Road Trip
A successful 3,000 mile road trip with children under the
age of 10. Sound like a dream, like I’m lying? It’s the truth. I consider a
successful road trip to be one free of auto accidents, bathroom accidents,
toddler freak outs, or moments of doubt that would have sent me back home. And,
we were able to do it under the estimated time Google predicted without
speeding or dangerous driving.
Preparation and consideration of the kids made the trip a
success. The Griswalds would have been jealous. The kids had a portable DVD
player, no staring out the windows at billboards and trees passing by at 70 MPH.
Quality is lost on kids, so, if you don’t have a DVD player already, just buy
one that works and has a fully charged battery. They also had coloring books
and activity books with stickers. We packed plenty of drinks and snacks,
avoiding unnecessary stops.
The key to the trip, the one thing that really made a
difference was the time of day we chose to leave. It maybe better to say the
time of night. I am wholly convinced that leaving at bedtime, around 7:00 p.m.,
was genius. And, I have to thank my brother for the idea. “Open 24 hours” gas
stations made this type of trip possible. Any trip taking longer than 12 hours
should start late at night. Less traffic. We drove through Atlanta at 3:00 a.m.
without turning off the cruise control. Very few trucks were on the road, which
was great when we had to drive through a thunderstorm. There were lines of
tractor-trailers at the rest areas and truck stops and not on the road.
The children slept through the night. No complaints, or the
classic Bart Simpson question, “Are we there yet?” We listen to our music and
talk stations the entire time. I am endorsing Sirius/XM, too, because without
it, Tennessee and Kentucky have very few choices for radio stations. When the
kids woke up in the morning, a quick stop at McDonald’s for breakfast and we
were on the road, again. They were not interested in running around or
exploring. Cartoons, coloring and video games occupied their time until lunch.
It was after lunch they started to get antsy, but we were almost to our
destination. My theory is that they had more fun in the car than they would
have at a park or a playground.
Driving like this is not easy, but it was definitely cheaper
than flying a family of four. And, driving straight through to our destination
saved the cost of a hotel room and extra meals on the road. Flights to Michigan
and back for 4 people came in around $1200, driving was half of that.
Be patient and cautious when taking a long road trip with
kids. Often times, they can and will distract you, either through requests or
complaints. They are the kids, you are the adult, and it is not a battle, but
an adventure.
