Road Trip 2012: Chicago to Savannah

I’ve been dying to take a trip like this with my kids, the kind of vacation that isn’t marred by over-thinking and over-planning.

I’ve found lately that too much planning leads to too many expectations that are too easily crushed by, well, life. This from the woman used to planning daily itineraries, down to food packing lists for meals and what each of us will wear each day.

Not this time. Throwing caution and hyper-planning to the wind, we loosely plotted our route from Chicago to Savannah, packed light and hit the road.

That was just the right choice.

We knew we wanted to get a big bunch of driving out of the way Friday, so we drove until we felt ourselves tiring out.

When I was a kid, I’d drive cross country with my dad and grandparents. They’d choose motels by the brand, signs that announced vacancies and, of course, price. Oh, and when it was hot and the drive a long one, the motels had to have a pool.

We pretty much did the same thing this week, only we started looking about an hour or so from our destination thanks to the miracle of the iPhone. And just like when I was a kid, pools were required.

We stayed three nights on our way to our final destination: Tybee Island.

Lincoln birthplace memorial.

Night No. 1 landed us in Elizabethtown, KY. Because we didn’t plan to go there, I didn’t research the area. It wasn’t until we checked in and scanned the brochures on the tourism rack that we realized we were just a short drive from Abraham Lincoln’s birthplace. After a comfortable night’s stay, a phenomenal included breakfast and a lot of swimming (plus diving for Lincoln pennies no less), we headed there first thing in the morning. The kids were excited to learn more about their country’s great leader and his humble Kentucky beginnings.

Hatch Show Print shop. Playing with Hatch cat.

On Night No. 2, we found ourselves in Smyrna, TN. We were aiming for somewhere near Nashville, which was completely sold out of hotel rooms going for less than $260 a night. I wish we’d been a bit more discriminating. We actually stayed in the same hotel chain as the night before. But what a difference local management makes. Even so, our day in Nashville was fantastic. We happened to be there on a particularly hot day…figuratively and literally. Turns out Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney were headlining as part of the Brothers of Sun tour. That meant that an already bustling downtown was packed with music lovers ready to get their country on. And it meant we had to pay $20 event parking just to walk around in the 95-degree heat. The kids were hot and grumpy. Sim and I loved every minute. The street musicians were on every corner and they were all really good. We especially enjoyed hanging out a bit in Hatch Show Print shop, watching the poster artists working up prints, and playing with the Hatch cats. When the kids were about to lose it, we ducked into Mike’s for some pretty great homemade ice cream. All grumpiness melted away with a few tastes of frozen treats and the promise of a pool at our next stop.

Pardon me…Is that the Chattanooga Choo Choo?

By Night No. 3, we shifted hotel chains, paid closer attention to Trip Advisor’s reviews (turns out they’re pretty on the money) and went a bit more upscale (even though we were actually paying less) to rest comfortably in McDonough, Ga. It was a lovely end to a full day of driving and exploring Chattanooga, where Sim and his family visited when we was a child. Besides checking out the famed Choo Choo, highlights in Chattanooga included our lunch at The Terminal Brewhouse, a hip brew pub that locally sources much of its food. Despite the heat, we walked across the impressive pedestrian only Walnut Street Bridge spanning the Tennessee River. Then we cooled off by playing in the splash pad fountain at Coolidge Park and enjoying homemade treats at Clumpies Ice Cream Co. I also treated myself to a Pure SodaWorks original – strawberry jalapeno soda (thanks Matt).

Those three days could have been our vacation and I think I would have been more than satisfied…though not rested. So I’m glad we have the rest of the week to hang loose just outside of Savannah on Tybee Island (Night Nos. 4-7).

Already soaked, so why not?

Despite being welcomed to the city with torrential rains from Tropical Storm Debby, we had a great, though soaking wet, first day in Savannah. Killing time before we could check into our beach house that will be our home this week, we took a last-minute recommendation from a friend and ate at the Cotton Exchange along River Street. The food was so, so. But the location was perfect. Looking to escape a particularly heavy downpour, we ducked into Savannah Candy Kitchen to watch taffy, candy apples and pralines being made and taste tested.

I’m not sure I could have planned a better four first days. And I’m glad I spent my time enjoying the road trip instead of worrying about the details.