Summer starts: Girlfriend lives far away

That's bad real bad. Just call her every day and most important pick up all her calls no matter what. Tips, tell her things that makes her feel desired. Like "your mobile is not connecting very well as it used to", "you can't eat' or whatever trouble you are having but in a sense that you miss her ("can't play ball anymore there is something not right"). Instant messaging is fine to see each other every day with a web cam, but don't hook up the whole day so it wil take the pleasure of the trip. Remember the trip is to be with your girlfriend, so it won't hurt a little surprise every time. Music always helps for a trip, especially if you are going by bus or train. If you drive - don't drink lol - seriously look in the internet for curiosities along the way. Maybe you can get her something while on the road.

Well, there's always yahoo messenger. You should get a web cam so that you could always see each other. And yeah, I think you should have the same phone plan so that you can talk to each other constantly but I think YM is the cheapest. As for roadtrips, my brother usually drives and I just sleep a lot, but putting on music would be good too.