Road Trip! - Round Lake,IL

we are also getting ready for a roadtrip with a 2 & 4 yr old going from Indiana to Oregon. My husband plans to do the majority of the driving at night. During the day it will be my job to progress when possible. We have a list printed of all the McDonald playplaces between here and there and plan to stop at many of them. Here are the other ideas we have thought of...also, if you go you should let me know how that place is. Maybe we'll go this summer!

here's what we have thought of already...
dvd's, books, coloring books, these magnetic cookie tray chalkboard things I'm making them, fun snacks, pre-baked food to take along, magnetic toys (alphabet, or whatever we can find). As part of her homeschooling we are going to have Makenzie track our route on a map and keep a journal of drawings of what she sees on our trip. I'm going to try to find some cheap books about each state we will go through as well.

We plan on getting shoe boxes and having a new shoe box prepared for each morning. That way they will have new exciting stuff every morning. Including one new DVD a day. I bought a set of 3 leapfrog dvd's at best buy for $22.99 and plan on hitting up the Walmart $5 section for the rest.

I traveled several times from CT to FL when my girls were little, in the days before dvd's. We did 11 hrs a day. Our trick was to leave very early in the morning 3:00 am. We could drive 4 to 5 hours before they d woke up and we'd stop for breakfast. You also avoid the heavy traffic. We'd stop for the day in the early afternoon and I would leave the hotel for 2 hours with the girls while hubby took a nap. A McDonald's with a playscape was a good way to keep kids busy.

Enjoy your vacation.

I would plan on 2-3 hours at the most in one shot. We have done the 6 hour thing twice with our 20 month old. We can do 2-3 hours and then need to stop long enough for him to eat, run and play a little bit. Then we can do the other leg of the journey. Seven hours may be pushing it with the 2 yr. old.

I'm not sure of the route you would take, but I would suggest calling AAA and inquiring about a recommended route. Not sure if you need to be a member or if you can purchase one of their routes without joining. My parents did this a lot when we were kids b/c they will give you suggestions as to where to stop and how far off the path you may need to go to find a decent hotel!

Regarding airfare... think about it. Hotel rooms, gas, food "on the road" and all the "stuff" you will need to pack/buy to have in the car may not be as much of a savings as you think!

I have 3 kids , the last time we did a long road trip (last summer of the west coast) we drove on average 8 hrs/day. They were aged 6 , 3 1/2 & literally just turned 1 at the time. They had DVD player , plus books , small toys. I find 8hrs is their limit , I think you will be fine doing it over 2 days , your whole journey will probably be 16hrs when you allow for stops. I have not been to sesame place so cannot offer any info on that.

Have fun!

Sounds like a fun trip. :)
We take road trips across the state of California regularly to visit family. It takes us about 8 hours, and we've done it with our 2 kids since they were babies. So it's definitely possible for you to make your trip in 2 days. Just plan on places you can stop for stretch breaks, take lots of snacks, and don't feel you have to be frugal with the DVD player (it's been a great help for us!). At that age, we also kept the kids busy with their Leapsters / LeapPads, Magnadoodles, and coloring books.