Victory is Great. Honor is Greater.

Nothing tells you you've left the north like a giant billboard for 1-800-MY-SOUTH.

After much debating, tropical storm/hurricane tracking, website checking and weather nerding we went to bed Tuesday night with a plan in place... head south towards our destination in GA and wait to see what path Hannah took. Once we knew that we figured we could either stay put or head down to Florida and wait out the storm.

Turns out that getting a good night's sleep and leaving when we did was probably the right plan. We hit the road around 6 AM yesterday morning, got coffee and began the MD to GA leg of our two-week, three beach odyssey. (We spent Labor Day weekend on Long Beach Island in NJ.)

Our only two stops along the way were for gas, a quick bite and to let the little one burn off som energy. A year ago we drove halfway across the country when Ryan was just about eight weeks old and it couldn't have been easier. She slept four hours at a stretch and was usually ready to eat and get changed when we stopped for gas.

At 15-months-old things are slightly different, but I think we've got a born traveler on our hands.

We arrived at our destination in Georgia around 5 PM yesterday, surprisingly refreshed for a long drive. Accomodations can't be beat... I think we're about the only people in this building at the resort and we have a great view of the ocean from our room. Weather looks good for today and Saturday (the day our friends are getting married) with a rainy day tomorrow. We'll probably head to Savannah tomorrow for a bit to visit my pal Curt (who runs the excellent Groovy Age of Horror blog) and do lunch at a supposedly haunted brew pub right near where Lucio Fulci shot some locales during his 80s splatter heyday.

Dinner last night was at the excellent Barbara Jean's by the pier. Though we were getting exhausted by that point we enjoyed homemade She Crab Soup (spicy & creamy without being too rich), Cheddar Grits (so rich and cheesy you just wanted to climb in), a thick and tasty slab of meatloaf with mashed potatoes and gravy, and a filling bowl of shrimp and andoullie sausage atop, yep, more cheesy grits. Everything also came accompanied by a basket of spicy jalapeno cheese corn bread and cakelike pumpkin bread. Not bad for $60 (including tip and two 16 oz. beers).

The girls just got back from their run/walk with cups of strong, real coffee and a cheese danish. Soft ocean breezes are blowing in the screen door and a trip to the pool and/or beach awaits.

Other quick notes... saw this at a scary gas station in Middleofnowhere, NC. Unfortunately, the camera was in the car and the guys behind the counter were eyeing me suspiciously when I started firing up the video camera in the parking lot. As much as I wanted to try one we didn't have a cooler and the idea of a cold, then warm, then cold one just made me vomit in my mouth a little. Also, South Carolina has the worst roads ever. Describing the stretch of I-95 through there as "bumpy" would be kind.