Florida

One thing that was developing as the days and weeks rolled by was an increasing synergy with sun. We were now regularly waking when it peeked above the horizon and we were going to bed when it grew tired of the day. This meant that on many occasions we found ourselves going to bed early before the temperature dropped and once our necks began to ache from staring at the stars.

Flagler Beach Campsite Just Before Sunset

Camping was becoming second nature now. The space within the Beast had been utilised so effectively that we essentially had a portable little house, with storage, a cooler, a larder and a perfectly comfortable bed that could be set up in a matter of minutes. We also had a laptop and a movie library to keep us entertained when the sun went down. Tonight, this was proving to be a godsend after an early sunset and a consuming darkness left us with few alternatives to satisfy our active minds.

Waking up in the Beast is a confusing experience. First of all, early morning sunlight floods-in through the nightly build up of condensation. Then, very slowly, the temperature rises just enough to make you stir. Finally, you open your eyes, and in a moment of genuine confusion you ask yourself why on earth you are lying, shivering in a Korean SUV on a remote stretch of the American coastline. Thankfully this feeling doesn’t last long and as you tear yourself from your sleeping bag and slide out into the open air, everything immediately swings into focus…

As you breath, the crisp cleanliness of the air tickles your nostrils. As you look up, the vast open sky hangs uninterrupted above your head, and as you appreciate your surroundings, you are able acknowledge nature in all its unconfined glory. It is then that you realise how lucky you are, and everything makes sense.

I really can’t imagine a better way to start a day.

So now in Northern Florida, we progressed south, first through a deserted and uninspiring Daytona Beach and then inland away from the wallet aching campsites that line the coast. Soon, we ended up on the side of Interstate 95 where we found a cheap space to set up camp in between the various orange farms that give this state its identity. Then, after a cold but ultimately successful nights sleep; I awoke early, excited and eager to fulfill a childhood ambition. You see today, we would be going to Cape Canaveral, the home of the Kennedy Space Center.

Rockets

After a moderately short drive from our campsite we reached a causeway. From here, dolphins could be seen rising and dipping their way through the rough waters that separate Cape Canaveral from the mainland. On the other side of this, remnants from historical space endeavours stood as monuments that poked their way through the wide state park that surrounds this popular tourist destination. Eventually, we found ourselves in a wide almost endless car park, where we left the Beast and continued our passage on foot the to the large imposing entrance to the space center itself. From here 'Spielbergian' music blared out, loudly and tediously. Rapidly, my enthusiasm for what lay within was eroding, and after a needless long wait in a short queue, my mood was reduced again as I was liberated of a small fortune at the ticket desk. Then we were granted access to what ultimately was a disappointing and sparse tourist attraction. Still, the historical significance of this place is its real appeal, and I felt lucky to see the spot from which man first set course for the moon.

After a few hours we returned to the Beast and once again headed inland toward the large and calm waters of Okeechobee, the lake that feeds Everglades. Here we cooked, ate and camped under a sun which set slowly and colourfully in the distance.

This was exactly the sort of experience I was looking for.

Okeechobee At Sunset

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Georgia & Northern Florida

As we awoke from a shallow sleep in a deserted car park next to the still waters that surround Skidaway Island, I sat in the Beast and contemplated where we were. Looking at the map, the geography was obvious. I could see that Florida was within striking distance and that, after we tore ourselves from bed, we could reach the border within a couple of hours. However, the problem was that in my mind I had no idea about what made Georgia tick historically, politically and culturally and this left me feeling disorientated and unable to really understand what was around me.

I needed to do a little research…

With the British Carolina’s to the north, Spanish Florida to the South and French settlements emerging in modern day Alabama to the west, the state of Georgia started as a pocket of land that was being eyed by colonialists in every direction. Previously, it had been the home of an ancient ‘Moundbuilder’ culture that predated the native American tribes like the Yamasee, who in the late 17h Century allied with the British before the Yamasee War, a conflict that would become one of the most successful acts of defiance by Native Americans against colonialism and European rule (even though it did ultimately end in failure).

Anyway, with the Yamasee War won, the area was purposefully and actively depopulated. This paved the way for the ‘Province of Georgia’ to be established and named in honour of King George II. Unlike for previous British colonies, the early path of Georgia would be defined by the emerging British parliament rather then its troubled monarch. So in 1733 parliament funded the first boats for new settlers who were leaving from England. They also supported the invitation to encourage German Lutherans, Scottish Presbyterians, French Huguenots and Jews to also settle this land in a bid to ward off the influence of Spanish Catholicism to south. This decision proved pivotal. Understandably, upon settlement many of these communities were reluctant to embrace the Church of England and so dissented against British cultural rule. By 1776, this dissent had grown so strong that it directly influenced Georgia’s decision to sign and embrace the Declaration of Independence.

Despite this, the Georgian city of Savannah remained in British hands until they finally departed with the thousands of African slaves who had helped to defend it under the promise of freedom. Many of these people were rewarded with resettlement in Great Britain, the Caribbean or Canada, where thankfully, attitudes toward the slave trade were evolving. Back in Georgia however, this evolution was not being embraced at all, and with this policy, this state increasingly identified itself with the Confederacy, an allegiance that would result in it becoming one of the major battlefields of the American civil war.

St Augustine

Both the Southern identity and the Spanish influence were obvious as we approached Florida, where a surprising number of confederate flags could be seen fluttering in the breeze. Our first stop over the border was St Augustine, the US’s oldest colonial city which was established in 1565, and which to my eye, is an attractive town saturated with Spanish influence. Here, we parked up the Beast and dodged the numerous tacky tourist traps that dominate its centre as best we could. Eventually, in search of rest-bite we found a bizarre private house that had been part converted into a museum for random objects, and part converted into an eccentric café. Here we ate well, and with our bellies full, we ventured back out onto the intricately decorated streets and walked toward the ramparts that used to protect this coastline.

Despite its pleasantry, St Augustine doesn’t really justify more then a couple of hours of attention, so we swiftly departed and headed to the far more appealing stretch of coastline immediately to its south. Here we found Flagler Beach, home to many a beach bum and surfer. This was the perfect place to camp between the dunes and beside an ocean rippled with smooth waves that relentlessly pounded a flat golden beach. I liked it here a lot.