Top 10 Ways to Know You Are No Longer in NJ

1. Bales of Cotton in Fields 

Photo taken in SC

2. Alligator Warning Signs 

Photos taken in SC and FL

3. Spanish Moss - not Spanish, and not moss. (Actually, a bromeliad) 

Photo taken in Santee State Park, SC

4. Live Oaks 

These trees are spectacularly majestic. The name Live Oak comes from the fact that the trees stay green throughout the winter when other oak trees look dead. (I originally thought it was because they are loaded with tons, literally, of live growing plants. Like Resurrection Ferns. And Spanish Moss.)

Photos of Live Oaks taken in Savannah, GA

5. Camellias and Azaleas Blooming at the End of November

Photos taken in Savannah, GA

6. Welcome to Florida Signs

Take a wild guess where this photos was taken

7. Palm Trees

Photos taken in Paynes Praire State Park, FL

8. Actual Alligators (haven’t seen any yet, but stay tuned)

9. Manatees (haven’t seen any yet, but we are hopeful)

10. If You Want to See Snow, you Need to Check Your Ring Doorbell Back Home. (Or look at pictures from Buffalo)

Photo taken by Ring Doorbell in NJ. Downloaded in GA.

The Two Souvenirs I Bought on our Trip

The first souvenir I bought is a Keokuk Geode. These geodes are the claim to fame of Keokuk, Iowa where they are found along the Mississippi River. I usually prefer rockhounding for my rock collection, but bought this one because I didn't have much time.

A geode is a circular-ish hollow rock that frequently has crystals inside. This is the geode. The quarter is for scale. Looks like an ordinary rock, right?

Ordinary, until it is cut in half!

The other thing I bought. Who knew there was such a thing? Apparently it is a requirement for making gumbo, whatever that is. I will google a recipe at some point and try to make it, preferably vegetarian.

I am sure having the OU is a requirement for the regular everyday gumbo eater.

BTW, the quarter in the first photo is a Mississippi state quarter.

I also brought home some air plants. Probably some sort of bromeliad. They look like a cross between Tillandsia and Spanish Moss.
These were scavenged. Hard to imagine, but I found them just growing on trees!

Spanish Moss

Tendril of Spanish Moss

Fun Fact 1 - Spanish Moss is neither Spanish nor moss.

I don’t know how many times we heard this over the course of our trip. A guide or ranger told us this on practically every single tour or guided walk we were on.  

Spanish Moss is a actually a bromeliad (all the guides said it is related to the pineapple), and native to the Americas.

Fun Fact 2 - Spanish Moss prompted the first automotive recall.

Henry Ford stuffed the seats of his first Model T's with Spanish moss. He had to do a recall when it turned out that little red bugs called chiggers live in Spanish Moss and were biting drivers on their rear ends.

We heard this numerous times over our trip as well. Not sure if is actually true or just a good story to tell tourists. It is more likely that chiggers are found in moss that has fallen to the ground than what is up in the trees.

Fun Fact 3 - The Spanish Moss Trail is a rails-to-trails bike path in Beaufort County, SC.  

Many trees along the way are draped with, you guessed it -Spanish Moss.