So in
my last post, I mentioned that we were driving across America from California to Florida and I promised an update. Here it is! In this post I'm going to provide a very brief outline of the drive, where we stopped, and then tell you guys what we did to entertain 5 kids for that long.
The above picture shows the route we took crossing the United States. We chose a more Southern route because we hoped to avoid snow and other bad weather during the winter, and we were quite lucky. We never hit any storms and had a fairly uneventful drive! Except that on the way there one of the tires on the car kept having low air pressure. We had to spend half a day not driving while in Texas visiting multiple tire shops trying to get this issue resolved. It was a big hassle!
Day to Day Outline
Day 1: We left around 7pm from LA and arrived in Phoenix around 1am.
Day 2: We left our hotel around 11am and arrived in Fort Stockton around 1am.
Day 3: I don't remember when we left, but we arrived in Katy, TX at 9:30pm.
Day 4: We had to get the tire on the car fixed on this day. We arrived in Mobile around 1am.
Day 5: We arrived mid-afternoon in Orlando, Florida!
How to Stay Entertained
One of the most common questions about trips of this duration is how to keep everyone entertained, including the driver. It's important to have someone up front who can talk to the driver to help them stay awake. Playing music or movies that are fun to listen to also helps. If you can't have that, caffeinated beverages are always an option.
For the kids it was a bit easier. One of the best things you can do (besides frequent stops) is to have some kind of movie playing device in your car. We were lucky in that we had a built-in DVD player, where the only rule was we don't watch any movie twice until we've been through every movie we brought on the trip once. We brought a LOT of movies! Each kid also had a tablet to play on, preloaded with some of their favorite games (plants vs zombies anyone?) as well as educational apps and music apps where the kids practiced their note naming flashcards for piano or reading sight-words. We took breaks from electronics with reading books that the kids picked out from home, and spent time every day working on homework that the kids were assigned to complete from school while we were on this trip.
Remarkably, there was very little fighting. I think one thing that helped with this was frequent stops. We stopped every few hours for things like getting gas, food, bathroom breaks and just plain stretch-your-legs breaks. While stopped we would get out of the car and do jumping jacks, let the kids run around on any safe grassy areas and walk through the gas stations or stores to see what there was.
One of our favorite stops along the way was this HUGE gas station in Texas called Buc-ee's. It literally was the biggest gas station I have ever been to, and had shopping inside comparable to grocery stores in size. I didn't take any pictures myself, but here are some from the internet:
There are easily over 100 stalls to fill up at when you use Buc-ee's, and the options for things to buy inside are endless. Our particular gas station had a fresh fudge station as well as BBQ sandwiches you could custom order. We spent at least 30 minutes here after filling up the car, taking turns walking around the store with kids to both enjoy what they had to offer and stretch our legs.
You might be wondering, what do I do on long car trips when I don't have any fancy electronics? Well, you can bring a laptop and set it up to watch movies. You can buy an extension to charge a laptop from a cigarette lighter from places like Best Buy or Amazon. I would also suggest a pair of portable speakers if you go this route, to help with the volume as most laptops are pretty quiet.
If you don't have a laptop to use, then the old-fashioned route is the way for you. When I was a kid, my mom bought special games like Scrabble, Uno and Sorry that were specifically designed for in-car use so that pieces didn't get lost. We had coloring books, reading books, and blank paper to draw on. We had snack bags to reduce the need to stop often while driving. Our blankets and pillows from home helped us nap easily and comfortably in the car. We played the ABC game, where you try to spot all the letters of the alphabet in order as you drive along, passing them on various cars, stores, signs etc. We made up silly songs about driving that I still remember to this day.
None of this is earth shattering news on how to travel well with kids. But it is wise to know your kids temperament and plan accordingly. Having electronics AND colorings books, for example, for the kid who is easily bored with things is smart. Have a plan and bring extra of anything you can't easily (or affordably) buy on the road.
I hope this brief article was helpful to you; if so, please let me know in the comments! If you have any other questions about what we did, feel free to ask! Thanks!
