Disembark.

The road is long that carried me from you.

London, ON – Michigan: blah, blah, blah. Ohio: blah, blah, blah.

Kentucky: pretty, but goodbye.

One province, 13 states, 60 hours and 4,567.5 kilometres driven.

(We do this because we'd never see what we do in any other way. Open road, you are a cruel mistress.)

Home.

Vitals:

• Time: 11 hours, 14 minutes (with two hours at the Outlet stores)
• Distance: 751 kms
• Weather: Sunny
• States/Province: Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan, Ontario
• Wildlife: None

The Hills have Eyes. But no Gas.

Yup, there's a chapel up on that hill...

Lexington, KY – When a fisherman, knee-deep in a river, chuckles at you and asks – in his thick, North Carolina drawl – how much fuel you have left, you know you might be in the middle of nowhere.

Especially if he's the only person you've seen in half an hour.

It turns out simply punching “Chapel Hill” into the GPS does not necessarily relate to the hometown of the University of North Carolina.

There is, in fact, quite a difference between the city and a random chapel on a hill. In this case, it was also a difference of 376 kilometres.

Instead, we were smack-dab in the middle of the Smoky Mountains as the fisherman pointed me toward the nearest gas station – 25 miles away.

If we did not take the wrong turn.

The news temporarily put a damper on what had become an all-time, top-five driving day as we twisted and turned through the mountains, 'Riding the Rattler' – 32 miles and 250 sharp turns that made me thankful to be driving a car with a manual transmission.

With sufficient gas to make it, you could only laugh – but we would not end up at the university.

It was, nonetheless, a beautiful day driving through the Smokies, bookended by a fantastic breakfast at Mama's Boy in Athens, and a visit to Country Boy Brewing Company in Lexington.

How could you go wrong with peaches, falling from French toast and topped with candied pecans at a funky little restaurant promising 'Southern Fun Dining?' This was Georgia, after all. Great atmosphere, friendly staff and tasty twists on southern favourites. So good.

Similarly, how could you go wrong with dark craft beers infused with coffee and aged in bourbon barrels in Kentucky? In short, you couldn't.

What a great day.

Vitals:

• Time: Nine hours
• Distance: 714.3 kms
• Weather: Sunny
• States: Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky
• Wildlife: Turtles on the road

The Other Athens.

"Hi Peter, I'm Michael. This is Mike. Let's form a band."

Athens, GA – Pulling up to Terrapin Beer Company, we were disappointed to see a note on the door saying it was closed for a staff meeting.

But, we were in luck.

It turns out the brewery tour only opens at 5:30 p.m. four days a week, and we were early.

So, before returning, we walked through the University of Georgia's campus and had a delicious dinner on the sidewalk patio at Five Star Day Café. Stuffed meatloaf with jalapeno tomato sauce, mashed potatoes and mac 'n cheese left me too full to try the cobbler.

We were shocked to return to the brewery and find hundreds of cars snaked around it. Strains of bluegrass rock hummed from a band onstage and white lights twinkled overhead as people milled about, walked their dogs or tossed Frisbees.

Lots of beers and beards at the Terrapin Beer Company.

Most had one of a dozen different beers that had been set up at five different pouring stations around the property. It was an extremely relaxed setting, and everyone was remarkably friendly.

For $10, you got a pint glass to keep and a pink wristband, numbered 1-8, that told you when you had had enough. Each number was stamped for a a ¼-pour sample (closer to half), and four would get you a full pint.

Being from out-of-town *may* have resulted in a couple gratis pours.

Before long, we had made new friends who told us of can't-miss locales around town. Good food, good music, good beers and welcoming people. Athens felt like home.

I have a new favourite east-coast American city.

Seriously, I could live here.

Vitals:

• Time:10 hours
• Distance: 803.8 kms
• Weather: Light rain, giving way to sun
• States: Florida, Georgia
• Wildlife: Turtles on the road

Who da Man(atee)?

Who are you calling a (sea) cow?

Sebastian Inlet, FL – The question was asked excitedly: “Can you see manatees here?”

“Not from where I’m standing,” came the reply from the ranger at the front gate of Sebastian Inlet State Park.

Everyone’s a comic.

The sun beat down as we visited the park on a quiet day that boasted surfers and fishing from the jetties. Pelicans twisted in the air like fishing line, dancing seaward.

I'm hooked on you, too. Let's dance.

A fisherman on the pier had hooked a decent-sized stingray, and struggled to land it. He did not seem impressed at the prospect of having to remove the offending hook from the twitchy fish with a needle for a tail.

Quid pro quo: you prick me, I prick you.

Tugging hard at the line, he enlisted the help of a fellow fisherman and directed the fish into a large, circular net before setting it free with a splash. You could almost imagine the ray flapping its wings and flying back for vengeance.

The man promptly went for a smoke to calm his nerves.

