From Charleston to Atlanta - going in the opposite direction from Sherman

As has become my habit I was up at 4.30 and used the machine in the hotel to make coffee. I completed a blog post and then shaved and showered before going down to breakfast at 6.30. Again this hotel has free breakfast, similar to yesterday's but in this place the hot food is eggs, biscuits and country gravy. Given the colour and texture of country gravy I decided just to have the eggs and biscuits. 

We went back to the room and had checked out by 7.00 and headed off on today's route. I mentioned two days ago that I was going to two places I had heard of in South Carolina, it turns out the second is in Georgia - The City of Savannah. 

The route today takes us via Savannah to Atlanta, the opposite direction from that taken by General Sherman and his troops in their March to the Sea when they burnt Atlanta and cut a swathe through the land all the way to Savannah. 

We began by travelling from Charleston along the US17 we had about 40 miles of contraflow caused by roadworks. However the traffic, though single lane, travelled at a steady 60 mph. The route passed swamp areas with water and swaying grass. We joined the I95 and continued south. 

The temperature which had started at a pleasant 73 had now risen to 83. This made it a little challenging to take photos as the camera would steam up when the window opened. So to take the leaving South Carolina and the welcome to Georgia signs I had to open the window and hold the camera outside for 15 minutes in advance for it to acclimatise! Hence I was also able to take the Savannah River as we went over it. 

From the I95 we went on to the I16. Today we are staying on the faster roads as we want to reach Atlanta early in the afternoon. This eagerness to get to Atlanta is based on our experience back in 2002 when having travelled south from Nashville to Atlanta we arrived to find the 'World of Coca Cola' shut, they had a special private party and access was only for private guests. So one of our minor targets <<Drew says it is a major target>> for this holiday is to get to see Coke World and tour the CNN broadcast centre. As Drew describes it 'I've waited 11 years for this.' So Atlanta here we come. We stopped for a coffee, and a loo break, along the way and by this time of the day the external temperature had risen to 90! 

We arrived in Atlanta at 1.50, just as a thunder storm passed over, which brought the temperature down, but dried up as quickly as it came. We parked at the Comfort Inn and went downtown by taxi, that story will be in the next post.