Destination: Destin Part 2

We have never been to Destin, but it is a popular spot with Hoosiers, I think mostly because it is a 12-hour straight shot. Our neighbors and friends own a house there and are crazy about the place. And, so are several other people I know. So, we booked the house and planned to spend our first week on spring break with kids.

Because I don’t like traveling, I tried not to think about the trip until it was inevitable. The week before, I started my ritual list making routine and making piles of things to pack. I made runs to Target, my favorite local toy store and Costco for DVDs. I got in the attic to get out shorts and t-shirts—only to find we really had none.

I think I remember last year when I packed up the summer clothes getting rid of most of them thinking I wanted new ones for the boys. I was so sick of the things Phillip wore and passing them down to Sam and then Andrew. They were dingy and dirty, stained and just tired looking. So when I went to pack, they had nothing but a few pairs of shorts and some t-shirts, all of which I cannot figure out why I kept—they are horrible! So, I also made about three runs to Gap to outfit the boys with summer clothes (check out one of Sam's picks). I got new beach and pool toys and kept them hidden in anticipation of the trip. I made up travel back packs for each child with activities. Jeff cleaned the van out, got the house ready in anticipation of us being away and was in charge of the bikes.

I told some clients I would be away and others I just sort of told I was unavailable for meetings and still others, I said nothing to about it. I don’t know why, but I hate saying I am going on vacation and truthfully, the expectation from most of our clients is that we don’t go on vacation (only they do). I packed up the work I needed to take, my laptop, phone charger and tons and tons of magazines and catalogs I had been saving to read on the beach.

We were scheduled to leave on Saturday, March 22, but really we didn’t have anything going on Friday night so we thought we might as well leave Friday late afternoon. I got on Priceline and got a great hotel room in Nashville very cheap. Usually, I don’t like Priceline (another control issue ahead) because I am so particular about the hotels I stay at, I want to be able to be sure it is the right hotel and they don’t tell you what it is until after they accept your offer. But, based on the description, I knew which hotel it was and I have seen that hotel and knew it was nice (the Marriott near Vanderbilt). I love that area of Nashville and trusted the site—this once.

Jeff got off work at 2 and I had a morning meeting or two, but then was pretty much done. We packed up and headed out shortly after 3PM. Traffic was bad, which it usually is in our area until about 50 miles outside of Indianapolis. But, it never really thinned out much and then, in Seymour (really, not the most exciting place to be stuck), it came to a dead stop on the highway. We had been in the car for literally a little over an hour and the kids were already complaining they were hungry. We had planned on stopping for dinner later on or even when we got to Nashville as the area we were staying has lots of great little restaurants but the traffic was at a total standstill—it was a parking lot, so we got off in Seymour.

We ate at Cracker Barrel and the kids each got a new Webkinz (which brought the Cracker Barrel experience to around $75, there is just something wrong with that). We ask the locals for a short cut to avoid the interstate and headed off again. The rest of the world took the short cut too, so it was another hour or so to get back on the highway. While we were in that traffic, we saw the medivac helicopter come in and land—good thing we got off the highway, it wasn’t good. Back on the road, headed for Nashville.

We rolled in at about 7:30PM. The room was great, but we only had one—which meant two double beds and only one television. Jeff and Phillip ran out to get us all some ice cream and I got the other boys ready for bed. We all ate ice cream in bed and eventually the boys fell asleep. I probably permanently scarred them because I was dying to watch the 20/20 special about prostitution—again, that one television thing was a problem. Really I don’t feel I should have to watch Hannah Montana after 8PM, 9PM at the latest. Tomorrow, we drive the rest of the way to the Florida panhandle. We are driving through Alabama and I am excited! I have never been to Alabama...I have big expectations.