Hi fellow GRM-ers,
I'm working too many hours right now and my family and I need a holiday after my current work project is done. We live in NE Florida, and are thinking of taking 1-2 weeks of vacation some time from late June to end Sept. We are after a cabin/cottage/house somewhere relaxing. My wife is thinking of a beach location (anywhere from Virginia beach and south, or West towards Alabama; I'm thinking of a mountain/forest location like TN or western SC/NC. Near to water would be awesome; if it's decently affordable, that'd also be nice! I'd be keen to hear your suggestions for anywhere in SE USA, within about 8-10 hours of Jacksonville; neither of us are born in the US, so we don't have a lot of local knowledge. If there's nearby places not on the mainland, we'd also consider them. We love camping, but not sure I have the will-power right now to pack all our gear, when all I want to do is crash in a cabin somewhere and sleep. We have 2 young daughters and a really well-behaved Jack Russell who would also have to come along.
Thanks in advance!
If you are looking for a cabin to hole up in... uh pretty much anywhere in western NC or eastern TN. If you want to get out to a nearby town to have fun, stay near Asheville. Its awesome.
Boone is also pretty cool. Different vibe, and its much cooler (like 10 degrees cooler than the piedmont) than surrounding areas as its up on a plateau.
Where to definitely not stay? Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg TN. Its like all of the really E36 M3ty touristy stuff compressed into one long stretch with unbearable traffic.
If you can get a cabin in the Waynesville (NC) area it may be a little less money than Brevard but anywhere in the vicinity is nice. No matter where you are in western NC temps will be much more pleasant than July in Jax, especially if you’re at a little elevation. Check out the Cradle of Forestry, tour a trout hatchery, see other sights in Pisgah National Forest and drive the Blue Ridge Parkway.
i second lake Jocassee. we live near there and its amazing.
gimpstang said:
i second lake Jocassee. we live near there and its amazing.
Good luck getting a cabin.
Sunset Beach in North Carolina has a nice beach and nothing really but houses. I've always found it relaxing.
Lake Jocassee is very nice, and so is the area in NC north of it. There are tons of waterfalls in the area.
Outer Banks
Mississippi Gulf Coast
Two in opposite directions.
The Outer Banks is pretty reasonable off-season, especially if you stay further South near Hatteras or Moorehead City. Not much to do but enjoy fishing, the beach and seafood.
But you live in Jacsonville, so the beach isn't really that hard to get to. I'd head to a nice cabin on a lake.
We really like Edisto Island/Eddingsville SC for sleepy beach vacations. Also Cape San Blas in the panhandle.
We live and work in the North Georgia mountains. Our shop is in Blue Ridge, which has becomea pretty “big” tourist/second home destination, but nowhere near Gatlinburg levels of touristy. You can rent a cabin and not see anyone for a week, or venture downtown for food/shopping. Plenty of outdoor stuff to do, and you can rent cabins on the lake if you want to be ON the water.
Ooooooh. I forgot about all about Edisto Beach. That is where we vacationed when I was growing up. Very quiet and peaceful. Nothing in common with Myrtle Beach, except for a beach.
I used to work in cotton, peanut and soybean fields all summer doing research. As soon as we could in August, I would haul ass to the mountains of No Georgia or NC to cool off. Never been to Blue Ridge, but want to go. We usually hit the Blowing Rock area.
A bit different but take a road trip on I-10 heading west. Stop off at Pensacola or Orange Bch, Al for a few days on beautiful white Sandy beaches and beautiful water. Then continue west to Biloxi and stay at Beau Rivage Casino or any of casinos there. Lots of activities even for the kids. Rooms at casinos are dirt cheap Sunday thru Thursday nights. Continue on west to New Orleans and visit zoo, aquarium, etc.
it's about 8 hrs from Jville to NOLA.
What about chattanooga? All kinds of outdoor stuff to do here.
Asheville would be my pick.
I spend alot of time in Chattanooga, I wouldn't vacation there
Awesome, thanks for the suggestions all! Some great leads in all that; much appreciated. I'm leaning towards the cabin on a lake idea as we live reasonably near the beach and can go there any time really. Now to convince the wife 
(who's probably reading all these).
