Planning a trip from San Jose, CA to Phoenix, AZ

[tinker]

Hi all,

We are planning a road trip from San Jose, CA to Phoenix, AZ (about 800 miles) in August. We will be traveling on a Honda Odyssey (mileage is 50K). Since it is very hot (avg is about 110F) in the desert, any suggestions for car care and entertaining kids (ages 6 & 4) will be helpful.

Thanks,
Tinker

[RoadTripper Brad]

If you leave early enough (while the kids are asleep), you could EASILY make it to Phoenix in a day if you aren't planning on sightseeing much.

Advice as far as car care, get your car inspected about a week prior to departure. Have them check belts, hoses, etc., and top off or change any fluids (oil, transmission fluid, etc.). This ounce of prevention could save you a lot of stress.

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Make sure your spare tire is good, and that you have all of the proper equipment to change it (you might actually want to go through and make sure your tire iron socket fits EVERY nut on your wheels... I have a car that has one or two odd ball lugnuts), and pack the jack and stuff like that.

As far as keeping kids entertained, at that age you could try coloring books for starters, or some travel games, like tic-tac-toe (although these could get boring after a while). Some kids (like I was) liked to spend more time looking out the window and reading signs and stuff (even at a very young age). That's about all I can think of...

And enjoy your time in Phoenix!

Brad M.
Phoenix, AZ

[PNW Judy]

I agree with Brad about getting up early and getting some miles on the road while the kids are still sleeping. Kids in that age range are too wiggly to enjoy a long roadtrip without getting tired and cranky after awhile. Because of that, I would also make this a 2-day trip. Plan plenty of time to stop when the kids need to stop. You can look for interesting scenic viewpoints or rest stops that might have short trails they can run on to get the wiggles out. When my kids were in those ages, we would often look for schools or other playgrounds to stop for snacks/meals and stretch breaks where the kids could play for awhile. Even 15-20 minutes to play can make a big difference. And since moving around is good for you as well, this can benefit you and your spouse and keep you both more alert on the road.

Also, when my kids were that age, we had a lot of kid's stories on tape, kid's music, etc. While I got tired of "There's a Hole in the Bucket" by the 20th time it played that day, my kids never did. They would sing along and be happy little travelers for quite awhile if we let them listen to this stuff. We also would do a sort of "never-ending story" game where we would take turns adding to a story about "a boy, and a girl, and a dog named Mountain-Climber". I sure wish I had written these down at the time. My husband's and my own offerings to the story were never as funny or entertaining as the stuff my kids would make up.

Hope this helps a bit. Have a great trip!