Nearby, juvenile sea turtles rolled in the surf, coming up for air with inquisitive eyes. Turning toward the beach, two large grey masses grazed along the shore: a mom and a calf.

Turns out you can indeed see manatees here.

Interlude.

sands of time
The surf rolls in
like time, dissolving.

Resistance is futile
as the rip current pulls
at the hours:
unwind,
unwound,
sound asleep.

With each wave goodbye,
the sands of time
are carried back to sea
with the etchings of my toes,
to an hour
too soon erased.

What Do I Sea?

Surf and Turf.

Indialantic, FL – With each disorienting crash of the waves, and with each black spot on the horizon, more questions:

Is it a dolphin? A whale? Do my eyes deceive me once more?

A stingray leaps out of the water, surging on an incoming wave toward the shore. A pod of dolphins crest in the distance, searching for their morning feed.

A squadron of pelicans glides in perfect formation, skimming the whitecaps before swooping upward. A crab dances sideways, swept off to sea.

The shorebird sighs at a lost opportunity.

Such is life at the ocean. Bliss.

Salt Life.

It's easy to 'a door' the beauty of Savannah.

Indialantic, FL – The ocean beckons, its salty air licking at my nostrils like an all-too-happy puppy.

Any day that begins with a beautiful walk over the cobblestones of historic Savannah and a tasty omelette stuffed with shrimp the size of my fist at Huey’s on the river walk, and ends with dipping my toes in the ocean, is more than fine with me.

Add that our beautiful and extremely comfortable room at the Oceanfront Cottages offers great views of the waves crashing to shore, and I’m thrilled to stretch out of the car.

Time to kiss the sea and let the palm fronds fan me.

Salt life: rest for the weary.

Vitals:

• Time: Six hours
• Distance: 511.4 kms
• Weather: Sunny and hot, becoming overcast
• States: Georgia, Florida
• Wildlife: None

Clowning Around.

"Don't be one, drink one."

Savannah, GA – As we set out for the day, the sun beat down on the Blue Ridge mountains, which lay before us like crumpled green paper.

Such is the ever-changing origami of a road trip, which unfolds into new shapes and designs before your eyes – unlike the map, which lay twisted and torn beside the seat.

Abandoned, wood-planked houses stood in the valleys, missing the teeth that have since allowed years of stories to escape. Vines grew in strands over their roofs like a long-overdue haircut.

They stood, in most cases, proud, but saddened.

In the distance, cows dotted the hills like pepper.

Billboards and signs provided a break from the repetition of trees and hills. One truck stop offered "Tattoos and Department of Transportation Express Approvals." No thanks.

Others recommended we "Buckle up...for the next million miles," or advertised "Guns & Ammo & Wedding Supplies." Talk about a shotgun wedding.

Our arrival at a North Carolina visitors centre offered a pamphlet and the intrigue of a small detour. After a glance at the North Carolina Brewers Guild’s offerings, how could we not stop at a craft brewery called Ass Clown Brewing Company? Really.

While the company with a possessed-looking Ronald McDonald logo may be located in a non-descript business park, a sample flight did all the necessary talking: dark chocolate sea salt stout, Amarillo hemp IPA, bacon oyster imperial stout and a cinnamon hazelnut sour that was unlike anything I’ve ever had.

It smells like a cookie, but really hits you with the sour.

The mad clown obviously hides an alchemist’s kitchen.

Vitals:

• Time: 10 hours
• Distance: 881.5 kms
• Weather: Hazy, and sunny
• States: Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia
• Wildlife: None

Cure for What Ales You.

Tapped out: Some of the 100 beers at the Capital Ale House.

Harrisonburg, VA – With daylight still stitched into a mourning shroud, fog curled over the highway like a veil covering a crooked smile.

And then the tears began to fall.

It was appropriately sombre weather as we inched along the QEW, which had been completely shut down for a fatal accident that had torn up the pavement, left two transport trailers twisted into steel origami and claimed a pair of lives.

As frustrating as it was to sit, unmoving, for two hours before we had even left the country, it remained easy to be grateful. Things could be a lot worse – our journey would continue.

Through Pennsylvania, fog clung to the base of trees in a slow dance, and the hills offered more rain.

While we had intended to finish our day in Richmond, VA, the morning’s two-hour delay had left us short. Instead, we arrived in Harrisonburg, which is home to James Madison University and a quaint historic district where vintage signs adorn the facades.

Amazingly for us, it is also home to the Capital Ale House, and its 100 taps of craft beer. (According to Beer Advocate, this is apparently a top-10 place to have a beer in America.) Mind, effectively blown.

A couple nice selections, later – paired with fried cheese curds and ancho chilli aioli, and a burger topped with a halved bratwurst – and the day had ended on a high note.

Happenstance, indeed.

Vitals:

• Time: 13.5 hours
• Distance: 905.5 kms
• Weather: Rain, fog, giving way to sun
• States/Provinces: Ontario, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia
• Wildlife: None