We have 2 pre teen kids and are moving from SLC to Boston this summer and I would love any ideas that you may have on making it the best trip that we can even though we are trying to do it in 5 days. Any ideas of neat or fun things to see or great kid friendly places to stay would be very helpful and much appreciated. Our stuff is being shipped ahead of time so we won't have to worry about driving with all of our stuff, just us and our car and lots and lots of driving. =)
Hello and welcome to the RTA forums !
You won't be able to stray to far from the main route as you are already looking at 8 to 9 hours each day of travelling with only basic stops for food, bathroom, a stretch and to fill with gas included, but you already know that.
I quickly done an 'A' to 'B' map on the RTA map Centre and listed RTA attractions along the route within 100 miles, so not all will be practical.
You can zoom in and out and click on the flags for more detail.
And here is a great list of places to unwind just off Interstate compiled by AZBuck
It's been my experience that kids are happy if you can plan to stop somewhere each night at a place with a pool. We felt it was worth a few extra dollars and learned to ask about the pool before check-in. (Nothing is more disappointing than picking the only motel in the area with a pool and finding out that they had to drain it the night before, for some reason.)
Encourage your kids to bring small diversions into the car with you. As pre-teens, one of mine had just discovered electronic toys (she's an adult now). They also enjoyed their Walkmans at the time -- if yours have an iPod or a tablet of some sort, they might like that in the car.
Donna