(You can catch up with the series here!)

This segment of the trip was my first away from home. I was visiting my in-laws in South Carolina, and had a fun day renting a car to do some traveling. (I think they were a little confused about why I was doing this; but to be fair – it sounds a little silly to me too.)

When you are doing a multi-stage car trip (here: plane and then car), it’s good to think ahead about what you are going to need. You probably don’t have access to your usual travel stuff – but it’s okay to do some shopping along the way. Pack what you can in advance (those car-friendly snacks are expensive when you buy them on site!), but just be ready to go with the flow.

Think about the kind of road trip you want to have. I like to keep moving, and get where I’m going without a lot of pointless delay. So I tend to eat at gas stations: V8 juice, cheese sticks, almonds, bananas, peanut M&Ms if you aren’t in a great place. But a lot of gas stations are adding nice sandwiches, and even some hot food. If you can avoid stopping at a restaurant, you will save a LOT of time. I’d rather spend that time exploring, stopping at sights, and setting up a tent at the end of the day. But if traveling in a leisurely way is better for you – do that. It’s your car trip; enjoy it your way!

South Carolina

I flew in here, so this was my first state visited in this batch of states. I’ve been visiting my in-laws here for more than 20 years now, so am pretty familiar with their Northeastern corner of the state. Yes: I have a favorite pancake location! (This is key in any southern state.)

I like this cozy mystery series – and as an uneducated Yankee I had never heard of the Lowcountry until I started going to South Carolina. And wow: the food is So Very Good!! I’m now in love with shrimp with grits.

Lowcountry Boil (A Liz Talbot Mystery Book 1), by Susan M. Boyer

“Private Investigator Liz Talbot is a modern Southern belle: she blesses hearts and takes names. She carries her Sig 9 in her Kate Spade handbag, and her golden retriever, Rhett, rides shotgun in her hybrid Escape.

When her grandmother is murdered, Liz high-tails it back to her South Carolina island home to find the killer.
She’s fit to be tied when her police-chief brother shuts her out of the investigation, so she opens her own. Then her long-dead best friend pops in and things really get complicated.

When more folks start turning up dead in this small seaside town, Liz must use more than just her wits and charm to keep her family safe, chase down clues from the hereafter, and catch a psychopath before he catches her.

North Carolina

I’ve said this before, but: I used to live here! When I needed more library school, I headed to University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill to get it. And while it was VERY VERY HOT there in the summer, it was really gorgeous in the spring and fall. The campus was the most beautiful I’ve seen; if you are in the area, stop by!

This is a fun YA series, set in the mountains of North Carolina. You might also have enjoyed her Elemental Assassin series for adults.

Touch of Frost (The Mythos Academy #1), by Jennifer Estep

“My name is Gwen Frost, and I go to Mythos Academy — a school of myths, magic and warrior whiz kids, where even the lowliest geek knows how to chop off somebody’s head with a sword and Logan Quinn, the hottest Spartan guy in school, also happens to be the deadliest.

But lately, things have been weird, even for Mythos. First, mean girl Jasmine Ashton was murdered in the Library of Antiquities. Then, someone stole the Bowl of Tears, a magical artifact that can be used to bring about the second Chaos War. You know, death, destruction and lots of other bad, bad things. Freaky stuff like this goes on all the time at Mythos, but I’m determined to find out who killed Jasmine and why – especially since I should have been the one who died . . . “

Georgia

While I’ve spent hours and hours and hours in the Atlanta airport (thanks, Delta!), I had not ever been outside in the state. So it was fun to check it out and see the state! Admittedly, I saw it driving 80 mph on I-95, so probably can’t really claim much knowledge. But it was fun!

I read this book when it first came out, and was slightly goggled in a Yankee way by the eccentric Southern culture.

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil: A Savannah Story, by John Berendt

” Shots rang out in Savannah’s grandest mansion in the misty,early morning hours of May 2, 1981.  Was it murder or self-defense?  For nearly a decade, the shooting and its aftermath reverberated throughout this hauntingly beautiful city of moss-hung oaks and shaded squares.  John Berendt’s sharply observed, suspenseful, and witty narrative reads like a thoroughly engrossing novel, and yet it is a work of nonfiction.  Berendt skillfully interweaves a hugely entertaining first-person account of life in this isolated remnant of the Old South with the unpredictable twists and turns of a landmark murder case. “

Florida

This was definitely the part that my in-laws thought was odd. (They weren’t wrong.) It was a five hour drive down there – but my brother was on a break from working for his boss at the Daytona 500. His company sponsors a team: Justin Allgaier. (Go, Justin!!) So that day, he drove north to Jacksonville, and I drove south. And we got to have lunch together!

Wacky Florida Stories is an entire genre, and you aren’t going to go wrong with many of them. I love the Serge A. Storms series! (And they often involve road trips. I listened to this book while I was in Florida!)

No Sunscreen for the Dead, by Tim Dorsey

“Serge and Coleman are back on the road, ready to hit the next stop on their list of obscure and wacky points of interest in the Sunshine State. This time, Serge’s interest is drawn to one of the largest retirement villages in the world—also known as the site of an infamous sex scandal between a retiree and her younger beau that rocked the community.

What starts out as an innocent quest to observe elders in their natural habitats, sample the local cuisine, and scope out a condo to live out the rest of their golden years, soon becomes a Robin Hood-like crusade to recover the funds of swindled residents. After all, our seniors should be revered and respected—they’ve heroically fought in wars, garnered priceless wisdom, and they have the best first-hand accounts of bizarre Floridian occurrences only Serge would know about. But as the resident’s rally for Serge to seek justice on their behalves, two detectives are hot on the heels of Serge and Coleman’s murderous trail.”

Go out this week and enjoy some books, as you think about your own travels!