A Crisis of Conscience

So as we were driving this weekend we were 24 miles from a place I used to visit as a child. It is my dad's hometown and the home of an aunt and a cousin whom I haven't seen in a very long time. They met Abby when she was a baby, but have not met Nora. I have very little contact with them for whatever reason. Partly because I am lazy and don't get around to emailing, but also because there just doesn't seem to be a connection there. I was all of a sudden in a crisis of conscience. What is the right thing to do?
As we passed all the signs pointing to this little town I got a pang of longing to go to a place that I remember spending summers and holidays as a child. I want my kids to know it, to know the stories and the memories and the people that this little town holds. I all of a sudden felt guilty for being 24 miles away from family I haven't seen and not calling.
When I got to DC, I asked my dad what he thought I should do. He didn't have an answer either. It is not like there was any big falling out or anything, we just don't really have contact with that part of our family. Would it be wired to call out of the blue? Kind of. Would it be welcomed. Maybe. Most likely, really. Would it be convenient? Probably not because of our timing (we were driving at night to keep the ladies on their "schedules"). Is it polite to call someone you haven't talked to in years and announce your presence after having months to plan for such an event? Not really.
We ended up scrapping the plan to invade, probably for the best. Tim keeps threatening to make this trip an annual thing, and if we do drive out there again I will try to orchestrate a visit. For now I will just feel guilty for not doing it this time.