Attractions on a Road Trip

Here's what I would do if I stopped in Savannah, GA. Being a Food Network/cooking Channel junkie!

http://ladyandsons.com/index.php

:)

Get online today and get the tourism books for all the states you'll be going through. They should be divided into quadrants that show all sorts of things for each section.

This division makes it very easy for the traveler because if you are traveling through Oklahoma on I-35 going north and south you do not need to have to sift through all the wonderful things that Tulsa has to offer, or some other town that is not on I-35. Same thing if you were traveling down I-40. There would be no need to have to read page after page of information about any town that is not on that interstate road.

So if you get the books from each state you will be able to do your route and have each and every attraction mapped out before you leave.

When we traveled to Montana I knew that I wanted to see wagon train ruts, to be able to stand in them and imagine what it was like for them, to see the same horizon's. It was an almost out of body experience for me because I was mentally prepared for that experience.

I had the towns we were going to be driving by or through studied at least 2 months before the trip. I knew I wanted to go to the museum in Hastings, to see the arch over the highway, to see many other attractions in that state.

I also knew I wanted to see Mount Rushmore but did not want to pay those high entrance fees. So we watched the history channel and saw many many many shows on the building of it, the stories about it, etc...I knew all the information about it that I wanted. So we were able to see it from 2 different places and take tons of pictures. I had so much fun doing the scrapbooking for that trip.

There are also travel guides in your local library that will have many details about the routes you are taking. Just ask the librarian to point you in the right direction.

The zoo in Washington DC would be a GREAT choice, and when we were there in 2003, it was free...... AND..... it isn't downtown at the Mall, so you don't have all the horrendous traffic.

Well, as long as you, before you leave, look up the child areas--parks, zoos--what ever that would interest your kids. When your a parent, things you like, like going to a musuem and the such, would bore the kids and you don't have that luxery. But if you look up the malls and other entertaining areas for the kids along your trip, that'll work. That's what we do. Plan where we are going, and check out kid area because they need a chance to run and be active before a long ride in the car. (for eating out, we looked up all the mcd's play area's--it worked!) Also, we had portable dvd players and let the kids watch movies.
Hope this helps!

Planning excursions in Philadelphia or DC may not be as time efficient as you want. Just getting into Philadelphia seems to take forever. Have you considered Baltimore instead? It is more easily accessible from the interstate. The Inner Harbor area has some fun stuff, including the National Aquarium.

Also, there is a Kings Dominion amusement park visible from 95 in Virginia -- about 20 miles north of Richmond. That could be fun (though probably expensive). It has a water park as well.

Have a great trip!

I would imagine there are TONS of places around Richmond. As for Savannah, there is always the beach at Tybee Island. But that my not be what you have in mind.

There is an AirForce musuem right of I95 though. The 7 year old will probably love it, not sure about the 3 1/2 yr old, unless he happens to be particularly into planes. :) If you don't necessarily need "sights" but just to get out of the car and walk, there is always Riverstreet downtown. It is a cobblestone street with rails set into the cobblestone and all the shops face the water. It's where the ships used to load/unload. Pretty neat, historically, and just for walking. But difficult for any kind of stroller because of the cobblestones and steps leading down to it. But you can park RIGHT THERE. Sometimes there are historic reproduction tall ships docked right there for boarding/viewing by the public. It is about 20 minutes' drive from I95. Also, there are 2 different malls if you just want to walk around, get a cup of coffee, bathroom, etc.

first we just sort of did something like this my library has books callled Kids love Ohio or Kids love virginia and there are fun places in there, you might also try the family fun website.

We stopped at the Crayola factory in Easton Pa might be out of your way. my kids are 9 and 7 and reallly liked it, it is geared towards 4 yos but painting, coloring, modle magic can be fun for lots of people and you could do the whole thing in 2-4 hrs so it wouldn't be a whole day thing.

last year we did a quick stop at the smithsonian, just because it was a good stopping spot but it was hard to get on the metro, fight the pedestian traffic and zip through, but maybe you would enjoy it more. haven't been to the zoo in years and years.

That's as far as i can help you. but have a great time and i think tha tsounds like a good plan to break up the trip.

Hi! Sesame Place or the aquarium in Camden for your near Philly stop. The zoo in DC is probably the easiest DC thing to do. Williamsburg is way more fun than Richmond. After VA I can't think of anything without heading east to the shore (oh, so many places) or west to Winston-Salem. Plan a BBQ tour!
Oh- South of the Border- well, some say you've gotta see it, some say you've gotta pass it.

Hi K.,

Do you guys have AAA road service? They have free trip-tiks and free paperbacks covering the states you go through. These books have featured attractions, maps, and all kinds of info to make your trip easier.
Plus, if you have a flat tire... ;)

"Grams"
from the Pocono Mts. of PA

Philly is nice. There is a park called Franklin Square that has mini golf and a carousel that's right over the bridge into town.

The zoo in DC is free, but parking is expensive (and there isn't anywhere else nearby to park at). Also food there is expensive. The zoo parking also fills up early. My 9 year old son loved the giant pizza in the childrens zoo.

You may also want to check out the Inner harbor in Baltimore or Kings Dominion amusement park in VA.

I remember stopping at the zoo in Jacksonville, FL. It was fairly small, but a great place to spend a few hours.

You could also stop at one of the beaches along the way.