Now, we must juggle multiple schedules and try to fit the three young adults (plus laptops, mp3 players etc etc) in the back of a smaller, but more economical Toyota Highlander (Hybrid). Ever since we moved to Chicago from the East Coast we have used Spring Break as an excuse to get back to the beach. (Sanibel Island 1340mi=21 hrs: Hilton Head 1024mi=16.5hrs: The Florida Panhandle 930mi=15.25hrs) Sanibel is too damn far; Hilton Head has nice, hard beaches and all that, but it can seem a little too "proper" at times; But the Panhandle is in the same time zone as Chicago, so there's no jet-lag to deal with, and for the most part, the roads are in decent condition.*(more about this later) so we have been visiting there most often.
We set out early on a Friday morning. (OK, not as early as we intended. I was having a difficult time securing the luggage carrier to the roof of the car because the sub-freezing temperatures were numbing my fingers.)
As you can see from Our Route (click here) we travel southeast out of Chicago crossing into Indiana to catch I-65 South.
We skirt around Indianapolis and continue south through the fallow countryside. The scenery is bland and the only notably sights are the various groupings of wind turbines that now dot the countryside.Leaving Indiana, we cross the Ohio River near Louisville and pass "Louisville Slugger Stadium" which looks like it would be a great place to spend a summer afternoon watching a minor league baseball game. The countryside starts to turn hilly and the trees are showing a hint of green.
The roads weren't crowded and, as I mentioned above, the roads are usually in good shape thanks to the milder winters. We weren't too concerned when we passed by a sign that warned of bridge work ahead, scheduled to start after midnight. Well, wouldn't you know, around the next bend all 3 lanes were at a complete standstill. Looking ahead, as far as the eye could see, the traffic was barely moving. We hadn't heard or seen any emergency vehicles so we assumed that they began their work early. Some in the car began to cuss at the "idiots" who made the decision to start early. I was trying to think of a logical reason for the early start. My first guess was that the bridge was in far worse shape than they originally thought. But, because I was raised in a household that always suspected that a shadowy sinister "THEY" was behind anything bad that happened, I began to think of what else could be behind this situation. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks. KENTUCKY! Rep. Rand Paul!! & Sen Mitch McConnell!!! They are trying to spend their Federal stimulus money before they shut down the federal government!!!! Hey, what can I say. My family trained me well. Anyway, over the next 2 1/2 hours we traveled maybe 5 miles.
We had been hoping to make it through Kentucky and Tennessee before stopping for the night in northern Alabama but that wasn't going to happen. It was getting dark as we passed through Nashville and I began working the phones trying to find a room. Anyway, I finally found a room 75 miles past Nashville.
The next morning we actually hit the road early and made good time despite an intermittent rain. We even had time to stop at our favorite roadside farm stand.(click to view). After getting some strawberries, we headed into Florida and across the bay
to Highway 30-A, which follows the coastline of the Gulf of Mexico passing through towns like Watercolor, Santa Rosa Beach. Sea Grove and Seaside. (Seaside is where the movie The Truman Show was filmed.) We really enjoy spending time here, but unfortunately a number of large condominium complexes have been built recently and is harming the ambiance of the area.
We arrived at Our House around 3pm. As you can see, the skies were still cloudy, but that didn't stop the three kids from heading straight down to the beach.
They weren't gone for 15 minutes before my son came back to the house and informed us that a group of college boys were talking with the girls and he came back because he didn't want to a fifth wheel. I thought it would be a good idea for me to go and have a look. The 1st thing I saw were these warning flags and this sign. The water was rough, so the red High Hazard was understandable and when I saw the boys I understood what was meant by Dangerous Marine Life. It was referring to those damned Alabama Land Sharks that had encircled my daughters. The girls waved to me, said that everything was fine and they would be up to the house shortly.They were all atwitter when they came home. "Oh those southern accents!! and they want to take us out for ice-cream latter!!!What southern gentlemen!!!!" They ended up going out with them later that night, but surprise surprise they didn't get any ice cream. Instead they went out dancing and talking until the wee wee hours. The girls were so impressed that even down-South the young men wear Sperry Top-siders and Polo shirts. The boys had such a good time they want the girls to come visit in the summer so they can take them 4-wheeling and go raccoon hunting. Fortunately for me the boys went home to Bama
The rest of the week was pretty tame by comparison: breakfast-pool-beach-lunch-pool-beach-walks-dinner-sunsets-Scrabble-movies-stars-bed then breakfast-pool-beach-lunch-pool-beach-walks-dinner-sunsets-Scrabble-movies-stars-bed. We went out for pizza one night and seafood another. We all got some good color with no burning to speak of.
Also I did manage to take some pictures :
