Once in a while, you have to grab some quality time. After Hurricane Irene cut into a long planned trip, we decided to take an impromptu vacation.

Five hours in the car, some flashback Grunge on XM, a quint-shot Vanilla Latte and voila. Vacationing with kids and a puppy isn't necessarily about relaxing. It's more a case of a change of venue and reacquainting ourselves. We explore, eat and try to keep the dog from pooping in the hotel.

Even if it's just a few days, it definitely does a lot of good. Here's to Primus, Starbucks drive-thru and satellite radio.