driving "cross country"

[Deleted]

I'm doing now with DH and DS. Well it's not REALLY cross country but we are driving to SC - an 11-hour drive. It's going much better
than I thought!

Have any of you done it? How was it for you?

[swamp]

In college a bunch of us drove from NNY to Dallas TX.  I've also driven from NNY to FL 3 times.

I refuse to be in the car for that long, ever again. 

[reader79]

I flew into Oklahoma to drive back to NY with my sister. Her roommate had to leave their trip early for work reasons. It was pretty cool, we stopped at rest stops (growing up my dad never stopped unless more than one of us had to pee,) saw Graceland, I finally figured out how to use cruise control.

I want to go on another one, like Route 66 or to see the Grand Canyon, but no one can ever take off a week to go with me.

[movingforward]

I have been cross country 3 times.  I had a blast doing it but a lot of stops were made along the way and several weeks were spent seeing various places.  I also didn't do it with a small child, which can make all the difference.

[busymom]

I LOVE a good road trip!  Especially if you're driving somewhere you've never been to.  You can stop anywhere you want to eat, or take a break at a "touristy" place. 


Once I get home, I usually need a day to sleep in to recover. 

[Abby Normal]

When I was young, we did a lot of cross country traveling.  Far west coast (we live about an hour from the coast) to Long Island.  We drove to texas several times.  It sucked as a kid. 

I don't mind as much now and DH and I have taken several trips.  We drove back from Colorado in one day.  21 hours.  Now that we have a kid, we make more stops.  No more marathon driving.

[wvugurl26]

I've done southern WV to Panama City several times. That ran anywhere from 12-14 hours. My hometown to Myrtle Beach is 9 hours. That sucked last year because we left after the derecho and had trouble finding stuff open until we got into Beckley.

Going to visit my aunt in Knoxville is ten hours. That annoys me it seems like there is always a wreck or traffic jam on I-81.

I did a round trip to Erie in February when my brother bought his new truck. The PA turnpike is one of my least favorite roads.

From here to my hometown is 5-6 hours and I normally make that trip once a month. Long road trips are just a part of my life. Some are good, some are bad, I survived them all.

[Deleted]

We haven't done road trips with the kids, so I am glad to hear it's going well for you!

In my 20's I took so many NY to FL road trips I lost count. One sis was married to a Marine so we visited them in SC 4 times or so. After the last trip (before my kids, but with nieces and nephews) I declared that if the drive was going to take more than a couple of hours I would spring for plane tickets instead. 

I may make an exception to my rule for the EE Ladies this summer. 

[muttleynfelix]

I've done a lot of ROAD TRIPS.   We usually have a blast.  It is 8 hrs to my parent's house and we do that twice a year.  But beyond that, growing up we took a 2 week vacation several years. We drove from IL to Yellowstone, Acadia, the Grand Canyon, and Florida (separate trips) and stopped coming and going to see the sites. I often went with my GRandparent's from IL to NY to pick up my cousin every summer. DH and I did a New England Road TRip 4 years ago.

Besides the trips to my parents (and also my Grandparent's farm), we have road tripped to NY for my cousin's wedding, Alabama for my Best Friend's wedding, and Duluth, MN for DH's cousin's wedding since DS has arrived. He did fantastic on every one of those trips.  My cousin's wedding was an interesting trip because we drove to my parent's house and then swapped cars (to take my Grandma's Mercury Grand Marquis over our VW GTI) and then caravanned with my parents, Grandma and Great Aunt and Uncle. DS was 10 months at the time and his car seat was next to my Grandma. I had some issues with Grandma, so I would swap with my mom for stretches of the trip.  The trip to Alabama was the hardest because we did it all in one day and DS did not nap as well in the car. DS was 13 months old at the time. It was also just the 3 of us.  The trip to Duluth was amazing. MIL road with us and just having a third set of hands was great. DS was 20 months old and he just "read" his books for 27 hrs in the car coming and going!  It was awesome.

Worst road trip as a family was coming home from my Great Uncle's funeral. DH and DS were both sick and I had to drive the whole way home. Plus we had been gone for 5 days and it was obviously an impromptu trip - plus we had just been up there 3 weeks earlier.  It was a little rough.

We haven't gone too far with DD yet. We're going 3.5 hrs away in a month and then to my parent's house in 2 months. We had a system down with DS at stops and now we have to change it for another kid (and the fact that hopefully DS will be potty trained by the second trip). So, we'll see how it goes. Stops the first year are hard because I have to nurse the baby at every stop and that takes some time. We are going to take them to the Gulf coast in a year and I am excited about that and then a major road trip for my niece's high school Graduation in 2 years ... a little bit more apprehensive about that one, but we'll see. It may rock, it may suck.

