We're planning to drive to Nana and Popo's house later this month and were interested in some travel tips from pros (or anyone reading this). :)
The longest the girls have ever been in the car is probably about 2 hours... maybe, so this is new to us. My dad lives 400ish miles from here. I've made the trip many times, but never with kids in tow. We have a few ideas and plans for the ride, but we would love any suggestions for those of you who've traveled with your children/grandchildren. Any advice on what to bring/what to leave home or how to entertain a two year old and anything else that comes to mind would be helpful!
So think about it and leave a comment!
Oh, the gems of advice I can share!!
ReplyDeleteSNACKS!! Most important thing to bring (besides diapers, of course!). Snacks like goldfish, dried fruit, yogurt bites, puffs, cheerios, crackers, cheese, apples (or apple slices...put sprite or lemon juice on them and they don't turn), etc. Anything that can be considered finger food that you don't mind having in your car.
One of the best things for Josh was his magnadoodle thing...he loves it, and it's easy to draw on, since it's like a lap desk too. Also, color wonder markers/coloring books...totally worth it, since they won't color on anything but the paper! DO NOT bring regular crayons, unless you remember to take them out of the car everytime you stop!! They will melt! Juice boxes/sippys are a must...not always juice, water is better, obviously.
Plan to add at least an hour, possibly two to the trip time, and make stops at rest stops, restaurants with playgrounds, the visitor's center when you cross into OK is pretty nice...right on the river, and lots of space to run and play...depending on how you're going, of course.
Bring blankets and towels...you never know when you'll need them. A full roll of paper towels, too, and possibly toilet paper...again, it's best to be prepared!!
I put Josh's toys into little buckets so that I could easily hand him the bucket of cars/dinos/animals/etc. and he loved putting them in and dumping them out.
See if anyone has a spare dvd car player that's not installed in the car. I'm thinking about getting one for our drive to Houston this fall. That's a little extreme, though, for your trip, probably. And most people have theirs installed if they have them.
Um...that's all I can think of right now...you're not potty training Joanna yet, right? If you are, bring the little potty in the back of the car. Otherwise, that's about all I got. Let me know if you have more questions or anything, and I'll be sure to check back here, or email me. I love to share our advice and we've traveled a LOT with Josh!! We've done more flying than driving, but still a TON of driving with him, too. Oh...whoever's driving might want to bring earplugs...then if the kids are crying or something, it doesn't distract the driver as much.
wow, that was a really LONG comment...probably should have just emailed you...sorry!
ReplyDeleteKids books with matching audio CDs from the library, some stuff that they've never seen before that you can whip out (silly putty, slinkies, whatever little toys you can stow away and bedazzle them with, novelty is your friend), magnets on a cookie tray (slip the whole thing into a pillow case for storage). If there's no room for her familiar pillow, just bring the pillow case she's used to.
ReplyDeleteLeave super early in the morning. It is a little painful but it worked so well for us driving to Destin with Caleb and Abby last year. We just put them straight in the car in their pjs at 5:30am. By the time they were really awake and ready for breakfast, we were already a few hours into the drive. Then some nice "playtime" in the car after breakfast. Then stop for lunch. Then naptime in the car. Then by the cranky time of the day (you know 4 to 5ish), we were there. That was a 10 hour drive - don't know exactly how long yours is. Anyway, I'd do it just like that again if I had to.
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