Thanksgiving road trip

Why lug a 5-year-old and a 6-year-old across the country over the Thanksgiving holiday, a time of year when airports are packed, highways clogged, and the weather notoriously dreadful?
The answer to this question is complicated. Let's just say we're searching for long-lost relatives, warmer weather, and a breath of fresh air, in both a figurative and literal sense.
Our itinerary: Fly into Jacksonville, Fl. Drive to Orlando and spend two nights with some relatives. Drive back up the coast to Savannah, Ga., to soak up some Southern charm, and then charge on to Charleston, S.C., to spend Thanksgiving with another set of relatives. Stop by the Okefenokee Swamp on our way back to Jacksonville, and then return to S.F.

Here's a rundown of our first day:
8 a.m. We need to leave the house for the airport at 11:30 a.m. Can I pack for myself and two children in three and a half hours?
8:15 a.m. Packing for the kids is easy. Two pairs of pants each. One pair shorts. Three tops. PJs. Socks. Done!
8:30 a.m. Where are the kids' swim goggles? Looks like we left those at the pool. *&#?!
8:45 a.m. Printing out coloring pages and games from Kaboose.com--great resource for children's activities.
9 a.m. Which pair of shoes can I pack that I can wear with a dress and on a hike? I'm determined to bring only one pair of shoes for myself. I want to pack light so we don't have to check luggage; the airline we're flying charges $15 a bag. Ouch!
10 a.m. Snacks for the plane: dried mango, dried apricots, apples, almonds, and a few packs of gum.
10:30 a.m. "Where's the other booster seat? I looked everywhere for it."
"Uh, I left it at Mark's house. Sorry about that. We can buy a new one when we get to Florida."
11:29 a.m. I manage to stuff everything we need into three rolling carry-ons. I realize that it takes more effort to pack light.
11:30 a.m. Taxi arrives. "Mommy! Where's Marie! I forgot Marie! I need Marie." My daughter bursts into tears as I run back into the house to look for her stuffed cat.
Noon. Check in. Go through security. We fill 12 bins with all our crap--jackets, laptops, shoes, stuffed animals...
12:15 p.m. Lunch at Klein's Deli, where the sandwiches are big and imaginative and named after famous female icons of the 20th century. I order The Piaf: roast beef, cream cheese, horseradish, dill pickle, and tomato on dark rye. My husband orders The Kahlo: chicken salad with mango chutney, almonds, raisins, a dash of curry, lettuce and tomato on wheat.
1 p.m. At the newsstand: I pick up The New Yorker and In Touch. "Mommy can we get some Tic Tacs?" "No!" "Please!" I cave.
1:15 p.m. "Where have you been? They're boarding our flight?" My husband is mad because we're late in boarding our flight and we have a lot of carry-on luggage. "There won't be enough room for our carry-ones!"
1:30 p.m. We board the plane and find space for our luggage several rows behind us. The kids watch A Charlie Brown Christmas on the laptop. Ahhh! I can relax and read about Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes' dysfunctional marriage, and about Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt (isn't that over?).
1:45 p.m. "Mommy, can I have a Tic Tac?"

2 p.m. OMG! Jennifer and Brad send text-messages every day! And Tom and Katie might get a divorce.

2:15 p.m. "Mommy, can I have a Tic Tac?"

2:30 p.m. The kid sitting in front of us is sneezing and coughing--and he sounds like Darth Vader when he breathes. And then the dad says to the wife, "Honey, he feels really hot. Feel his forehead. Maybe we should take his sweater off." I grab my CleanWell hand-sanitizer from my purse: "Kids let's take a bath!"

3 p.m. "Mommy, can I have a Tic Tac?"

3:15 p.m. "Mommy, my Tic Tac is stuck in my Transformer, and I can't get it out."

3:30 p.m. "Mommy, can I have another Tic Tac?"

4 p.m. We sit next to a 17-year-old girl from Arcata. She's flying to Pensacola to visit her boyfriend who is the Marines and currently in training. "I hope he doesn't get sent to Afghanistan," she says.

4:30 p.m. Turbulence. "Mommy, are we going to crash?"

5 p.m. Tic-tac-toe with my 6-year-old. Hey, she beat me!

5:30 p.m. "Can we watch another movie?" Darn! Computer is out of juice.

6 p.m. I'm going crazy!

6:30 p.m. Hello Atlanta, Georgia! I love you! We get off the plane and buy burritos at Moe's Southwest Grill. "Mommy, this is the best burrito I have ever had," my 5-year-old says. (Living on the edge of San Francisco's Mission district obviously hasn't had an effect on my child's palette.)

7:30 p.m. We board another plane. One-hour flight to Jacksonville, Fl.
8 p.m. "Mommy, can I have another Tic Tac?"
8:30 p.m. (or 11:30 p.m. Florida time) We arrive at our destination. The computers are down at the rental car company so it takes nearly an hour to get a car. The kids are sleeping on the floor of the airport.
9:30 p.m. Step outside. It's balmy. Ahhh! "Mommy, I need to take my jacket off! Mommy I can't get my jacket off! Mommy!"
10 p.m. (1 a.m. Florida time) We check into the Best Western Executive Inn, about a mile from the airport. "Mommy, they have a swimming pool! Can we please go swimming!"
10:30 p.m. Lights are out. We're all in our comfortable beds. Ahhh! "Mommy, can I have another Tic Tac?"