STL MO to ST Petersberg FL

This is our first trip out of MO ever. We will be traveling to St.Petersberg FL with our 3 year old.
We took off September 30th-October 6th. Our plan is to leave @ 6 pm on the 30th and arrive by 4pm on Oct 1st.
Then leave 11AM on Oct 5th to arrive home no later than 5PM Oct 6.
The drive time is about 16hrs on the map as a straight shot. But I figured we'd stop by 6 AM on the 1st to have breakfast and move around. And stop every 4 hours thereafter to let little one stretch her legs.
Having never done this before am I being too ambitious? Especially with a toddler. I really don't want to fly. But also don't want to ruin our first and only vacation for a long time by it being rushed and stressful. If you have any advice any at all let me know! Also any stops along the way would be great 😀 TIA!

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

Software mapping routines have their uses, but providing a realistic driving time estimate is NOT one of them. If we had a nickel for every person led astray by them that we'd have to 'gently correct', we'd be a lot richer than we're ever going to get by offering free, real-world advice. The fact is that at over a thousand miles, St. Louis to St. Petersburg is not a mere 16 hour drive. It is a full two day effort. Software mapping routines make several unrealistic assumptions: that you can drive at or above the speed limit for every minute of every hour that you're on the road; that you will never need to stop for gas; for food, or even to go to the bathroom; that you will never encounter traffic, construction, a traffic light, a stop or even a yield sign; and perhaps most unrealistically of all that you can even drive that many hours without getting tired, drowsy, or lose even the tiniest fraction of a second in reaction time. That last bit is why professional long-haul drivers are forbidden by law from attempting to do what you propose. After about 8-9 hours behind the wheel, your attention and reaction times will be quite similar to the impaired levels that make drunk driving such a scourge on our highways. That it is 'legal' says more about the our lawmakers than its safety. If you can't devote two full days to the drive each way, then you can't make the trip safely. And no, having two drivers does not help. It just means that you'll both be getting tired, and cranky with each other, at the same time. Please reconsider, or at least leave the toddler safely at home with a trusted relative.

AZBuck

Honestly, you would be better off flying. You should be able to find a deal on airfare/car/hotel. You just don't have enough days for a decent vacation if you drive both ways.