Driving to Pensacola for long weekend?

[Aurora]

My DH and I were going to take a short trip away w/o our 3 kids for our 15th anniversary in May. Didn't get to do it, then air fares went up. In June, when we took the kids to WDW, we didn't get our beach day (DD got sick). Now we're trying to decide whether to drive from Chicago to Pensacola for a four-day romantic weekend over Labor Day without the kids (one day driving down, two days there, one day driving back).

What do you think? Can we do it? Is it worth it? We figured Pensacola cause it's pretty much a straight shot south, probably the shortest distance from Chicago to warm salt water. Any other suggestions?

[Speedy1998]

If you can swing it the Atlantic beaches are nicer. You could even do the beaches in Carolinas, or Virginia if that would work out to be closer.

I do think that is doable trip though.

[TiggeRia]

I just came back from a weeklong trip to Fort Walton Beach, which is about an hour east of Pensacola. We did fly in and out of Pensacola. The area is absolutely beautiful with white sand and emerald green water...(hence the name Emerald Coast!) There is so much to do between water activities (boating, jetskiing, snorkeling, sailing, dinner cruises, parasailing), shopping, dining, sights, etc. When we were there we spent one day out on a sail boat and went shelling/snorkeling and then went out onto the Gulf to look for dolphins. The same place did sunset cruises on a Catamaran that looked really romantic. The beaches were not really crowded and as I said the sand was perfectly white. It was great!

It is kind of a long drive for just two days, however. It is a 17-18 hour drive from New Jersey, so it is probably just as long from Chicago. Are you going to split the driving? Sometimes it takes a day or two to recuperate from spending so much time in the car. I guess it all depends on how you and your DH react to spending so long in the car. It certainly is a beautiful place to visit, though.