Hello there
So I thought I should actually update this pre trippy since I seem to have abandoned it since last November!
Hands up who thought we’d still be in this mess regarding travel in June
With our balance due dates fast approaching, Jim and I had a long convo and we have decided to abandon our plans for this trip in July. I honestly can’t see the borders opening so soon, especially as we are due to fly on the 7th so it’s just a bit too early on in the month.
At the time of writing our flights haven’t yet been cancelled. We had direct flights in to MCO from LHR, the Gatwick flights have already been cancelled so it’s only a matter of time before ours are.
However, fear not! As a seasoned Dibber, I of course have a Plan B
In February I decided to book some back up flights as I could see the lockdown going on for longer than originally thought and we had another BA voucher so I decided to play it safe.
The government had finally made a decision on cancelling the A Levels and GCSEs which affect both Hope and Sam and had moved the results days forward so this meant we could go at our ideal time of the last 2 weeks of August.
By this time the direct flights to Orlando had rocketed in price but I found some indirects to Jacksonville that were reasonable. £400 more than our bargain July flights but still good value considering what price they are now! However like an idiot I chose the smallest car they had and figured I’d upgrade nearer the time if it looked like we’d need it. Well the car hire prices have pretty much trebled so Avis want an extra £1040 to upgrade to a Ford Explorer
We fly on the 18th August from LHR to JAX via MIA then return home on the 2nd September JAX to LHR via CLT. With a Toyota Corolla the price was £2531.
BUT if BA cancel our July flights I’m going to try and see if they can be moved to our August dates as they were £500 cheaper, although I’m unclear how much we’ll have to pay to move the car hire over.
If you’re understanding this so far, well done!
Now onto cancelling the multiple bookings we had made for July. 4 hotels, 1 AirBnB and 1 direct with the owner.
Thankfully all the hotels were booked with Free Cancellation so that only took 5 minutes to sort.
Our AirBnB owner has very kindly rebooked our Hilton Head Island condo to next year as they are completely fully booked until April! Head to my Florida wedding pre trip report for more details which can be found
HERE 
The owners of the cabin in the Smokies only have 3 nights available for our dates in August, whereas we originally had 5. They have kindly moved the booking for us and we will drop our time in Gatlinburg to 4 nights and stay in a hotel for the extra one. I’m thinking of finding one near Dollywood so after our day there we won’t have far to go.
When I booked the new flights I made bookings for 2 nights in Sawgrass and 2 nights in Atlanta at the same hotels as before, again with Free Cancellation. We won’t be booking anything else obviously until we know for definite we’ll be going. I flip flop daily from being completely positive we’ll get there to thinking the borders won’t open until next year. It’s draining I tell you! All Dibbers will understand this sickening rollercoaster journey we’re on at the moment
So, with all that done our new and improved itinerary is
18th August - Sawgrass Hilton Garden Inn - 2 nights
Whilst here Jim will be playing golf at TPC Sawgrass. For those of you who think golf is as much of a snooze fest as I do, it’s a pretty famous golf course where the PGA has been played before.
I’ll probably drive the golf buggy for him and be on alligator watch, while the kids stay by the hotel pool.
He should be finished by lunchtime so the plan for the afternoon is to drive down to St Augustine which is only about 30 minutes away.
Not sure how much time we’ll have here but will definitely stay for dinner.
20th August - Hilton Head Island condo - 5 nights
On the morning of the 20th we start the road trip and head north up to Hilton Head Island. En route we’ll stop in Savannah for lunch as I NEED to find where the famous "life is like a box of chocolates" scene was filmed from Forrest Gump! I believe it's in Chippewa Square. We’ll have a good wander round the city too.
We haven’t rebooked our accommodation for Hilton Head Island yet but I’m thinking of changing locations and finding somewhere near Coligny Plaza Beach instead of Palmetto Dunes where our original condo was. As we’ll be going there next year I thought it might be nice to explore a different area. It’s also cheaper as we can’t stretch to the same price as before, we had already put a £700 deposit down with £700 left to pay so ideally we only want to pay the same price as the balance which we can by moving further down the island.
As HHI is the golf capital of South Carolina, Jim will be playing as many rounds as he can whilst the kids and I will be soaking up the rays on the beach, maybe go kayaking and will definitely be playing some crazy golf! If I can convince the others I’d really like to do a sunset dolphin boat trip, although when we did one on Anna Maria Island a few years ago we didn’t see a dolphin or a sunset….
25th August - Charleston - 2 nights
We didn’t have a stop in Charleston on our original plan but Jim has recently watched a PGA tour at Kiawah Island which is nearby so has expressed an interest in visiting (you can sense a theme here can’t you!)
After reading Amanda’s (WileyCoyotes) trip report from a few years ago, I really liked the look of Charleston so as we have 2 nights spare before we can get to the Smokies it seemed like a no brainer.
Will only have 1 full day so while Jim is golfing I’ve seen a carriage tour ride of the city I would like to do plus pound the streets which is sometimes the best way to explore!
27th August - Smoky Mountain cabin - 3 nights
Finally onto the place that inspired this whole trip in the first place, you know, back before Covid 19 was even heard of!
We’ll spend our first 3 nights in the cabin in Cobbly Nob
. Yes we really are that immature
Look how dreamy this place is though!
Whilst here we’ll have 2 full days to explore the National Park so the plan is to cycle around Cades Cove, drive around the Roaring Fork Motor Trail, go on a mountain coaster, go white water rafting, and hike a few trails.
30th August - Pigeon Forge - 1 night
On our last day in the Smokies we’ll spend the day at Dollywood. Can. Not. Wait! Whilst the coaster junkies do their thing I’ll be getting my country on and finding as many live music acts as I can.
I’ll probably find a local hotel for us to crash the night in, there are tonnes in the area so will have plenty to choose from!
31st August - Atlanta - 2 nights
Our last stop on the road trip!
We’ll leave the Smokies early and head to Atlanta with a slight detour to a town called Helen where they have a river tubing trail that has been recommended. It looks fun!
Once we’ve checked into the Hotel Indigo in Atlanta we’ll take a short stroll over to the World of Coca Cola. I have added enough to their profits over the years I should have bought shares decades ago!
I would like to take a walk around the Olympic Park too which is next door.
On our last full day we will drive just outside of the city to a town called Senoia where The Walking Dead was filmed. Jim and I will be doing one of the walking tours of the film sets as we are huge fans of the show. The kids may tag along but I won’t force them if they’re not interested. I also want to grab something to eat at Nic and Normans which is named after and owned by Greg Nicotero an executive producer of the show and Norman Reedus who plays Daryl
That there ends our 2 week road trip of the South. We’ll make the 5 hour drive to Jacksonville on our last day, our return flight isn’t until 7pm but we’ll get an early start just in case there’s unexpected traffic.
We still have quite a bit to sort, Estas and travel insurance to start with plus I have done NO holiday shopping whatsoever. I have a feeling it’s all going to be very last minute!
So all we can do now is keep our fingers and toes tightly crossed and be patient, again
I’ll update once we find out either way what the outcome is!
TTFN