Ahh - well my approach is that there is no way I would trust an automatic to change gear at the right time. I probably change gear over 400 times just on my commute to work (many short straights about a quarter mile long, followed by 90 degree corners...heh) and I have seen at first hand what happens when an automatic decides to drop you a gear through a hard corner. The guy involved had a spectacular crash.
Even driving an automatic BMW M3 was so boring I had problems with concentration... cruise control is a killer (IMHO)

I would echo Andy's comment - for me the destination is almost irrelevant - it's the drive that is important.