9 - It was time to start heading Northbound! Today, we head to one of our favorite destinations, Orlando! Since check in at the Hyatt Grand Cypress was fairly late, we decided to hit the beach one more time for the morning. The morning is a great time for the beach! Not to hot, not to crowded! We loved it. Around check out time, we all got cleaned up and headed to the car. Orlando is about 200 miles north of Fort Lauderdale, so it took about 3 hours. When we arrived at the Hyatt, it was a bit crazy due to a dance competition! Talk about change in pace! This got us prepped for Orlando craziness! After settling into our room, we headed over to Disney Springs for dinner and of course our, favorite cupcakes (at Sprinkles)!
DAY 11
Day 11 - Walt Disney World's historical close due to Covid-19 had ended a few days before and while driving south earlier in the week, we had tried for park tickets and reservations. And were successful! At around 7:30 AM today, we were driving through the familiar site of the Magic Kingdom entrance. The park was pretty quiet - but you could tell the staff was very excited to see activity again! We quickly got to ride some of our favorites with little wait and had a fantastic day! Pirates, Splash, Mine Train! It was so nice to see WDW up and running again! And of course a few traditional Mickey snacks (Ice Cream Bars & Pretzels) to celebrate! After dinner, we headed back to the hotel completely exhausted with big smiles on our faces!
DAY 13
Day 13 - We are heading to our last official stop today, Reynolds Lake Oconee in Greensboro Georgia. Our ride was about 400 miles north (approximately 6 hours) up through central Florida and Georgia. Reynolds Lake Oconee is a golf and lake community centered between Atlanta and Athens, Georgia. It houses over 12,000 acres of homes and amenities with the stunning Ritz Carlton Reynolds Lake Oconee in the center. We often receive mailings from the community, so we had pre-arranged a stay and a tour of the property. Once on property, they checked us in to a beautiful 3 bedroom, 3 bath home where we would stay for the next few days. We settled in, bought a few groceries and enjoyed dinner on our new porch!
DAY 15
Day 15 - We spent another day enjoying the property. Enjoyed breakfast again and headed to another pool. This one with a big slide! We spent time relaxing in the house and playing an indoor shuffle board table, they had in the lower floor. Michael even set himself up with a mini-fridge of his favorite drinks! We ate lunch out today and stayed in for dinner! We spent a little time packing up our belongings, as tomorrow we were heading home! This was a great road trip, where we got to enjoy many different places along the East Coast. From Beaches to Lakes, from small towns to major cities, we covered it all! (with very little advanced planning). In the morning, we started our journey home with one quick night in Virginia to break the long drive up! Yea! we are home!!
DAY 2
Day 2 - We planned a longer stay at the Westin Hilton Head resort in Hilton Head, SC. After a quick bite for breakfast, we continued our southbound journey. From Myrtle Beach it was a pretty quick 4 hour drive. The hotel was a lovely ocean front resort with 3 pools, multiple restaurants, a golf course and spa. With many people, not yet ready to travel, we were able to get a great ocean front room and utilize all aspects of the resort with minimal crowds. After 2 days of long drives, we decided to mainly relax at the pool. We enjoyed a few vacation kick off Mai Tai's, fresh guacamole and a couple of salads. It was so nice to eat outside and take in the warm South Carolina sun! Our plans had us here for a total of 3 nights, so once done with the pool, we spent a little time to get settled into our beautiful room!
DAY 4
Day 4 - Today was a planned pool day! And Yay, when we woke up, it was a bright sunny day! After a delicious breakfast, we headed straight to the pool. We had treated ourselves to a reserved cabana, which gave us a few comfy chairs in our own private space with a TV, ceiling fan and refrigerator! It was so much fun! We spent the day lounging in the cabana, jumping in and out of the pool and enjoying a few drinks and snacks in the cabana! We could get used to this!! Around 5 PM, we retired from the pool and went back to the room to change for dinner. We were heading to Florida the next day; so we had dinner at the hotel, took a nice walk on the beach and spent a little time getting our luggage together!
DAY 6
Day 6 - Time to put on your Space Suit, we are heading out early to the Kennedy Space Center. The Kennedy Space Center is located on Merritt Island in Florida and is an official NASA field site. The Space Center houses various museums and interactive exhibits that go through the history and future of space travel. Several launches including the first Apollo flight launched from this center. We booked a guided tour through the main buildings which was very interested. We lucked out and they had coincidentally scheduled a launch for the day we were visiting. It was very exciting to see all the preparations and the count down clock! Unfortunately, the launch was scrapped for the day due to weather. It was still an amazing day and we would definitely recommend a visit.
DAY 8
Day 8 - Today was a full day of relaxation by the pool and beach! We kept breakfast pretty simple today and took a quick walk to a local Starbucks. After breakfast, we set up our spot at the pool. The W pool had this really cool glass enclosed staircase that literally went through the pool. We took some pictures from the staircase and had some swimming races around it. After lunch, we had some beach time on beautiful Fort Lauderdale beach. The warm waves, sand and sun were spectacular! For dinner, we headed over to the central beach strip (rows of restaurants and bars) and selected a nice Italian beach front restaurant. They even had some live music and dancing that kept us entertained for the night! Tomorrow, we start our journey North!
DAY 10
Day 10 - Pool Day! Today, we had no major plans. We woke up and had a breakfast snack on our balcony! It was a bright sunny day and our room had a nice view of the lake surrounding the hotel. By 8:30 AM, we headed out to the pool. Dad got us set up with an umbrella near the slide. After a few hours of swimming, we got lunch at the pool and all took a few times down the twisty slide. The pool had some fun waterfalls which we explored! After the pool, we checked out the "World's Largest" McDonalds! 3 floors! It was crazy! After little Michael's favorite meal, we headed back to the hotel. We settled in a little early, because tomorrow we were going to have a very early start! Get your Mickey ears ready, we are heading to the Magic Kingdom!
DAY 12
Day 12 - After a big day at the Magic Kingdom and with 1 night left in Orlando, we decided to stay at the resort for most of the day. After breakfast, we set ourselves up at the pool where we awaited all the waterfalls! They were set to turn on every day at 9:00 AM. The morning was beautiful and sunny! After lunch, the rains came in, so after a little time hiding under our umbrella, we decided to head up to the room. Tomorrow, we were heading North to Georgia, so we spent a few minutes packing up our stuff and then headed out to Universal Studio's City Walk for dinner. We did a little walking around all of the stores and attractions and then had a delicious dinner at the Toothsome Chocolate Emporium! The desserts were truly amazing!
DAY 14
Day 14 - The community offered a great breakfast at one of their many restuarants, so we started the day there. Today, we had our appointment to tour the property with a guide from the real estate division. We started at the club house, where he showed us a detailed map and video of the property. We then went around and toured through many of the amenities like the gym, pool house, community center, restuarants and more. We ended the tour at two brand new model homes which were incredible. Coming from the city, these houses were enormous, but we enjoyed the walk throughs. After the tour, we spent some time at our community pool and then headed to dinner at their main Tavern. It was definitely a nice lifestyle! But, boy was that Georgia sun, Hot!
WHAT WE THOUGHT OF IT
MICHAEL
KAREN
MICHAEL S
