I wanted to wait until the first official day of winter to make the transition from the fall site design to the winter version, but I banged out the work over the past weekend, and I just couldn’t wait. Additionally, this year the first day of winter coincides with what may become another annual tradition, the Christmas road trip around the south.

This year, I’m basically making the same round trip that I did last year, only this year The Girl will be along for the entire ride. Just to refresh everyone’s memory, the route looks something like this:

We’re set to leave at about 3 AM on Saturday morning, so that we can cruise into Athens around lunch time on Saturday. We’ll spend a few days with The Girl’s parents there, and then we’ll head out to Mississippi on Christmas day to spend the remainder of the holidays with my family. Sure, we’ll talk to and spend time with everyone, but I have a feeling that these two will get the bulk of the attention, and deservedly so:

I love being on the road, and am really excited about our upcoming trip. The Girl holds less excitement in her heart for the average ‘Great American Road Trip’, but she’s pretty excited about this one. I don’t know what it is really, the sense of being on the open road, and opening up the V6 sleigh, and putting the miles behind us. Getting to see the big cities and the small hamlets that make up our country, and especially the south. Maybe that’s to saccharin and nostalgic, I don’t know, but I still enjoy the feeling, and this time is no different.

We’re going southbound, home, and we’re leaving soon.