[Thundertubs]

In December of 2005 I volunteered to drive my uncle's car to Florida for him. My only previous visit to the south was driving through western Tennessee and Arkansas on my way out west.
There's a reason December is not a classic road trip month. It gets dark at 5 o'clock, among other things.

Let's see what's south of the Mason-Dixon.

On the way there: Dover, the capital city of Delaware.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/01.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/02.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/IMG_3541-.jpg

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http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/04.jpg

Loockerman St., one of the more unusual mainstreet names out there. I had to double-check the spelling.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/05.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/06.jpg

The Green
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/07.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/08.jpg

I think this is the Delaware statehouse, but I'm not sure. There might be an old one and a new one.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/09.jpg

This might have been the old capitol. I can't remember. I'm confused.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/10.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/11.jpg

The Rt. 310 bridge looking across the Potomac River at Maryland from Virginia.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/12.jpg

I tried to haul ass to get to Richmond before dark, but no such luck. My visit was severly curtailed.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/13.jpg

7th St.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/14.jpg

-

Petersburg, VA is creepy after dark.

_

Awake to rain in Raleigh, NC
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/15.jpg

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http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/17.jpg

Greensboro. It was hard to get pics with the rain, unfortunately.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/18.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/19.jpg

High Point, NC - a city of somehwere over 80,000 just to the SW of Greensboro. It is a famous furniture city, but Las Vegas has built competing furniture showrooms.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/20.jpg

Did I mention it was rainy and cold? At this point it was apparent that I was driving into an ice storm.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/21.jpg

Did I take a wrong turn at Chapel Hill and end up in Montreal?
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/23.jpg

I was lucky to avoid much trouble with the storm. A lot of folks lost power, but my motel didn't.

Asheville, NC and the icy Smokey Mountains. Asheville is over 2,000 feet above sea level.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/24.jpg

A very charming city, as well.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/25.jpg

Asheville gets points because it had a map store downtown.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/26.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/27.jpg

Pack Square
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/28.jpg

The transition from Western NC down into South Carolina was sharp. It got all Southern all the sudden.

Taylor St., Columbia, SC
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/29.jpg

Main St.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/30.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/31.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/32.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/33.jpg

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http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/35.jpg

South Carolina statehouse
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/36.jpg

up Main St.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/37.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/38.jpg

December down here is like October
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/40.jpg

Andrew Jackson
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/41.jpg

Onion headline:
J. Strom Thurmond finally dies

That's him down in front.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/42.jpg

Monument!
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/43.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/44.jpg

Sumter St.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/45.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/IMG_3580.jpg

Augusta, Georgia
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/46.jpg

These are mostly from Ellis Street, which is the ass-end of downtown. The Augusta Chamber of Commerce will not be employing me anytime soon.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/47.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/48.jpg

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http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/56.jpg

The next morning in Savannah.
The squares in Savannah are among the nicest urban public spaces I've seen anywhere. They are built to be used. They are kind of hard to photograph though, so there's just one pic here.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/57.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/58.jpg

Savannah has a very active death metal scene.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/59.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/60.jpg

Colonial Park Cemetary
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/61.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/62.jpg

Drayton St.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/63.jpg

Charlton & Bull
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/64.jpg

Whitaker St.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/65.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/66.jpg

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http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/68.jpg

W. York St.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/69.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/70.jpg

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http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/75.jpg

Brunswick, Georgia. A small costal port city.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/76.jpg

Newcastle St.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/77.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/78.jpg

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http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/80.jpg

Richmond St.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/81.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/82.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/83.jpg

Monck St.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/84.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/85.jpg

In Jacksonville, Florida, it started raining like crazy.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/86.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/87.jpg

I hope these are getting renovated
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/88.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/89.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/90.jpg

Destination
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/91.jpg

The car delivered, it's time to fly home
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/93.jpg

Elizabeth City, NC
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/94.jpg

The remainds of Atlantic City, NJ. It used to have real neighborhoods.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/95.jpg

The Mullica River in South Jersey
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/96.jpg

Long Beach Island, Jersey Shore
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/97.jpg

Descending into JFK
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/98.jpg

Off the coast of Far Rockaway, Queens
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/99.jpg

I need to go down sometime when it's hot and sunny.

[urbanactivist]

Wow, you are really good at the whirlwind long trips dude!! You should consider a job with the travel channel ;) Another excellent thread

[holladay]

What a great moody road trip. So many ambiances.

[xzmattzx]

Great pictures once again!

You are partially correct about Dover's buildings. You were correct about the state capitol: that is Legislative Hall, built in 1933 and expanded to include the wings in the 1950s or so.

http://img403.imageshack.us/img403/3297/img2877pbpt9.jpg

The building in the next picture is not an old state house, however. That is the Kent County Courthouse. This is the old capitol, known as the Old State House, also located on The Green.

http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/3931/img2879pbzc2.jpg

[ColDayMan]

Awesome!

[alleystreetindustry]

there is nothing better than coastal georgia.
and hell yeah asheville! very interesting trip.

[Lecom]

Beauty.

[Top Of The Park]

facinating area

[boden]

I realize from this thread that southern cities do not get nearly the representation they deserve on the forum. That may be because us northern forumers spend a lot more time online, on account of winter.....but hey, here in Belleville it is only ten months.
I love that mini-art decco scraper in Asheville. Great thread Thundertubs!

[kanhawk]

Great travelogue of the south. I now know what it will look like when space aliens come and kidnap all the people. Strangely though, they leave the cats:




http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/85.jpg

[flar]

Awesome. Man, you're always on the road it seems!

[Robert Pence]

Excellent shots! Dover's Green still looks good, but from what I could see of downtown, it looks like hard times. I remember it when it was thriving.

[Kingofthehill]

Amazing!

What's on top of the Asheville art-deco building?

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/47.jpg

[Thundertubs]

^^^ According to Emporis.com, that building, in Augusta, was built in the 1910's. It was purchased by a group headed by a Georgia state senator in 1973, who commisioned the addition on top. The addition was designed by I.M. Pei.
It's probably a cool room to be in, but the exterior speaks for itself.

[denveraztec]

Wonderful tour!

[Jibba]

I like that I can check out your photo threads when I'm in the mood to get a nice glimpse of a whole region. Thanks for grabbing all these shots, they are great!

[Evergrey]

another tubthumpingly amazing Thundertub Thunder Roads installment!

Random thoughts:

1. I.M. Pei's addition is a crime.

2. Dover is surprisingly hardcore.

3. great ambiance and mood throughout

4. Brunswick, GA is gritaculour... I love the look of that post-apocalyptic environment

5. Thanks for the shots of the "other side" of Augusta

6. Intoxicatingly grim atmosphere in those Savannah shots... tell us more about the death metal scene

7. Kress seems to be ubiquitous

Win!
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/The%20South/58.jpg

[Randy Sandford]

Enjoyed the tour!

[Ex-Ithacan]

Whoa, I nearly missed this one. I feel a kindred spirit with you Tt. Seems like many of my southern trips also resulted in rain/clouds following my meandering routes. Still and all, there's some dandy pics here, and an enjoyable thread to peruse. Thanks for sharing your trip, it was fun.

[kcexpress69]

Very nice roadtrip!! :tup: It kind of sucks to hit certain areas at night, or when the weather doesn't cooperate! :hell: But you captured the good, the bad, and the ugly on this thread! :cheers: