Seattle to Dallas

[nmoddison]

My family is moving to Dallas next week. I would like some advice on best routes to go.

We want to have shorter days as our 2 year old son can sometimes not be the greatest in the car, as well as staying in hotels in bigger cities if possible.

I'm thinking Seattle to Boise, to Salt Lake City, to Denver, to Amarillo, then to Dallas. 5 days.

Thoughts? Any good places to stay and/or eat along the way too?

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

[Southwest Dave]

Hello and welcome to RTA !

Your stops look perfectly reasonable and should allow enough time each day to let your child out of the car to play in a city park etc at regular intervals to keep them happy. You could look for lodgings a little south of SLC so you miss the morning rush into the city, that is unless you wanted to sight see. You wouldn't save much time, but you could knock off a few miles by taking 191 through Moab and towards Cortez and Durango where you could spend the night rather than into Denver and it's hustle and bustle. The little one might enjoy seeing the steam train in Durango as well.

[DonnaR57]

Any good places to stay and/or eat along the way too?

My husband and I actually prefer to stay in small towns or at least, smaller cities. We like the atmosphere, and often times, the prices of lodging are better. We also decided to stick to some favorite chains, unless staying at a mom-and-pop periodically. Our favorite chains are Super 8, Econo Lodge, and Quality Inn. We know what to expect.

As far as places to eat are concerned, however, we stay away from the chains with the exceptions of breakfasts at Cracker Barrel or IHOP. For dinners, we simply ask at the motel/hotel desk about what's good locally that isn't a chain. We specify LOCAL or they will point out the Denny's across the street. (On a forum such as this, we might recommend something that was good a year ago and then find out that it's now out of business, changed owners/management and not as good, etc.)

Traveling with a 2-year-old -- as I have grand-kids, I can offer some suggestions: make a "surprise bag" of toys that you keep in the car, and you rotate them in and out. Make sure you take his favorite sleep thing, whether it's a blanket or a stuffed toy. If he's still in a crib, you might want to take your Pack-n-Play rather than count on the hotel to have a crib. If he's a fussy eater, pack some of his favorites in a cooler. (If he's a good eater, thank your lucky stars.) You might want to do this anyway - my daughter always has some of those squeeze-things in the diaper bag in case there's no kids meal or he needs some snacks. Many rest areas are built so that you can take your child out and let them run in the grass.


Donna