[Formerly SK]

We drove to Yellowstone last year (two days of 12+ hours each way).  It wasn't bad - kids were 6&7 and we listened to a lot of kid audio books.  We also packed them a ton of snacks/games to occupy themselves.  The distance wasn't actually that horrible, but we were towing a trailer so max 60mph plus we probably stopped every 90 minutes for potty breaks or whatever.  It's the stops that really get you time-wise.

[giramomma]

We've done it several times with our kids. Actually, about every other year we take a long driving trip- anywhere between 10 and 20 hours one way. And there will be more trips to come. (#1 wants to go to yellowstone.)

The only time it didn't work out well is when #1 was 5 and thought it would fun to keep #2 up so that #2 didn't take a nap during the day. An 18 month old that has been sleep deprived for a week wasn't a ton of fun, so we came home early.

We do one day of a ton of driving (6-7 hours of driving). Then we try to keep it to 3 hours of driving max. So on the days that we drive for 3 hours in the morning, I take the kids to the pool in the AM to burn off energy, and then we arrive at our destination by lunchtime, have lunch, see a site or two, and then check into our hotel.  If we do a drive in the afternoon, then we'll get up and go site seeing right away, have lunch, and then ride in the car until our next destination. We can usually bribe the kids to behave well with pool time.

Another thing I do is pack a few things for the kids to unwrap as we go on the trip..books, games, little toys, a new video that keep them busy. I alternate that with snack time. So, on a 6 hour drive, at the end of hour 1, they get to unwrap something, end of hour two it's a snack, and the end of hour 3, we find a playground to stretch out legs, etc. Maybe have a bite to eat. Then, end of hour 4, again, unwrap a gift, end of hour 5, snack, etc, etc..

I also involve the kids in things to see along the way.

 

[ontrack]

My friend and I drove straight from Chicago to Moab, Utah, just the two of us.  I think that was around 20 hours or so.  It was okay until the last hour or so and my friend had to stop since we were both falling asleep.

That same friend, her brother, his friend and I drove straight to Huntington Beach, CA from Chicago as well.  That was over 24 hours with 4 adults in a Dodge neon with body boards dividing the right half of the car from the left, but at least there were 4 drivers.  I got a sunrash while there so on way back, I didn't drive and was "quarrentined" in the back.

[steph08]

As a kid, we vacationed in Myrtle Beach, so that was about 11 hours from PA. We usually stopped overnight in NC and then drove the rest of the way the next day.

Last year, DH and I and two friends went to Hilton Head - that was about 12/13 hours. That was a long drive!

When I was 18, I helped move my brother out to Colorado - that is about 20 hours from PA. Two cars and two drivers per car. Stuck in a car with your brother for two days straight with no parents as a buffer - argh!

[MB-NY]

I haven't done it in maybe 15 years, but I had done the NY-FL trip more times than I can count too.  The last couple were solo runs to see my Mom, and I had a great time on the road.  However, now that I'm told that I'm older, my wife and Mom refuse to let me do it again.  They're afraid of what can happen all alone in the middle of no where.  I guess it's for my own good, but I would love to do it again solo.  Not so much with DW; she's not the best long-distance passenger.  As long as I can get reasonable air fares and car rentals, I suppose that will kill the thought of driving down there again.

[NancysSummerSip]

We've done our share, mostly Florida to Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, the Carolinas, Georgia, Virginia. About 10 days of DH and I in a car together is the limit.

Next year, we are planning a car trip to Chicago, with a stop in Nashville. Chicago is my idea and Nashville is his. I have not asked him why he chose Nashville. Chicago is pretty obvious. If you leave out the deep dish pizza and strange hot dogs, it's an awesome food city!

<<Waves at MB-NY>>

Come on down!

[Deleted]

We take DD back to DH's home every couple of years.  14 hours in the car.  We drive it all in one shot and switch drivers when we need gas.  Dh and I drove from AZ to MD, when we were dating.  This summer we are driving almost across the country, stopping in various places we are considering moving to and seeing things we haven't seen yet. 

[swamp]

They're afraid of what can happen all alone in the middle of no where

You might have fun?  Seriously, I don't understand why it's a problem to travel alone.

[Deleted]

We made it! And no one was maimed!

[Deleted]

And it is beyond gorgeous outside. And our view is killer!

[Deleted]

 Have a wonderful time!!!!

