Canada geese have the right idea. Shorter days and dropping temperatures say the time’s right for snowbirds to head south. We packed our van and started south right after Thanksgiving.

In Charlotte, NC, we enjoyed a good, albeit quick, visit with family. As a bonus, we were treated to the drive through holiday light show at the Charlotte Speedway. Blinking, racing lights coordinated with jazzy Christmas music. Almost psychedelic! A good kick-off for the holiday season. Thanks, Diane and Ric!

In Murrell’s Inlet, South Carolina, we made a daytime visit to Brookgreen Gardens to admire the outdoor sculpture and gardens. Fighting Stallions is one of Anna Hyatt Huntington’s largest cast aluminum works; it stands as an impressive welcome to the gardens.

Below: One of several Diana sculptures in the gardens. This one is by Augustus St-Gaudens.

From South Carolina, we followed along the coast to Savannah, GA, and camped at Skidaway Island. This wooded park is a seasonal stop for us. The campground is quiet and the trails along the savannah are lovely. Plus, downtown Savannah is an easy day trip from here.

We went and trekked the riverfront Christmas Market. And, once again, we marveled at the interior of the Kessler Mariott which anchors the waterfront. Previously a power plant, the building houses an amazing collection of prehistoric artifacts, giant gemstones and crystals – along with shops, restaurants, a spa, and swanky hotel rooms. A life size reproduction chrome dinosaur is suspended from the lobby ceiling.

There is also a decorated Christmas tree competition. And the Gingerbread Display is always very creative.

This year’s display featured elves busily cooking up a mess in the kitchen. One elf got caught on a shelf – in the freezer!

The ingredients are proudly posted:

While on Skidaway Island, we had dinner at one of our all-time favorite restaurants: Castaways. Delicious food, artfully presented, and quite reasonable. It’s tucked behind other businesses in a small shopping plaza. Such a fabulous discovery.

Florida!

East or West? Which coast is best? We started on the east coast.

In Port St. Lucie, we stayed at the small Corps of Engineers campground along the canal by the locks. This cross-Florida canal system makes its way from the Atlantic to Lake Okeechobee, and then it continues to the Gulf near Fort Myers. We’ve stayed at three campgrounds along this canal.

Below: A sailboat that waited overnight for the morning lock opening.

We ventured out to find the Hobe Sound Farmer’s Market, which is a pretty big deal around here.

In these weeks before Christmas, craftspeople were out in full swing, offering everything from jewelry and homemade potions and lotions to tie-dyed clothing and pottery. A petting zoo and live music added to the scene.

We found garden-fresh tomatoes and gorgeous oyster mushrooms for our dinner.

From Port St. Lucie, we continued south to C.B. Smith Park in Pembroke Pines. The county runs this urban park and campground. The noise of city traffic was the trade-off for being close to civilization.

We made a day trip to South Miami to visit the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. This is America’s premier sub-tropical botanic garden. The typography, history of the garden, and the collections are really interesting. Long story short: Colonel Robert Montgomery named the garden for his friend and passionate horticulturist David Fairchild.

Fairchild created the Section of Foreign Seed and Plant Introduction of the USDA. For 37 years, he traveled the world in search of plants that could be useful here. He brought back hundreds of plants, including bamboo, mangos, dates, soybeans, nectarines, avocados, and the cherry trees in Washington, DC.

The garden contains many rare plants, including this one, the Baobab tree planted in 1939.

These long-lived trees are members of the Hibiscus family and come, primarily, from Madagascar. The inside of the Baobab tree is spongy and full of moisture. Their massive trunks have been used as jails, post offices, and living spaces. The tree’s fruit is citrus-like and edible. Elephants use their tusks to gore the trees in search of water, which can introduce problems. However, most trees continue to live to an old age. Some reach 1,000 years of age.

Even though this area receives around 60 inches of rain a year, it’s not sufficient for maintaining the rain forest garden. So, it’s misted throughout the day, adding to an already humid environment.

This is an iguana playground. The bright orange ones are the males. They dramatically try to attract the females. Lots of head bobbing, dewlap flapping, and jowl shaking. The females are green, smaller, and scamper away when observed.

Sadly, iguanas are an invasive species of herbivores. So, although photogenic, they are not very welcome in the garden.

Alligators abound in south Florida, but we were surprised to see our first wild crocodile at Fairchild.

The garden has lots of wonderful features, including a butterfly house, specialty garden areas, a nice cafe in the shade, and a number of Dale Chihuly sculptures.

I think the sculpture below might be early Chihuly, as there are more diverse forms involved.

If you’re ever this far south, this garden is a unique visit. Be sure to take the free tram tour and request Jodi as your guide!

On another day, we drove half an hour east to Hollywood Beach.

The surfside 2.5-mile “Broadwalk” is a good place for a stroll and offers an extravaganza of people watching. Bikers, roller bladers, baby strollers, and runners, toddlers, teens, and seniors share the broad, paved walk. There are surprisingly few collisions, even with all the eye-catching diversions along the way (and on the beach).

We found a shop with oodles of Christmas display inflatables. We had some fun with photos.

From Florida’s east coast, we took I-75 across the state and landed on the Gulf Coast. Our base for the week before Christmas is Oscar Scherer State Park, near Osprey, FL. This feels like an old-time Florida park. Sand and palm trees. Lots of close together sites that feel private due to foliage between sites. Recently remodeled bath house, nice amenities. Lots of places to hike or bike ride. This could be one of our favorite Florida state parks.

The park is close to the Legacy Trail – an easy, paved 10-mile trail. We picked a quiet beach for our first ride’s destination. We’re grateful that there are still spots like this to be explored.

One evening, we went to Venice for dinner at a marina and to see some holiday lights. The palms on the main street in Venice were stunning. Blocks and blocks of lighted trees.

We’d read about fantastic lights at a private home in nearby Nokomis. But I guess everyone else had read the same story; the line of cars to get into the parking area was more than half a mile long. Maybe another time.

However, we found a terrific holiday display at West Blalock Park in Venice. The whole community -businesses and individuals – come out and decorate the park. It was a wonderful walk-through on a warm December evening. Here are some images from that display:

And so, this is our December. We hope yours is cheery whether you’re wearing tee shirts and shorts or a parka and mittens. Enjoy the season!

And to answer the question of east or west? Let’s call it a tie.

Happy Holidays!
Sally and John