Fort Myers and the Blue Ridge Parkway

itinerary map

Table of Contents

  • 12 days
  • 2020 Spring

We were supposed to be in Spain at this time, but the worldwide pandemic canceled that. I really needed a break, so we pivoted to a quick road trip to Florida instead, figuring that we could bail out and head home any time. And we were glad we did, because we ended up doing just that!

There wasn’t room available in Ft Myers for a second week so we planned to hit Cocoa Beach. Then they planned to close the beaches there so we skipped it. (We heard later they didn’t close the beaches after all. They did close the Ft Myers beaches, so we left early.) We cut short our St Augustine stop and with Ft Sumter closed, we bypassed Charleston. So our original 21 days became 12 days. The Blue Ridge Parkway is wildly beautiful.

Food & Beverage $47 per day

Average per day. Most days we ate breakfast and lunch from groceries and ate dinner out.

Lodging $62-$224 per night

On the beach in Fort Myers was our most expensive lodging.

Transportation $434

Gas for our own vehicle.

Entertainment $0

We didn't do anything that cost any money.

Days 1-2: Getting to Florida

The Plan: We left home in the afternoon and planned two nights along the road to avoid any really long driving days. Our days of driving straight through are over!

The Reality: We did just that. We stopped in Elizabethtown, Kentucky and Lake City, Florida for the night. 

Days 3-6: Fort Myers Beach

The Plan: We stayed here in 2013 and really enjoyed it, so this was our first choice. The beach here is pretty quiet with plenty of space.

The Reality: It was fine until they closed the beaches since people weren’t practicing social distancing. That led us to cut our time short.

  • Walk and relax on the beach
  • Visit family

Day 7: St Augustine

The Plan: If we couldn’t go to Spain we could at least go to an early settlement in the USA, right?

The Reality: All of the sights and restaurants were closed, so we cut our stop to one night to break up the drive. 

Days 8-9: Blue Ridge Parkway (Maggie Valley to Blowing Rock)

The Plan: We tried to do the Blue Ridge once before and had to stop in the middle due to car trouble. So we came back to try again.

The Reality: It took us a couple of tries to find a place to stay in Maggie Valley thanks to COVID-19. This time we got to see the view from Mt Mitchell, the highest point east of the Mississippi.

Day 10: Blue Ridge Parkway (Blowing Rock to Floyd)

The Plan: We tried to do the Blue Ridge once before and had to stop in the middle due to car trouble. So we came back to try again.

The Reality: This time we made it past Doughton Park, which is where our car broke down last time.

  • Cascades
  • Jumpinoff Rocks
  • Doughton Park
  • Mabry Mill

Day 11-12: Blue Ridge Parkway (Floyd to home)

The Plan: We tried to do the Blue Ridge once before and had to stop in the middle due to car trouble. So we came back to try again.

The Reality: The northern end of the Blue Ridge Parkway ends in Front Royal, Virginia, right where the Skyline Drive through Shenandoah National Park begins. We had originally planned to drive that also but were running short of time and daylight, so we got off at the first option to head to the highway and our last night’s stop in Winchester, Virginia. 

Resources

  • The National Park Service section on the Blue Ridge Parkway has great information about the parkway itself. 
  • The Blue Ridge Parkway site is especially helpful on essential things near the parkway, like gas stations and places to eat and sleep. I found valuable lodging info there; many options near the parkway are small and don’t show up on sites like Booking.com.
ornament

Guess where we bought this ornament? We couldn’t resist the festive pirate ship.