Blogposts from our 2023 southeast winter road trip are finally complete. This post provides an outline of where we went, what we saw and links to posts associated with each stop. 

If you haven’t seen any of the posts, you may want to start at the beginning. Near the bottom of each post, there is a green link that will take you to what’s “Up next: Enjoy!”

Our itinerary:

Seeking the Sun 2023
New Bern, NC (7 nights) Sandcastle Village. After a visit with friends, we arrived in New Bern and settled in. We enjoyed a little nightlife, a few local beers, sightseeing at a cemetery, a waterfront community park, and the birthplace of Pepsi. Our stop at the Firemen’s Museum led us on a hunt to find more Bear Town Bears.

A Visit to Tryon Palace
Our stay in New Bern continues with a trip back in time – to one of our country’s first colonial capitals and the home of William Tryon – a royal governor of New Bern. We walked onto the grounds through the gate, as visitors would have entered in carriages in 1770 and met our tour guide who made the experience very interesting.

300 Years of History
Our stay in New Bern continues. As much as I hated history in school, it’s a whole nother thing to see it in person – to hear the stories, see the cannons, and to imagine a life during that time period. This post takes us to a Civil War battlefield, to Beaufort, and a fort that stands on a site with history dating back to Blackbeard.

America’s Oldest City
St. Augustine, FL (5 nights) Grande Villas at World Golf Village. I caught the last night of Nights of Lights and we took the trolley to get some history and the lay of the land for more in-depth visits during the rest of our stay. #11 was our favorite stop – at the St. Augustine Distillery for a delicious lunch and a little tasting.

Getting A Closer Look
Our trolley ride in St. Augustine continues. This city is a feast for the eyes with its fabulous Spanish Colonial architecture. We got off of the trolley one more time to venture inside a portion of Flagler College and the courtyard at the Lightner Museum, and to get a better look at the area nearby. Next time we’re doing tours!

Security with a View
Our stay in St. Augustine continues. After a great tour of Castillo de San Marcos and its bird’s eye views of Matanzas Bay, our water-views continued with a walk along the bay to the Bridge of Lions. We finished off the day with a magnificent meal and a stroll along St. George Street and through yet another security measure.

The Spice of Life
Our stay in St. Augustine continues with a day trip to Amelia Island Lighthouse that’s loaded with family history, a quick trip through Fort Clinch State Park that’s loaded with more history, a longer stop in Eagans Creek Greenway that was pretty amazing, and a break by the beach for lunch and a beverage. It was a perfect day!

Movin’ on Down
Key West, FL (3 nights) Truman Hotel. There’s nothing like several nights in Key West to relax and unwind – especially when our next-day, all-day excursion requires a 7am checkin. Today we boarded the Yankee Freedom to cruise the seventy miles of open water between Key West and Fort Jefferson in Dry Tortugas National Park.

Turtles, Floaties, & Beer
Marathon, FL (3 nights) Hammocks at Marathon. This post involves a sunset at the Tiki Bar, a pelican eyeing up our dinner through the windshield of a boat, and some great meals. We visited Sombrero Beach, the Turtle Hospital, and made the trip to Islamorada for lunch, and some tasting and a beer at its Distillery & Brewery.

Bok Tower Gardens
Clermont, FL (5 nights) Summer Bay Orlando. When Matlacha was devastated by Hurricane Ian in September, we were able to book a condo near Orlando. Although it was very nice, we didn’t get out much while we were there. Bok Tower Gardens was our only outing and it was fabulous on yet another lovely afternoon in February.

Blue Spring State Park
Orlando, FL (13 nights) The Fountains. Today we headed north about an hour to Blue Spring State Park. We spent some time near the spring amazed by the manatees, then took a cruise on the St. John’s River to experience its shimmering blue water first-hand. This habitat for the threatened and endangered was a joy!

Day Trip to Port Canaveral
Our stay in Orlando continues with a day trip to Port Canaveral. Last time we were on the Space Coast, we were headed home before Covid shut things down in 2020. We thought we could see the lighthouse on our way by, but entry was restricted by the U.S. Air Force. On this visit we came prepared, and oh what a day!

Two Lights and a Wildlife Refuge
St. Marks, FL (1 night) Luxurious River Paradise. We finished up our stay in Orlando with a day of antiquing in Mount Dora (and its light). En route to our next accommodations, we visited St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge (and its light). In between we had lazy days and an afternoon at the House of Blues.

Apalachee Bay to Apalachicola
Apalachicola, FL (2 nights) Majestic Jewel. This post finishes off our stay in St. Marks, FL with a stop at San Marcos de Apalache on our way to Apalachicola. We immersed ourselves in Florida history and enjoyed the beautiful coastal waters of the Forgotten Coast. Some great seafood and lively music at a Dive Bar rounded out our visit.

Cape San Blas Lighthouse
This is a quick post about a fascinating lighthouse that’s been through a lot in its 175-year lifetime. On our second pass through Port St. Joe, FL we were able to get inside the gift shop to read about its rebuilds, redesigns and finally its relocation from the hurricane-prone Cape San Blas to its permanent home.

A Return to PCB
Panama City Beach, FL (7 nights) Landmark Holiday Beach Resort. My first photos from PCB are always beautiful beach photos, since the Gulf of Mexico is right in front of our condo! We walked our favorite trails at Conservation Park (with its critters), and a day trip to Historic St. Andrews ended with a beer and a lovely sunset.

For the Love of Flowers
Our stay in Panama City Beach continues with a lengthy, but fabulous day trip to see some flowers at the “charm spot of the deep south” – Bellingrath Gardens. The home was equally as impressive with original furnishings and lovely views of the Fowl River. And it all started with a Coca-Cola franchise in 1903.

A Day on the Mighty Mississippi
New Orleans, LA (6 nights) The Marquee. We moved into our new digs in New Orleans and the very next morning departed for a day trip to Darrow, LA with my cousin. Just one stop included a massive Great River Road Museum, an authentic southern lunch buffet, and a gorgeous plantation home with lovely gardens.

The Big Easy Revisited
Our stay in New Orleans continues. This post is a compilation of several days of exploring. Jim visited the WWII Museum and I had a blast exploring on my own. We tried to spend as much time as we could along the Mississippi River with a trip to Audubon Park and a ferry ride to Algiers Point.

A Soggy Day in Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge, La (1 night) Hampton Inn & Suites Downtown and
St. Francisville, LA (1 night) 1940 Vintage Motor Court Cabin. The end of our 2023 winter road trip offered an opportunity to see a nice chunk of the Great River Road on our way back to Wisconsin, but the weather turned to crap and we wanted to get home so we pulled the plug.

Another great road trip is officially in the books!

Up Next: Return to the Red Rocks 2024

Happy trails,
Barb