Fall Trip 2013, Day 1 - Let's Drive

Over the past couple of years, we've started a tradition of taking a little trip in the fall - last year we went to DC and the year before that we went to the Mall of America.  I couldn't help but think how we would have felt if our DC trip was planned for this year and this whole government shutdown business had interfered.  As it was, we decided not to go to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan because of the national parks that were closed.  Instead we did the Carolinas because I've been meaning to get back there for awhile. In my quest to visit all 50 states, there are admittedly a number of states that got short-changed. I mean you have states like Alaska and Hawaii where we spent a good week+ exploring, but then you have states like South Carolina where I went to Reedy River Falls and spent maybe a couple hours walking around. So a repeat visit was definitely warranted - but this time my aim was the coast!

First things first, breakfast on the way out of town. We stopped at Reality Tuesday Cafe just over the Kentucky state line for a pumpkin latte and pastries for the road. Good stuff!

Caramel-frosted donut; Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffin; Lemon-Poppyseed Muffin

A couple hours into Kentucky, we see a sign for the birthplace of Kentucky Fried Chicken. Now I don't actually eat chicken, but I do appreciate their potato wedges and macaroni and cheese!  I figured this warranted a little side excursion.

And obviously it is the height of all things cool to stand next to the birth place of KFC and munch on some chicken. Or potato wedges.  :)

But mostly it was a long day of driving.

We stopped at Lambsbread Vegan Cafe in Columbia, South Carolina for dinner and had some pretty amazing food. One of the specials of the day was the 'Smothered Chicken', so I had that with a side of mac and cheese and seasoned potatoes (bottom right photo). Francisco had the Philly Cheesesteak with Candied Yams. 

We retired to a Super 8 just a couple of hours short of our destination.