The trip
For the last several years, instead of the traditional gift exchange my family has decided to travel for Christmas. In the past we’ve visited Sedona, AZ, Gatlinburg, TN, and St. George, UT. This year, we decided on Savannah, GA – a place and part of the country I had never been.
Flights to Savannah were expensive, and Jenna and I have the van so we decided to extend the trip by driving. It would be long, but we’d save money and get to see some additional places like Charleston, Hilton Head, and Fayetteville.
The next few posts will cover a leg of the trip. Each was very different, and all great in their own ways.
The Drive
Cutting through Kansas and Missouri the drive the Fayetteville is just under 790 miles. We decided to split it into two days, with a goal to make it to Wichita on the first day.
We wanted to get an early start on Saturday to reduce the amount of time driving in the dark. Of course there are always last minute things that need to be packed, stuff that is forgotten that get remembered right around the time to leave.
With the van, we also have to make sure we pack all the food, check the batteries, solar power, and water. I loaded my 2 bags and Jenn loaded her 12. Usually, I get some space in the storage above the bed…but not on this trip, I’d be living out of my bag.
Only slightly delayed we hit the road. Weather was nice and Jenn drove the first leg through eastern Colorado and much of Kansas. There isn’t much to say about the majority of the drive, it’s flat and open.
After several hours we turned south from Salina. The sun was setting, and it was absolutely incredible. The open plains slowly changed from boring to beautiful as the sky turned an orange color that we don’t typically see in Alaska or Colorado. It wasn’t the clouds, but an overall glow.
Shortly after the sky changed from orange to black we rolled into Wichita. Exiting the highway brought us to the large suburban shopping area that included the Cabela’s parking lot where we would be spending the night. It wasn’t beautiful, but at least it was also not quiet.
It was still fairly early, so we decided to stretch our legs and walk into the Cabela’s. We spent some time walking around and looking at the various mounts hung on the walls. In the fishing section we found some salmon high above some rods then some more in a glass case under the reels. It made me miss Alaska.
Jenn quickly got bored so we went back to the van. We debated walking to the Chili’s nearby for dinner, but decided it would be better to cook at “home”. All things considered, it was a comfortable first night on the road and we felt well rested the next morning to finish our drive to Fayetteville.
That Sunday was the World Cup championship between Argentina and France. I’m not a huge soccer fan, but I do enjoy the World Cup and had watched most of the games to this point.
After some searching, I was able to find a way to stream the game. We had missed the first half, but tuned in just as France was making a comeback. If the game wasn’t suspenseful enough, we had the added issue of a bad connection which caused the stream to buffer at some of the worst moments…including the shootout. What an unbelievable game.
We still had several hours to go once the game ended so we switched over to a podcast, Up and Vanished. This kept us entertained until we reached our destination.
Fayetteville
It was early afternoon when we arrived in Fayetteville. We stayed with Jenn’s friends so we had a few nights away from the van. That night we had dinner reservations at Atlas, a fine dining restaurant in town. It was excellent, and it started a trend of ordering oysters at many of the restaurants we visited during our entire trip.
I had to work during our stay so my day’s were spent behind the computer, although they were more pleasant with the company of two amazing golden retrievers and a friendly cat.
Our time in Fayetteville was too short, we had a great time and both wished we could stay longer. There are a lot more places to see and things to do, but we did make sure to have lunch at Hugo’s before leaving town, which I highly recommend.
Up next was a two day drive to Savannah, Georgia for Christmas…