Best plugin for Google Maps of route?

I’m looking for a bit of advice from those that have gone down a similar path. My blog, davidedwardsphotos.com features trips I’ve taken, either on a bike in Oz or traveling overseas. I’m keen to include a marked map in the blog entry to show the route and some key points along the way.

It seems using Google Maps/Earth is the way to go, but I’m keen to get feedback on this or other options.

Also, I’ve been playing with the XML Google Maps plugin (and have some challenges) but I’m wondering if I’m creating too much work for myself in manually creating maps in KML files and uploading them. I’ve been able to create a simple route map in Google Maps and just link to the My Maps entry. I don’t use a GPS, so I’m resigned to a level of manual marking or recording of Lat/Long, but I’m wondering what others have done for similar activities.