VA to Florida road trip advice

[mello yello]

in a little more than a week i plan to make the great road trip from northern virginia to orlando. does anyone have any good advice on places to stop to find good drinks?
i hope to find and stock up on some mello yello cherry and mello yello melon (i'm guessing georgia is my best hope for melon). aside from that i guess i'd like to find cherry lemon sundrop and whatever other good drinks the south has to offer. if anyone has any tips for specific places i can check out that aren't too far off my path (don't have a lot of extra time) please let me know!

[drpep]

I made a similar trip in September. The only place I found MY Melon was an exit of I-95 near Savannah. It was one row of 20oz bottles in a cooler. Darien, Georgia exit had Frostie products.
Mello Yello Cherry was found in most stores along Rt 220 in VA and NC.
You will find Sundrop around Rocky Mount, NC. Sadlers off the Emporia, VA I-95 exit had some different stuff.
I brought up a posting about my trip for you to read.

[ 01-08-2003, 12:16 AM: Message edited by: dr pepperman ]

[FitzgeraldHead]

If you happen to take I-81 through Virginia, I know that the Bristol area had a gas station that carried Mello Yello Cherry... I honestly don't remember if they had Mellon or not. I just remember Cherry, because I bought it there. DP suggests 220, which is probably more on your track, so I'd try that in the Roanoke area. I don't think Atlanta caries Mello Yello or Sundrop(at least to my knowledge). I'm not too familiar with coastal GA. The northeastern mountains use an RC/Nehi bottler out of Toccoa. I have seen Sundrop before off of 441/23, but then again, unless you want to head through the Georgia mountains, this would be out of your way. In case you ever go to Middle Tennessee, they have Cherry Lemon Sundrop off of I-24 between Nashville and Chattanooga.

[mickstafa]

Speaking from Greenville, SC here is what we have:
-All Stewart's except Birch Beer
-Lots of Faygo (all?) including rock n rye, etc.
-Nehi orange, grape, blue, peach
-Cheerwine, glass, can, plastic
-A&W glass
-Sundrop glass, can, etc
-Mello Yello Cherry (NO FREAKIN MELON ANYMORE!! GRR.. ME = MAD... Melon is best Coke drink ever)
-Dr Enuf, Big Red, Tab (yeucch)
-More stuff, reply if you are looking in particular.

If you go through Atlanta, I know where to get:
-Red Rock (VERY GOOD and old cola / ginger beer)
-Frostie (all)
-Moxie (orange, cherry, regular, cream soda)
-Sphrechers (sp?)
-Loco (never had)
-Bryars
-a few others I cannot remember names to.

Well, thats it. I would trade most of these listed for access to Mello Yello Melon. That drink was so dang good. It really is a shame its nowhere to be found. If you can help me out to get some, let me know!

[fusion]

Make sure you stop at the Super Wally in Staunton VA. They have the pure cane sugar glass Dr Pepper there. It's right off of I-81, on US 250.

You'll probably be hard pressed to find any Cherry Mello Yello in that area. I think the bottler in Staunton is Central Coke, and the bottler in Lynchburg is Coke Consolidated. I ran into a salesman down in the Lynchburg area when I was down there, and he told me that they discontinued Melon and Cherry.

Too bad you weren't going to the panhandle of Florida. I'd suggest taking a trip down through Columbus Georgia, and then crossing over the line into Alabama, and then going down to Dothan. I saw plenty of Melon down those ways -- Coke Consolidated territory.

You might be able to find Northern Neck or Carver's Ginger Ales in Virginia. Coca-Cola bought these brands from a small bottler (Northern Neck), and Central Coke is now carrying them in some parts of their territory. I spotted them in Pennsylvania a few months ago.

[fusion]

Oh, I forgot. If you're down in the Augusta area, check out their 3 liter Coke crates. Very interesting. That's Coke United territory.

[FitzgeraldHead]

Mickstafa.... Blue Nehi in Greenville?!?!? I would like very much to know where (from I-85) to get it.

[mickstafa]

Yep! I tried it for the first (and only) time a few weeks ago. It is at a gas station 2 mins from my school (Furman). E-mail me at wallis.larkins@furman.edu if you need more info or need help getting it!

[mickstafa]

Ok, you all can still e-mail me for details, but here is what you need to do....

Once you get in the greenville series of exits from 85, take 185 North to Greenville (not Columbia). You will drive on this highway, pass when it turns into a normal road, and keep going until you come to Downtown greenville (you will be on Church street by now.. but same road as 185, different name). You then take a left on Beattie. This road will change names like 5 times, but just stick with it going straight. The only real tricky part is this road will come to a fork , at which you want to keep RIGHT (an Anglican Church will be at the intersection). From that point on, you will be on the road with the Nehi. Keep going, past like 5 or 6 lights.... You will pass the Pleasantburg intersection. At the next light there is a Gas station on the right - thats the one with the nehi. They have peach too, I believe. Look up exact milage on www.mapquest.com, but thats basically it! E-mail me or reply if you need more help.... If you have access to MY Melon, I'd love to trade drinks!

If you want me to drive over there and pick up a few to send you I can do that too. I don't know how many they have or anything like that. I was just so suprised to see that there, seeing all the publicity Nehi gets on these boards!
-Mick

[ 01-09-2003, 02:54 AM: Message edited by: mickstafa ]

[mickstafa]

Oh also, the eckard before that gas station also has some nice glass drinks... glass cheerwine, nehi's, a&w, etc. Check it out! And the Ingles in the shopping center across the street has all but 3 stewart's flavors! mmmm! I just wish we still had Mello Yello Melon.