"When are we gonna be there?"

One hour and 30 minutes into our 2,000 mile Spring Break Road Trip to Tennessee and other parts, Corbin let out a big sigh and asked "When are we gonna be there"? Fred and I simultaneously looked at our watches to record the time it took for one of the kids to ask that very question, both surprised it took so long.

Yes, folks, we loaded up the Durango, clamped on the luggage carrier, packed everything AND the kitchen sink, said a family prayer and headed out the driveway. We were on our way, embarking on our first true road trip. As we made our way down the street, we glanced back fondly, each saying a silent goodbye to the old homestead. Screeeeccchh......gotta go back.......the garage door was stuck halfway down. In true "Clark Griswold" fashion, we backed up and Fred /Clark spent the next 10 minutes pulling, tugging, kicking and cussing at the door to get it to fully close. Now we're off!

A week ago, Fred declared this a "no iPod", limited electronics trip. Say what? You mean I've spent weeks meticulously calculating the orchestration of ordering, burning, transferring and turning around 25 movies with Netflix just so YOU can have the All-American Brandy Bunch experience? What about the audio books waiting for me on my iPhone? I've been looking forward to hearing Valerie Bertinelli tell me all the gory details of her marriage to rocker Eddie Van Halen!

Ok, ok, he has a point. We are truly an "airplane" family: just get us to our destination as quickly as possible.
What's wrong with seeing the sights of 1-10 east for 8 hours? (don't answer that). Heck, we can talk, comment on passing motorists, play the license plate game and sing! SING....did someone say run to Best Buy and have XM radio installed?

So here we are, just about to enter my home state of Louisiana. Gabbie is sprawled out in the backseat, cozy in her blanket, finishing up the movie she began before the car was even started. Corbin has tried unsuccessfully to get the XBOX 360 to work on the DVD player, he's played his handheld "Deal or No Deal" game and is currently watching "Space Camp" on his new iPod. Thanks to modern technology, I'm blogging to you on Fred's laptop.

And Freddie? Well, he has the XM radio remote clutched tightly in his hand (just like home) and hasn't mentioned we should be singing "Kum Ba Yah" by now! Onward to Gulf Shores, Alabama, wholeheartedly electronically connected.