[Deleted]

Does YM look different on your phone there?

[formerroomate99]

With toddlers, the McDonald's playlands are extremely handy.  They get their energy out in an enclosed environment and the time isn't wasted if one of you is gassing up the car and getting food. 

[Cookies Galore]

Have fun!

We've SE PA to Florida a couple of times, and our annual vacation used to be in Nags Head, NC. DF and I have somewhat talked about a cross country trip

[Sum Dum Gai]

We've done our share of driving.  My family in Arizona is 12 hours from here by car according to Google maps.  We usually make it in 12 with gas stops.  We try and go at least twice a year.  That's if you stay on the interstate in the fast lane the whole way.  You don't realize how big this state is until you're 10 hours into a car trip before you cross the state line.  If you want to see a bit of the country in between it takes much longer.  I think it was about 14 hours from Colorado Springs.

[Deleted]

Leaving soon.

SK, I wold specifically like to ask you, or anyone lose with Yellowstone knowledge, about bears. What did you keep food in, did you camp, did you carry bear spray like they recommend? 

[Sum Dum Gai]

We recently camped in Yosemite Valley.  All the camp sites have bear lockers and we were very careful to make sure the food and any scented toiletries were kept in there.  I'm kind of bummed that we didn't get to see any bears, although a few of them tore apart the trash cans outside the campground during our first night there.  We didn't carry bear spray, but I'm a pretty big dude and have cat like reflexes, I think I could take a brown bear (read the wife and kids would probably have time to run away while a bear ripped my skinny ass apart as I stood there and peed myself).

[skubikky]

Did the drive from NY to California a couple of times.
Once did Syracuse to Atlanta and then a few days later, Atlanta to Sunnyvale, CA.

Have done >10 hour drives with the kids over the years.  Went fine.

Do the Rochester, NY to Atlanta run from time to time.  Got it down to 16 hours.

[muttleynfelix]

May 15, 2013 13:07:47 GMT -5 oped said:

Leaving soon.

SK, I wold specifically like to ask you, or anyone lose with Yellowstone knowledge, about bears. What did you keep food in, did you camp, did you carry bear spray like they recommend? 

Keep in mind I was 6 when we camped at Yellowstone (oh shit that was 25 years ago, dang that sounds like a long time).  But food had to be kept in the car at night. We could not even leave a water bottle outside - in fact the rangers banged on our camper door at 11pm telling us to put the water jug in the car. We had a pop-up camper and food was not allowed to be kept in it. 

When we went to Glacier in '99 (we also stopped by Yellowstone then but ended up staying in the Lake Yellowstone hotel, that trip was just me and my parents as my siblings were grown up and married), my mom carried bear spray.

[973beachbum]

I hope you are enjoying yourselves Jen!

As a kid we drove to California and back to Connecticut a couple of times.  I think it was two weeks of regular driving but once we took six weeks out and stopped all over the country.  I drove to Phoenix from Nj and back twice with my mom.  It was five solid days of driving and I really needed booze at the end of the last trip!

[Formerly SK]

May 15, 2013 13:50:32 GMT -5 muttleynfelix said:

May 15, 2013 13:07:47 GMT -5 oped said:

Leaving soon.

SK, I wold specifically like to ask you, or anyone lose with Yellowstone knowledge, about bears. What did you keep food in, did you camp, did you carry bear spray like they recommend? 

Keep in mind I was 6 when we camped at Yellowstone (oh shit that was 25 years ago, dang that sounds like a long time).  But food had to be kept in the car at night. We could not even leave a water bottle outside - in fact the rangers banged on our camper door at 11pm telling us to put the water jug in the car. We had a pop-up camper and food was not allowed to be kept in it. 

When we went to Glacier in '99 (we also stopped by Yellowstone then but ended up staying in the Lake Yellowstone hotel, that trip was just me and my parents as my siblings were grown up and married), my mom carried bear spray.

Yes, they are very militant about being clean while in the park.  ALL scented items had to be locked in the car 24/7 (unless being used right that second).  This includes things like deodorant/toothpaste as well as clorox wipes, etc.  You had to wash all dishes in the bathroom (no grey water dumping allowed).  It royally sucked because it was our first big trip in our new (to us) pop up tent trailer and we couldn't use any of it (even things like store canned goods in the cabinets).  Normally when we camp we do things like used coffee grounds in the fire pit (it's only nitrogen) but you couldn't do anything like that there.  I understand the reasoning, but it damped the fun of camping.

We didn't see any bears during any of our excursions.  DH was sorely disappointed.