Make SWMBOs car trip

Well, the Tail of the Dragon is right near the start of your trip. Used judiciously, this should enable you up to an hour of peace and quiet puking...

tuna55 wrote: Love some of the ideas, keep them coming

Let me introduce you to your new best friend. Enjoy.

https://roadtrippers.com

We've been driving up and down the east coast with children for the past seven years. The cargo carrier is a huge help, it gives you some extra capacity so your vehicle isn't jammed wall to wall with stuff, and I haven't seen a huge MPG hit as long as the speeds are reasonable. We have a Yakima 16 model we bought as a scratch and dent model.

When you're staying in a hotel overnight, definitely get a suite. It gives you a ton more space, and guarantees you a fridge. My wife uses her phone to figure out where we'll likely stop and shops around. We usually pay about $10 more over a standard hotel room, but it's worth every penny.

We use phone apps like Google maps and Waze to avoid traffic. They've both saved us a ton of time sitting in traffic, which is doubly important with children. Even in the age of GPS', I find it's always good to have a paper map to see where you are and where you're trying to go.

Audio books, portable DVD players, iPads, Kindles, etc. will be helpful as well. 12V extensions and multiple outlets help in that regard.

If anyone is in the potty-training phase, have a portable potty in the car for those "Dad, I've got to go" emergencies. Everyone has to go at every stop, no exceptions. Otherwise you'll make it exactly one exit down the road before one of your children will announce that they actually do need to go.

We try to combine fuel, bio, and food stops all at once, 2-3 hours is about the max we make it between stops. The key is to keep it moving during the stops, it's easy for a stop to consume an hour if you're not careful.

I pack a decent amount of tools (including a breaker bar and torque wrench), fluids, zip ties, and ODBC code reader, etc. for the trip.

Have fun!

Berkleying in-laws, that's exactly the sort of thing they should be offering it up for.

The Corvette Museum is pretty cool and just up the way from Mammoth Cave National Park. You can stay in a genuine 1950's concrete teepee at that exit as well. Cave City also has Dinosaur world if the kids like that sort of thing. Easy to kill a day there.

Don't have a whole lot to add here, but if you are looking at staying in hotels. I have had tremendous luck with Booking.com, seems to be the cheapest out there that i've found and the reviews are actually helpful.

JThw8 wrote:

tuna55 wrote: Love some of the ideas, keep them coming

Let me introduce you to your new best friend. Enjoy. https://roadtrippers.com

THAT is an excellent website!

tuna55 wrote:

JThw8 wrote:

tuna55 wrote: Love some of the ideas, keep them coming

Let me introduce you to your new best friend. Enjoy. https://roadtrippers.com

THAT is an excellent website!

Thought you might like that :) Its interactive enough to get the kids involved too.