This.

I don't often do road trips on my own -- but is it wrong to admit how much I enjoy them? There's just something wonderful and liberating about setting your own course and all the freedoms that come along with doing that... BY YOURSELF. It's the small things like only having to stop for bathroom breaks when YOU need to, or cranking the music as loud as you'd like... or, even having it as silent as you like (oh my, THAT's something that doesn't happen much when you travel with kids.).

Yeah, at the risk of sounding like a selfish mama... I totally enjoyed tackling this stretch of road on my own. I perfected my urban hip-hop-krunk moves -- no small feat when in the driver's seat. I reached new heights of ridiculous, sing-along fun and generally followed my every whim across all 200 XM music stations and 800 kms. :) A little bit of mellow, a little bit of party up in here, a little bit of metal, worship, funk, 80s... whatever my little heart desired. Loved the "Good Feeling" vibe, the classic sound of Usher's "My Boo"...

And I definitely can say that this woman can do no wrong. This song got a ton of airplay over a number of the presets I was rotating through and I never tired of hearing her amazing voice. Such an evocative presence and crafting in her songs... one of those artists who leaves you breathless and filled with the emotion she wrings from every verse, every word.