Here are the headlines for this evening....
We went single digits on Saturday!
The DGPs took the DD over night on Saturday and a friend of the DD wanted to have a sleep over on Friday. So there was a whole weekend of trip planning, packing and chaotic last minute item finding.
Saturday... I had several errands to to handle. Once I got home, I helped with some of the packing. PLus since we are going to the beach, I needed to find the umbrella. Good thing I opened it since it had a bent bottom pole. Luckily there was stainless steel pole in my basement that happened to be the right diameter. Within 30 minutes, a new base pole was created and working with the top of the umbrella. The DW had a list of items we needed to get for the trip like snacks for the ride, etc. Since Kohl's had some crazy sale my feet were treated to a new pair of walking sneakers. Then to a nice dinner in which the DW " it shouldn't cost us XX amount to eat to night" Guess what it did! But we had time to talk more about the trip. The packing continued when we got home. I have all the apps on the phones for fuel and lodging. I mirrored our phones so we can just grab either one and do what we needed to do when the other is driving.
Sunday... We performed a trial packing run. The bags that DW packed did not fit as well as expected. When we were buying the car, one of the things I did was drive it home and try to fit our bags in the truck which they did. However, they were not as filled as they were now. So after some brief discussion (or another word that begins with a D) I stated that we should try a different container method of transporting clothing for the trip. I simply suggested the use of a duffle bag we had for ages and has worked in multiple trips and the like. Within some disagreement from the DW, she repacked. Magically the truck had more space and was able to fit everything we need with room to spare. Once that was done, we both had to attend to other matters. When we got back to the house, I said we should have the car service prior to the trip. Off to the local Walmart for an oil change and tire rotation. When I did the math, it was about 15 bucks more than if I did it. We shopped while waiting for the vehicle to be completed. DD got some new sheets for her bed. Tsums Tsums. She is crazy about them. So when she came home this evening, she went nuts seeing the new sheets. A couple of final items for the trip where purchased.
The main event of the day was finding the camera that is a go to item while at the parks. We have a small Nikon point and shoot waterproof shock proof camera. It's great for water parks, pools, the ocean. Plus it is shock proof from stand drops heights. Yes it works. Well we have not seen the camera in a while. We torn the house apart to find it. We finally found it hours later. In a bag that my DW was using a while back. She said she must have placed it in there and forgot about it. Ugh! However, the camera back is officially packed. It is the only other piece of the puzzle. All that is left is the cooler bag for the trip.
Trip planning...
We are planning to leave Wednesday evening. Probably around 7 or 8 PM. Our intentions are to get below DC on the first leg. That has always been our goal. However, I have considered driving through the night depending on my state of mind, energy levels, and of course the drink of the gods themselves, Red Bull. I told the dear DW that if I did the math right, I could see us potentially pulling into Cocoa Beach area around noon the following day. However, with the car it should be much easier as we can take the shorter routes (i.e. no belt ways around Baltimore due to the trailer) Plus the travel much faster due to lack of trailer. When in tow, I usually go not more that 67 MPH. For safety and gas mileage reasons. Most of the time, I'm in the 60-62 MPH range. With the car, 75-80 MPH range will be the norm. Given our projected fuel economy too, the rest stops will be few and far between. We are expecting a comfortable 600+ mile range on a fuel run versus 260 mile range with truck and trailer. During a recent short all highway trip of about 45 miles, the DW average just over 50 MPG with a fast right foot. In the end, we agreed to drive to 1/4 tank or a certain stop point to determine the first night. She gently put it, we are not pressed for time going down.
Wednesday cannot come fast enough. With the amount of planning and resources involved with this trip, our goal is to see the reaction of our DD light up more profoundly than Wishes fireworks!
Getting past D.C. is what we always try to accomplish at night usually around midnight, that way if I do get tired, very rarely, we wouldn't have to worry about fighting that mess, not very concerned about Richmond, we go straight through in stead of taking the bypass. Have fun planning, I still have a ways to go. Drive safe and have fun. 
