“No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow.” ~ Lin Yutang

We did quite a bit of traveling on our way back to Central New York from our two month visit to Florida. First, we headed straight across the state in a south-easterly manner.  Central Florida does not hold the same spectacular views as does her coasts, but it is definitely orange growing territory.  We drove through miles and miles of endless orange groves, some of them in fruit and others in bloom.  The scent of orange blossom in the air was AMAZING!  Despite it being an uncomfortably warm day, we kept the windows down - I've never experienced anything like it.  I wish I could have captured it in a jar so I can pull it out and sniff whenever I want!

 The smoke of a distant brush fire - we could see it for miles and miles.

After spending three days in Stuart visiting with friends, where I took no pictures, we headed to St. Augustine, our country's oldest established city.  We passed up a visit to The Fountain of Youth.  Like everything else in St. Augustine, there was a hefty price tag just to walk through the gate.

The Spanish influence was evident at every turn - just spectacular architecture!  We took a trolley tour, which gave us a very good feel for what the city has to offer.  I must say that we were a bit disappointed by the touristy feel of the city - some truly lovely spots, but a lot junky shops.  Everything had its own admission price, and there did not seem to be the unified approach to handling and encouraging tourists that we have found in say, Williamsburg, or our next day spent in Savannah.  A lovely city though, to be sure. 

Oyster beds ~ Jekyll Island, Georgia

We spent a lovely day in Savannah Georgia where, sadly, I didn't seem to take many photos.  I think that this was in part because many of Savannah's streets are still paved in cobblestone and brick, and  we just bounced along during the trolley tour that we took there - not conducive to good picture-taking!   Savannah really did seem to have its act together when it came to handling tourists.  Everything seemed to flow nicely, and the shops had a genuinely historic feel to them.  It is just a gorgeous city - very lush in its greenery, and beautifully historic in every way. 

Savannah sits on the Savannah River, which is Georgia's largest port.  We watched several large freighters as they glided on their way to who-knows-where.  They are actually quite majestic and graceful for such large and seemingly awkward structures.

Our Final Day of Travel!

Our final night on the road was spent in Richmond, Virginia, where we arrived late at night, and hit the road first thing in the morning.  We stopped at Juniper Moon Farm, where Zac, the farm manager, gave us a wonderful tour.  The morning couldn't have been more lovely, and the farm is just a beautiful, beautiful spot. 

A face only a mother could love, I think!  

Well, our journey is at an end - for this year anyhow!  As we walked into our home later that same day, I realized how lucky I was to be able to spend two months vacationing - wow!  And how happy I was to be home.