On my Painting Road Trip to Florida last December, I visited the St. Louis Art Museum, hiked to a waterfall, played Frisbee Golf on Tybee Island, saw the amazing Squares of Savannah, walked the Christmas-lit streets of Mount Dora, camped on the beach at Fort de Soto, painted three paintings, and ended my Road Trip at the Crystal Bridges Art Museum.
See a list of 15 Road Trip Travel Tips at the end of this blog.
St. Louis Art Museum
I had heard of the collection at the St. Louis Art Museum, that they had a large collection of German expressionist paintings, and I was excited to see them. One of the great joys of traveling is visiting Art Galleries and Museums and seeing in-person the paintings of Artists that I admire. There were a number of works by Max Beckmann. Seeing these paintings, I really wanted to pull out the larger canvases and big fat brushes and paint with big bold colors. They also had a painting of one of my favorite Fauves, Maurice Vlaminck, of boats on the Grand Quai with orange and yellow sails. A joy to see! Also, I enjoyed seeing the paintings of Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, Emil Nolde, Franz Marc, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Max Pechstein, and Gabriele Munter. And I was excited to see the movement of the brushstrokes in VanGogh’s amazing painting entitled “ Stairway at Auvers”. In the gift shop, I found a wonderful book on Expressionism by Elger, produced by Taschen. The book is loaded with colorful images and I checked for you - it is available on Amazon $37.
After the museum, I had a picnic lunch from the Blue City Deli under the St. Louis Arch. Also, I recommend the Republic Burger in Nashville where I stopped the next day on the way to Chattanooga. I found amazing restaurants along the way – see Travel Tips.
Waterfall near Chattanooga, TN
In Cloud Canyon State Park, I enjoyed the fall trees as a hiked to a waterfall. I’ve always loved hikes that end at waterfalls, a reward for your endeavors. It was a peaceful and dreamy setting which I would have loved to paint, but I had a six hour drive ahead of me to make it to Tybee Island near Savannah. Some photos of my Road Trip can be seen on Instagram.
Arriving just before sunset, I headed to beach to watch the sunset on the ocean. Oranges and yellows, under the clouds, reflected off the wet sand and surf. After, I headed to Sting Ray Seafood where I thoroughly enjoyed the blackened redfish with and a cold Ihop IPA.
Savannah & Tybee Island
On Friday, I walked around the Squares in Savannah, visiting Forsyth Park and the Mercer House. I painted the Mercer House on my first visit four years ago. It was entertaining listening to the tourists and the tour guides talk about the history of the house while I painted in this beautiful setting with the spanish moss covered trees all around.
Mount Dora, Florida
The next day it rained all the way from Georgia to Florida, clearing up before I arrived in Mount Dora. Filled with tons of Christmas lights and charming shops, I had a lovely time walking all around Mount Dora with my artist friend, Aphrodite. We enjoyed dinner on the deck at Pisces Rising, and on Saturday nights, they have live music all around.
Fort de Soto Park & Bay Pier
We were joined by another fellow Artist, Lynn, and we all went camping by the ocean at Fort de Soto Campground. Beautiful campsites, surrounded by trees and around a roaring fire, we sang our version of camp songs and had the traditional s’mores. Yum! The next day, we painted at Bay Pier. Palm trees, a wandering heron, and a little yellow building at the end of the long pier made for a fun composition. It was a bright sunny day, a perfect day for painting.
Destin, Florida
I don’t know how it happened, but I ended up with an Airbnb condo right on the beach in Destin, Florida… super good price and a panoramic view of the ocean. Wow! I painted two paintings here. I set up on the beach and painted “Destin Beach”, trying to catch the sky and sea and the multitude of colors on display.
Inspired by my earlier Museum visit, the next day, I wanted to paint a sunset with bold brush strokes. I titled the painting “ VanGogh Sunset” and included a couple of sea birds that were visiting me while I painted. I set up my pop-up tent which gave some protection against the cool wind and sun – see photo on Instagram.
“Destin Beach, Florida” - SOLD
Madison, Ms
On the way home, I stopped for a couple of days of Christmas and visited by sister Lynda and her family. I painted with my nephew, built a ginger bread house, and enjoyed the Christmas light displays. We had a wonderful dinner on the deck at Kristo’s – highly recommend!
Crystal Bridges Art Museum
The last stop on my Road Trip was Crystal Bridges, a Museum displaying American Artists. I particularly like to see their special exhibitions. Four years earlier, when visiting, I enjoyed seeing the paintings of an American artist, Alfred Maurer, who was influenced by the French Fauves.
15 Road Trip Travel Tips
1. Plan ahead and set aside “time” for specific events/activities that you want to do. In my case, I need to specify certain days for Painting, Hikes, etc.
2. Car Prep – Oil Change, fluids, tires…
3. Pack a spare car key. If you lose your key, you can break in your car, but you can’t start it if you have an electronic key. I learned this from experience. In 2016, I lost my keys on a hike in the middle of nowhere Tennessee and had to have a spare key fedexed to me.
4. Love audiobooks while driving – I use Hoopla & Overdrive, both free apps.
5. Packing – Under the back cargo cover – I put my camping gear on one side and suitcases/computer bag on the other- trying to hide valuables. In the back seat, I had a cooler and art supplies. I recommend packing a separate overnight bag for those brief stops.
6. Bring a Cooler for drinks/water, snacks, picnic food. And bring a large coffee travel mug.
7. Use Tripadvisor, Google Maps, to find well-rated interesting restaurants and coffee shops. Search ‘Coffee near me’. Reviews with 4.5 stars plus recommended.
8. Google Maps – search ‘Hiking near me’, ‘Disc Golf near me’, etc
9. Check out Airbnb Experiences in the city you are visiting for things to do. Also, Tripadvisor has a section called ‘Things to do’. Read the reviews.
10. Hotels – I search Google and Tripadvisor. I will only stay at hotels that have a 4 star rating or above with, hopefully, a minimum of 400 reviews. I tend to stay at budget hotels and this has worked well.
11. Airbnb – I have stayed in 25+ airbnbs all over and it’s a great way to travel! Highly recommend staying in Airbnbs that have good reviews and reading those reviews. If there’s been any problems, they will be in the reviews, and sometimes there’s good advice also. If you choose an Airbnb with no reviews of few reviews, you are taking a chance, but I have chanced it on occasion. Airbnb has a phone number you can call if there is a problem and, so far has I have seen, good customer service.
12. Google - Road Trip list, Camping list, or Travel list to help with packing ideas.
13. Be aware that a lot of the National Parks’ best campgrounds need to booked 6 months in advance, Yosemite is 5 months. For last-minute camping, look for FF (First come - First serve) sites – you may have to arrive as early as 6am to get on a list to get one of these Camp Sites.
14. I personally enjoy Road Trips best if I’m driving a max of 6 hours on any given day.
15. Start a Travel Journal on your next Road Trip!
