Packing for six

Oh man, this is nuts.

Preparations continue for our departure early Thursday morning. Tomorrow we somehow have to find the time and the space to pack everything the whole family needs for a week and a half into the Suburban (thanks mom for letting us borrow it).

The plan is this: We're going to keep the girls up really late tomorrow night. Then we hope to drag them out of bed, slap some clothes on them and hit the road. Breakfast in the car. Lunch in the car. Stopping as little as possible. Hopefully the early start combined with the late night will be conducive to them doing a little napping on the way.

What they don't know is that we're planning to go to Lake Winnepesaukah for the afternoon - hopefully we make good time and arrive in Chattanooga by about 3 or so, which will give them a good 5 hours to work off steam. Like Winnie also has a special discount for kids on Thursdays so it makes sense. Steph and I can't wait to see their reaction - because they loved it last summer, but we've been saying since then that we probably would never be able to go back there again. It's gonna blow their minds. Gonna be a little dicey with the weather - usual pop-up storms predicted and a high of 94 that day. Ouch. But, we'll keep 'em hydrated.

The second day, a more relaxed morning in the hotel, and then we're hoping to stop for lunch at a road-food icon, The Varsity in Atlanta. That day will be a longer day of driving to get down to Jacksonville to visit the family there.

It may be a subject I've covered before, but it bears repeating - my stance on the in-car DVD player. I'm a bit of a stick-in-the-mud. I will not allow my kids to watch videos the whole way on a car trip like this. I love travel, I love the road. I am what they call a road geek, endlessly entertained by something as boring as highway signs and mile markers. And while I don't expect my kids to share the same dorky fascination, I do expect them to develop a basic appreciation for the landscapes and sights in this country. So, the kids have had it repeated endlessly that they do not get to watch movies the whole time. I'm sorry, but as we enter Tennessee and head up Jellico mountain, they need to look around. As we drive through a major city like Atlanta, the TV will definitely go off so they can look at the skyline. AND, there will be "no-tv" times at other times as well, because we sometimes need to have quiet time, and sometimes we need to listen to music. I have prepared my iPod with playlists of "Mommy and Daddy music" that I think Faith and Mari might enjoy - could be a disaster, but we're gonna try.

And yes, even though Faith has learned that saying "boring" will get her in trouble, there are some stretches of this drive that are so topographically challenged (I'm looking at you, Georgia) that even *I* will allow the girls to zone out to a mindless video. I'm old-fashioned, but not cruel.

May not get to post tomorrow - if not, look for updates on the trip in a few days. Thanks for stopping by - and everyone check out the comments we got on the VBS post below. COOL!!!

Matt

P.S. - almost forgot - cracked the 200 pound mark at last - down to 199.6. Never thought I would get there by vacation. Time to gain it all back now! =)