You can't get there from here.

Have you ever been to the Florida panhandle?  Did you drive?  Do you remember thinking to yourself, "OMG, are we ever going to get there?"  

It depends on which part of the 'handle you're going to but if it's Destin, there is simply no easy way.  I kept looking at the map because, frankly, I thought "Jennifer" our GPS gal had lost her friggin' mind!  If you have a lot of time on your hands, get a map and check it out.  Once you're south of Montgomery, AL, all bets are off.  You leave the high speed comfort of 65 to 2 hours and 15 min. of Hooterville.  

It's pretty.  We saw huge mounds of azaleas on the way home but after a while, there's only so much of farmland/tiny towns one can take before one begins to scream things like, "where is the highway?  I want speed!"

We did a little investigating at dinner on our way home with other travelers.  Their consensus was to go a bit out of the way when leaving Montgomery and take 231, which is an "orange" highway, not "blue" like 65 but better than those skinny "red" ones.

Fascinating blog topic, eh?  Well, I want you to be prepared if you ever decide to drive down thataway.  Call me before you go.