Our journey started on a rainy, cold and generally miserable April morning in London. But after just a few hours we landed in sunny and even hot Washington. Washington Dulles Airport is quite unusual – between the jetties and main terminal building there is no fixed connection. You have to board funny vehicles which are a cross between bus, truck and fork-lift. Even with such added “attractions”, the whole process is much faster and easier than I have ever experienced at Heathrow. A few minutes after clearing immigration we collected the keys to our car.
Washington has efficient public transport (by American standards) but for the rest of our trip a car was a necessity. We stayed in a cheap motel in Arlington, Virginia, a few minutes from the Pentagon where transfer to the metro is possible, so we decided to leave our car and explore the city. The trip to the centre of the city took us no more than 20-30 minutes by bus and metro. Washington’s museums might be a little overwhelming at first contact, so we decided to spend the first day, or rather afternoon, just walking around. The central part of the city is The Mall, a long expanse of green between Capitol, where we started our walk, and Lincoln Memorial, two iconic structures.
In between we visited a few monuments including the famous black wall of the Vietnam Memorial and the big and elaborate National World War II Memorial. But of course most iconic of all of them is the simple white pillar of Washington Monument. The sight of all these American flags around might be a bit tiring, but that’s what you would expect from national capital, wouldn’t you?
What a difference a day can make. We woke up the following morning in heavy rain. Walking was not an option because the rain was really, really heavy. So we decided to visit museums, or rather one of them, the National Museum of American Indians. Why this one? Washington is full of great museums but I think they are similar to the great London museums. Inside the American Indian Museum we were hoping to find something new and unusual. And we weren’t disappointed. It is a great and very educational museum, created a large extent by Native Americans themselves. Inside, there is the best mid-priced food in Washington. The museum cafeteria serves traditional dishes from Native Americans. The selection is large and place is worth a few visits just to try the food even if you visit different museums. Just avoid lunch hours when finding a seat is more difficult than winning the lottery.
We also popped into the National Gallery of Art. I am not a fan of art but I like the architecture of this building, especially the modern wing.
Next day our real trip started. For me the best way to see America is by car. This country is designed for cars and with a few exceptions (like New York or San Francisco) you can’t really travel around without one.
Our first idea was to go south following the Appalachian Mountains but the weather (especially rain) forced us to change plans. We headed south towards South Carolina and Charleston. It is a long, one-and-a-half-day, drive. But it is worth it. Charleston is a rather small but very historic city, in fact I read somewhere that it has more structures on the National Register of Historic Buildings than Boston or mighty New York. It is one of the oldest cities in North America, having existed in its current location since 1670. Charleston saw the first shots of the Civil War, and many other historic events. It is really pleasant to walk the narrow streets full of brightly coloured small buildings or big mansions with gardens and verandas. It is like going back in time to the 18th century. Imagine West Hampstead with palms on the sidewalks and sunny pleasant weather.
We stayed across river from downtown Charleston in one of the millions of cheap motels which line highways across America, especially close to any significant settlement. It is usually a very good option money-wise. We are used to spending around US$40-50 per night for two (£20-25!!!). The best way to find them is to stop by one of the state welcome centres, located just across state borders when you enter most of the states by major Interstate Highway (the equivalent of motorways in Britain). There you can collect discount coupons books that offer cheap accommodation almost everywhere. Coupons are usually organised by highway numbers and exit numbers. It’s a real help for budget travellers – you don’t have to call around and ask about rates. You just choose the place and price, and go.
In Charleston we left the car at the motel and decided to walk to the town across the modern and impressive Arthur Ravenel Jr Bridge. It seemed like short walk, we drove over the bridge before in a few minutes. But in fact it took us more than an hour to walk to the city centre in full southern sun. It was tiring, but the bridge offers great views of the whole peninsula where downtown is located. When we got tired of great architecture and history, browsing the local market was great fun. You can buy, for example, Stetson hats or genuine crafts made by residents of coastal communities (woven baskets are most popular). Of course you can buy almost anything with the South Carolina flag on it (I got a luggage label).
On the way back to the motel we took a taxi. It is a wise solution after dark because on the way to the bridge you cross not so good neighbourhoods. Fortunately the price of the taxi was similar to a London Underground ticket.
Our next destination was Savannah. It is just over two hours drive from Charleston across a flat marshy area. It is archetypical South; little towns where life goes slowly. Savannah is also an old historic town although not as old as Charleston. It was founded in 1733 by James Oglethorpe who established the last of 13 original British colonies in Northern America – Georgia. Its layout is well planned around 24 lovely green squares which are surrounded by old houses. Some of these squares are now gone, but most of them survive.
At first glance Savannah lacks some of Charleston’s charm, but it is definitely the livelier of the two. Charleston has a somewhat posh atmosphere which is absent in Savannah. In Charleston antiques shops are common, while in Savannah there are more T-shirt shops. But don’t be fooled. Move more inland from the busy and partying riverfront (where you can buy almost anything a tourist might need), and antique shops and big mansions appear, Southern charm taking hold. Some of the mansions around these old squares reminded me of New Orleans architecture, especially the iron balconies and big verandas.
Both cities offer horse-carriage rides, bus tours, old trolley tours (the old trolley is in fact a bus which looks like trolley), walking tours, ghost tours and many, many more. But the best way is to simply put the map away and just get lost in the small narrow streets, go for iced tea (the local cold drink of choice) and spend some time sipping it on the riverfront.
After Savannah we decided that we’d had enough cities, history and architecture. Beach and fun were what we needed. For that we headed further south. Florida was our next destination. But this is another story…
Before you go, I recommend reading Charleston & Savannah Moon Guide and Washington DC Lonely Planet Guide. If you need more information about states on a way or you want to stop somewhere in small towns, Moon publishes separate guides to all the states you need: Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. We also used the Charleston Flexi Map published by Insight, map of Washington DC published by Borsch, and the Rand McNally USA Road Atlas which is the best option if you plan any driving in more than one or two states.
Top image: Charleston, South Carolina.
Photos by Gregor Swiderek.
Author: Gregor Swiderek
Date: 12 May 2008
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