Southern Living Southern Living Drives & Dives

Meandering along the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Skyline Drive offers visitors spectacular scenery and rugged outdoor adventure. The National Scenic Byway spans the length of the narrow Shenandoah National Park, with sweeping views of the Shenandoah River Valley to the west and the rolling hills of the Virginia Piedmont region to the east. The quiet two-lane road winds for 105 miles and is accessible from four entrance stations—Front Royal, Thornton Gap, Swift Run Gap, and Rockfish Gap. With a speed limit of 35 mph and many scenic overlooks viewable from inside a vehicle, drivers can theoretically travel the entire road in about three hours. But don’t count on it—with the number of places to stop, look, picnic, or play, you’ll want to spend a day or more exploring. Once…

It’s the first night of our trip, and a sudden rainstorm washes across the beach. But we’re snug inside an Airstream, eating boiled peanuts and drinking bottles of beer from the tiny fridge. By the next afternoon, we’ve had a mostly sunny day of exploring, and we’re not going to cloister inside our camper again. We nap while the ferry takes us—and our trailer—to our next destination. Then we buy fresh sheepshead fillets at a local seafood shop to cook on the grill back at our campsite. A few people wave when walking past. By night three, we’ve become fully RV social. Our neighbors at the next site over invite us to stop by. They’ve got a fire going and wine to sip while the four of us rate the…

ALABAMA WETUMPKA Just northeast of Montgomery, this town sits on the banks of the Coosa River, which has been its claim to fame, along with Gold Star Park—until now. In July 2020, Erin and Ben Napier, the stars of HGTV’s wildly popular Home Town, reported that they were taking over the entire town, known as “The City of Natural Beauty,” for their home-renovation show’s next season. ARKANSAS WILSON Once, it might have been a convenient pit stop along a stretch of U.S. 61 where the mighty Mississippi meets the “Blues Highway.” But this rural burg has since undergone a cultural renaissance that has reinvigorated the former cotton boom-town. Now it attracts folks from nearby Memphis, escaping that colorful city for a laid-back weekend. Be sure to hit Wilson Cafe, a popular spot on the town…

HOT PINK IS THE COLOR OF TROPICAL KEY WEST, from the garish bougainvillea spilling over every fence and wall to the petunias and hibiscus in its lush gardens to the houses and buildings themselves, gaily painted in every shade of pink. Conch shells, flamingos, and pink fish motifs abound. Even the taxicabs are hot pink. Half Caribbean island, half New Orleans, Key West is not like anyplace else on Earth. “Welcome to the Conch Republic” says its airport sign, and you’ll see flags flying all over town—from the backs of bicycles to flagpoles—proclaiming personal freedom, happiness, individuality, fun, love, and romance. But there was certainly none of that going on in the big white tail-finned Buick that my father drove grimly into Key West on my first and most memorable visit…

SOMETIMES IT SEEMS LIKE the same famous barbecue restaurants always get all the attention. In most cases, they’ve earned that fame through hard work and top-notch food. But in a region with as much talent and diversity as the South has, there are plenty of other spots that fly a little under the radar. Many can be found in small towns far from any interstate; others, in city neighborhoods that aren’t well known to tourists. One thing these joints have in common is that they serve delicious slow-cooked barbecue, and each is worth a stop on your next road trip. Barbecue sauce has also become big business in the South. These days, the South’s many sauces are shipped far across state lines and are no longer regional secrets. Some are old family…

Pack your bags. I’ve just found our new home,” said Craig Stewart to his wife, Evelyn, mere minutes after an impromptu detour on a business trip landed him on Sanibel Island. Taken by the beauty of the drive over the 3-mile bridge, with the sliver of verdant, turquoise-wrapped land laid out before him in all its glory, he stopped at the nearest convenience store, found a pay phone, and gave her the news. Deep in the trenches of a Maryland winter, Evelyn was more than happy to oblige. “He found us a home before the day was out,” says Evelyn. “I moved down shortly after, and we’ve loved every minute of our 35 years here since.” As many locals will tell you, Sanibel can have a way of wooing without warning.…