ROAD TRIP - 12 days and Counting

I'm counting down the days until we buckle our seat belts, I pop a Clozenpam (when I'm not driving) we leave Maryland and head for that big ole state that is T-E-X-A-S! I'm still nervous about driving such a long distance. The furthest I have ever driven from home is to Florida. Last summer we went to Myrtle Beach with the kids and that's a 9 hour trip. 9 hours sounds easy peasy compared to 26 hours of actual driving time.

I've printed out my usual road trip games for the kids. Hangman, Bingo, the license plate game. This is where you come in. I need your help. My kids are 11 (the Z-Man) and 7 (The Princess). I'm not as worried about my son because as long as our rental car has outlets to charge his cell phone, PSP and iPod he'll be fine. It's the Princess who needs to be entertained.

I need ideas, suggestions, websites, printables, games, activities, anything. Even if it seems silly, please leave it in the comments sections.

I'm also looking for things to see when we stop. I've decided to make this an actual road trip, where you get out the car to look at things instead of just gunning it across the country. According to Google, we will pass through Knoxville, Birmingham, Hattiesburg and Gulport. I would love suggestions on things to see, places to stop for a sit down meal and places to avoid.

The success of this road trip depends on me. I am a control freak want everything to work out perfectly. I need to keep my anxiety at bay. I need to not cop an attitude when The Z-Man refuses to smile for the 105th picture. I need to not stress. I need to enjoy my girlfriend and my kids. I need to enjoy the journey. I want to create a joyful memory for my children.

Ok, while you're thinking of ideas for the kids, can you suggest some activities for ME?

Myrtle Beach Vacay

We had a fab time at Myrtle Beach last week. I haven't been to a lot of beaches in my life but Myrtle Beach is one of my favs. We were last there in 2005. Avoided traffic getting down there and coming back was a plus. It's about a 7-7.5 hour drive but so worth it.

I forgot to book our hotel room at The Dunes. I heard it was a great place to stay for families and I had a sweet deal on a Suite. Too bad I forgot and tried to book the week before. F.A.I.L. It all worked out with a room at The Breakers. We stayed in the North Tower. Our room was too freaking small for four people. I didn't even take a picture of the room because it's embarrassing. We made it work and I got an amazing deal for a last minute booking.

We stayed up late and we slept in. We spent our days at the Beach and afternoons at the Pool & Hot Tubs. We went on a Speed Boat, saw Dolphins, built Sandcastles, stuffed our guts at Captain George's, collected Seashells.

The week flew by and we decided to stay another night. The Breakers was booked so we checked into the Caribbean Resort & Villa. Not the main resort but The Jamaican. We took bets on whether the room would be better or worse than our previous spot. We all voted WORSE. We were right! The separate living room area was nice. We had space to spread out our stuff. The problem was the freaking SMELL!! Mold, Mildew, sweaty gym socks. Take your pick. It was nasty. I Febreezed the hell out of everything but it didn't work. Thankfully we were only there one night.

We procrastinated leaving on Saturday. We hit up a Shoney's for the Breakfast Buffet. Went to Eagles and Wings to get shirts, my obligatory beach magnet (usually a flip-flop but I chose the t-shirt thermometer) and other stuff crap. With the last of our money spent, we hit the road North. It helped that Hurricane Bill dropped a big ass Thunderstorm on us a we left town.

As I used to say in 12th grade when I was the Yearbook Graphic Editor, but had to write some copy: All in all we had a great relaxing time. I enjoyed the time with my kids. I was able to calm down my stressed out brain. The ocean, the air, the sand, center me like nothing else ever has.

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the week.

WE MADE IT!

Our First Hotel: The Breakers Boutique "My Ass" North Tower

After being tortured by Sonic commericals in Maryland where we do NOT have one single Sonic I finally got to try it out. The Menu has too many choices!

The Prince & Princess on The Sea Screamer

The Princess knows how to relax