Philly to Orlando

[goofynewf]

This week we are taking a family trip to Orlando and will be driving. There are four of us going: me, my husband and our twin boys (7 y.o.)
I have done this drive before several times, but never with children. I know the Carolinas are the most boring parts of 95.
We will be leaving on a Friday, but because of work we cannot leave until 6/7 pm. I am hoping we can get to Richmond, maybe the NC border before we stop for the night. On Saturday, I plan to stop at South of the Border (I am sure the kids will like it), Savannah and Brunswick, GA.
Does anyone have suggestions of places (other than the ones I listed) where we could stop along 95 and does anyone have suggestions for keeping the boys amused. I figure they can watch movies, play games, read, etc... Anything else that might be good.

As I mentioned, we plan to drive part of the way on Friday night. Our thought was to stop somewhere maybe around midnight or later. We were thinking, to save money and since we want to get on the road as early as possible, to stop in a truck stop and sleep for a few hours there. I am not really worried about the kids sleeping since they can sleep anywhere. My concern is, do you think it is safe for a family to sleep at a truck stop over night?

When I was a child we used to drive all over from Philly to Texas to Canada. So many great memories I have from childhood are from these road trips, I am hoping this trip will be a fun one for the boys, too.

[Midwest Michael]

welcome to the RTA Forum!

I don't think a family sleeping at a truck stop overnight is a good idea at all. Not because you'd be in danger from other people, but because you could easily become a danger to yourselves. Its just not reasonable to think that you'll be able to get a good night sleep while sitting up in a car seat. You're not going to get enough rest, which means you're going to be tired while trying to drive hundreds of miles, and you're probably not going to be in any sort of shape to have fun or have patience to deal with a family in close proximity for hours at a time.

As far as what to do with the kids, you'll find many of the regular's hear find the worlds "movies" and "dvds" to be a little bit like nails on a chalkboard. While a little bit of screen time can be ok, If a kid is always plugged in, they can't experience everything that's new around them - and that's when a trip gets boring (it has absolutely nothing to do with your choice of roads). Here are some good tips and ideas for ways to actually have fun on the road together as a family.

[goofynewf]

Thanks. Sleeping in the car was something we have gone back and forth on for a few weeks. There are many cheap hotels so we should find one.
My boys are actually excited for the drive. Wewent to VA last year and loved seeing license plates from different States. That is something they are looking forward on this trip.

[DonnaR57]

If you haven't already left .... take yourself to a dollar store. Look around -- they probably have the old fashioned car games, either the cardboard BINGO games for license plates and other out-the-window items, or paper games. With our kids, we played "I Spy", "License Plates" (without the cardboard BINGO games), and we sang.

We went all the way up to Alaska and back with a 13 y.o. and a 14 y.o. girl. Though we had a TV and a bunch of video tapes in the travel trailer, we took them out ONLY ONCE in 8 weeks. For nights in the trailer, we had board games ... and used them.



Donna