First time driving from Texas to south Florida

[troubl14]

Hello! I love road tripping and have been as many as I can, but I've recently moved to Texas and have never driven through Florida from this direction. We're leaving from slightly north of Houston to St. Augustine, FL and then down to Ft Lauderdale (basically I-10 to I-95). Would love to know of places along that route to stop and 'smell the roses' here and there. We can't go too too far of the path since we're on a slight schedule to see family but whatever you can suggest would be great. Oh, and I'm traveling with a one year old so if there's any place that's a particularly good place to stop with a little one, that'd be great to know.

[AZBuck]

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

Okay, you're looking at three days for the driving portion of this trip, two to St. Augustine and then one from St. Augustine down to Fort Lauderdale. While it's true that your young child will need many little breaks during the drive, it is also true that he/she won't be hard to please at all. They'll probably be just as happy stopping for a short while at a small town or school playground for an hour or so as going to the most expensive amusement park in the world. here are some examples of such small, interesting stops every 2-3 hours along the major Interstates, but they are certainly not the only places available to you. If your child starts to get cranky, just pull into the nearest town and look for either an tourist information center or library, both of which are typically marked with directional signs to get you there, and ask what's available. They'll be more than glad to help.

AZBuck

[troubl14]

yeah...we're hoping to make the first day the 'long day'...leave really early so that the other two can be much more leisurly and enjoyable...didn't think of playgrounds, but that's a good idea...my preference when stopping is always some kind of nature thing, whether it be a trail or something similar, either that or some cool town I've never seen. And I'm pretty sure we'll hit the beach (we miss it terribly) around St. Augustine and/or maybe the town itself, since my hubby has never been there. That list of places to stop is awesome! It would've taken me a while to compile all that...Thanks!