It’s a long drive from here. A typical trip takes 8 hours if I drive at night and only make one stop for gas. There isn’t really any decent air service between here and Pensacola, so there’s not much else you can do but drive the 8 hours straight down Route 65.

There’s not much scenery once you get below Birmingham. Just a lot of farm fields and pine trees. So I don’t mind driving at night – less traffic and the trip seems to go faster.

This summer I want to spend at least a full week at a beach. Preferably on the Gulf of Mexico, although the Atlantic Ocean would do.

The best way to spend time at the beach is in a full service hotel that is right on the beach. Book a room with a beachfront view of the water. And a tiki bar at the hotel pool makes it even nicer.