Miami Back to New York

Here are some highlights from the 3 day drive BACK to the state of New York:

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Day 1: Up Florida

Booked it up to St. Augustine by lunchtime, which, fun fact, is the OLDEST city in America! And I freaking loved this place!! Like why do more people not know more about it. It has incredible history, architecture and just a chilled/fun vibe. Walked around old town and through the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument. Also, Flagler College is truly stunning. 

Then we hit up a Mexican restaurant, La Casita, in the beautiful (sarcasm) town of Green Cove Springs before making our way to the beautiful Black Creek Hideaway, a clamping spot by the river just south of Jacksonville. Highly, highly recommend this spot if you are ever, for whatever reason, in this area. 

Day 2: To Charlotte

Made my way up to Charlotte, North Carolina, which was a pleasant surprise! I got a GREAT deal at the Dunhill Hotel, which had a wonderful historic charm with a modern twist. Its a very walkable city, so I made my way around and just enjoyed this small big town. Some Charlotte recs: coffee and pastries at Amelie Bakery, drinks at Buho, walk through The Green, grab drinks and bites at the Market at 7th Street, see the Bank of America Stadium (right in downtown, why not stop by).

Day 3: Nature!

Now we got up to Shenandoah National Park, complete with one of the most beautiful drives in America on the Blue Ridge Parkway. There are so many wonderful hikes here, you really can’t go wrong. I did Stony Man, Millers Head and Whiteoak Canyon Falls. 

Day 4: Luray

Okay now if you are ever in the DC area (which is reasonable), you HAVE to go to the Luray Caves. These are one of the largest navigable caves in the world, and the formations here are absolutely outstanding. I ended up here for like almost 3 hours, which resulted in a very late arrival to Ithaca, but hey, we made it!