Where Does The Trailing Spouse Do Spring Break?

Back North, spring break meant only one thing to us, piling the family
into our motor home and driving 1000 miles to spend a few days in
Florida. After that overnight drive, we arrived in the Sunshine State
exhausted, but at least we could lie in the sun and go home sun
burned. We always wondered what Florida folks do for spring break.

Now we have our chance, as Florida residents it is spring break time.
Where will we go? Our friends, Fred and Ethel, have a beach house in
St Pete Beach and right before I put them on the plane to New Zealand
for their spring break, it took me less than two seconds to grab the
keys they offered.

Lulu always says to keep me happy during travel I must have lots of
toys and snacks. She says the only difference in travel now is that
she only has to tend to one kid, not three. If she wants to spend
endless hours on the beach, I must be occupied.

In the old days, we had a camper and a map. We would get on I-95 and
put on the automatic pilot. Today, we have tons of toys to keep me
happy. Who said the old days were so good?

It all starts out with a GPS, Global Positioning System. Our new unit
has maps of the USA, Canada, Mexico, and every country in Europe. You
choose your destination and it is like having two back seat drivers as
both the lady on the GPS and Lulu are giving me directions in stereo.
It tells you how long the trip will take. If you press on the gas
pedal, the arrival time changes. Not a bad toy because beside showing
all this "essential" information it tells you where every hotel,
restaurant, gas station is. Before, my trip was ruled by the "brown
signs" of historic places, now they are all on the GPS.

In the old days, one would always be fidgeting with the AM/FM radio.
Now thanks to satellite radio, you have hundreds of crystal clear
stations, the same ones you have at home. It is like traveling with an
old friend, even if it is only 24 hours of Howard Stern.

Having a DVD player in the van is pretty neat, but what good does that
do the driver? You can't watch the screen. It does allow Lulu to go in
the back seats and catch up on episodes of "All My Children." She
turns from a back seat driver to a backseat TV watcher. It does
eliminate one female voice, maybe it does help me driving after all.

Lulu always packs a cooler full of snacks and drinks. This year she
bought a sun shelter tent. She figures that if she has a shady place
for me to read or nap, I might spend more hours on the beach. One more
item for the pack mule to lug across the sand. Don't even ask about
the first setup.

But the latest and greatest toy, a wireless modem, has been added to
the toy box. It is a little device the size of a pack of gum. You plug
it into the side of your laptop and you have wireless internet
anywhere at broadband speed. Although I already spend way too much
time on the Net, this allows me to search the net and read the
Tallahassee Democrat "On the beach, in the car, in the hotel, any
where you are...." It is almost like never leaving home.

So we have the answer to what people in Northern Florida do on spring
break, they drive to Southern Florida. And they get a chance to sit on
the beach, and instead of contemplating their navel or other peoples'
navels, they can blog friends and family back North.