Day 6 was a good day. We indulged in delicious lunch food, drove a teeny bit further south, (finally to some sunshine!!), and even got a little date night out at the casino. Stay tuned to hear about how this day turned out, how we saved on two out of three meals, and how we finally got some time to chill! Yay! ☀️

Road Trip: Steak ‘n Shake and Hollywood Beach

We slept in, had a lazy morning and made breakfast (toast, smoothies and a protein shake if you must know)💁‍♀️. Then loaded up the truck for the next chapter of our trip. It was New Years Day, 2026, and we were *so* ready for some sun already.

It was only a few hours of driving this day, but we passed a Steak ’n Shake on the way and decided to sway from the health food kick and grab some burgers and shakes since PGH no longer has any of these around! It was a great pit stop and tasted just like we remembered. (Highly recommend if you’ve never had it!)

After about a 3.5 hour drive through Florida some more, we arrived (in the daylight, yay!) at our next stop for the night, an Airbnb right along the Hollywood beach boardwalk just a few steps away. It was a little hard to locate, (one of the problems we’ve noticed with some Airbnb stays), but once we were there it was convenient being able to unload the truck right by the door and feel at home. I’m not sure if we’d stay in this location again as it was a bit loud at night, but it being super close walking distance to the beach was absolutely stunning.

Catch Up:  Southern Road Trip Day 5: A Quiet New Year’s Eve on the Road

Have you had any experience staying here? If so, what was your favorite part?

Once we got a feel for how the boardwalk was, we decided to treat ourselves and hit up the casino nearby for a fun date night. We stopped here years ago on a randomly planned trip to Miami, and it was a great time. The Uber ride was further than expected, but we didn’t want to lose our parking spot near the stay, and also didn’t feel like driving in more traffic at night, so, win-win!

It provided some nostalgia being back there, and we enjoyed our time once again. Instead of spending more on dinner though, we decided to walk the boardwalk again after heading back in the evening, (the stars were AMAZING!) and then made some more steaks in the kitchenette.

Budget For Day 6 Road Trip Including Date Night

It was a short day, unlike most of the others! But super fun and way more relaxing. Stay tuned for Day 7 which will have a similar vibe! Cheers to not rushing through vacation and actually getting the downtime we all deserve! ☀️😹

As promised, here is our budget for the day! Let me know your thoughts or similarities if you go on a trip here as well. Although we continued to do our best and keep track during this trip, we found it difficult (even getting groceries most of the time instead of eating at restaurants) to keep it as low as we would have liked. Sad face.

If you’d like to stick around til the end of the series, I’ll go more in depth about the overall budget, where we could have done things differently, what we learned to do better along the way, and how we’ll save up again for something similar in the future.💪

Southern States Road Trip Expenses for Day 6:

• Airbnb: $233.91
• Steak & Shake: $29.76
• Def & Caffiene: $49.16
• Uber: ~$114
• Fuel: $64
  • Total: $490.83

Wait! Here’s some delish pics from Steak ’n’ Shake before you go!👇👀

Thank You For Reading Day 6 of Our Southern Road Trip: Finally Some Sunshine and a Date Night Out

Thanks so much for following along on our Southern Road Trip. This journey has reminded us just how important it is to take care of ourselves and stay grounded in the habits that keep us feeling our best.

Sometimes, all you really need is a simple road trip date night to reset, reconnect, and breathe a little. Nothing fancy, just intentional.

Also… quick question. Are there any Steak ‘n Shake fans out there or is it just us? Let me know what you think. 👀