So from Memphis, we spent the night at a campsite in Nashville. The next morning had a great cup of coffee, explored the town, and then headed on to Great Smoky Mountain National Park, a couple hour drive. The town leading into the park, Gatlinburg, is an absolute tourist attraction, but was interesting to see a crossection of just exactly who was traveling, and to grab dinner. From there we headed into the park:
After a quick tour of the park, we spent the night at the Cosby campground, near the north-eastern end. A great nights sleep brought a great day hike for the following day:
What was most surprising, at least for me, someone who has only hiked in the west, was the lack of elevation. The highest point in the park (a scenic overlook) at just over 6000' is actually smaller than a very average mountain by my home in Southern California.
From the park we continued towards Myrtle beach, and were met with one big tourist attraction. We spent the night but as soon as possible, left towards Jacksonville Florida. In between, I found Charleston and Savannah to be quite charming, with Savannah providing a great atmosphere, especially historically.
From Savannah, we made it to Jacksonville without issue. A much nicer experience than Myrtle beach. While it was not exactly like the beaches near me in terms of surf, it did provide warm water, and a quiet beach experience, which was well needed.
I also decided to change my oil in the beach parking lot (it had been 3700 miles in high heat). This would be the hottest oil change I've ever done haha. 97* with high humidity made me sweat like The King himself. No issue with the maintenance though, luckily.