In the meantime, it's a big ole traffic jam! Today and tomorrow are two of the busiest travel days of the year.

Triple A estimates 7.7 million Texans will be traveling more than 50 miles from home between Saturday and January 1. Millions of packages are on their way too, but they may not get here by Christmas.

Might East Texas get Amtrak service? There's an Amtrak route now that runs from San Antonio to Chicago.

And there's a push for Amtrak to extend it's service from Shreveport-Bossier City to Dallas-Fort Worth, which would take the trains right through east Texas and give us a fast track in both of those directions.

How close is it to reality?

I have. On a road trip to the north, my family stayed at a hotel in Wichita, Kansas, and when we got home we could only find one Dora The Explorer sock. In the process of jumping on the bed and running around the room, our 3-year old at the time must have shed a sock and a cleaning person whose daughter also may have had just one sock, hit the jackpot.

What is the most common item hotel travelers leave behind? It has something to do with your smart phone.

Triple A says more than 34 million Americans will drive more than 50 miles from home over the three day Memorial Day weekend. In Texas, that's 2.8 million people clogging up the roads. And your plans?

My family plans to skip the road trip and do something totally different....backyard camping! Many of my friends have been doing it lately with their kids and posting the pics on Facebook. I'm inspired to try it. Apparently all we have to do to have backyard fun is haul the sleeping bags outside and pitch a tent back there, and save the cost of admission to a park. It is pretty smart. You have your own private space with no wayward frisbees finding their way into your business, and all the conveniences like showers and toilets stay within just a few steps. AND, you don't have to lug that heavy cooler either, with frosty beverages in the fridge nearby.

If you do hit the road this weekend, know the police will be watching CLOSELY for wrong moves.

An exceptional idea!  With summer vacation looming, why not take the train to your next destination.  Heck, don't even wait until summer.  De-stress with a weekend get-a-away!