What's new

Well, It is Official!

mimisgirl

mimisgirl

It's all about ME!
Joined
Oct 27, 2012
Messages
4,316
We are moving back to the US. You will probably get tired of hearing me talk about it before this is all settled.

I will be honest, I am a little scared. I have not officially "lived" in the US for well over a decade. But the scary part is that we have to drive across the country with three kids who have really not spent longer than and hour and a half in the car at one time.

So I need your help -

We land in DC in early June (still don't have the dates nailed down yet). Will spend a week or two with my brother-in-law and his family, then drive to the Western Corner of Tennessee to see my husband's parents. Next is down to Texas to see my family (covering Dallas to San Antonio to Houston - yep that triangle so we hit all my sisters) Then come July we are starting West and North to eventually end up in Oregon.

My Husband was shaking his head when we were looking at the map - I do think we are a bit crazy.

My kids do NOT do well on long car trips so we want to stop and do fun things along the way to break it up - but we have NO CLUE what is good. We have made the DC to Texas trip once before and found two really cute little bed and breakfast places out in the woods to stay in for both "between" stops - and we loved it. But we are open to new suggestions. And we have NEVER done the Texas to Oregon trek. - complete loss there.

SOO - let me have it - where are the best places to stop on that route? State Parks, National Parks, Kid museums, water parks, cool hotels, shopping towns, scenic routes - whatever (though to be fair, the cheaper the better, lol, this is a long trip!)
 
You're mostly going through areas I don't know buuuut I loved Arches NP in Utah. :)[/QUOTE said:
-

oh, that is a good one - I have wanted to see that. - on the list it goes! :)
Click to expand...
 
The only place you mentioned that I know anything about is D.C. I just visited Great Falls, 20 minutes outside of D.C., last weekend. It's where there are rapids and waterfalls on the Potomac River and it was very impressive. Lots of space for kids to run around and picnic tables too.

I'm sure you know about the museums in D.C. When my kids were young they were most interested in the air & space and natural history museums.

Can the kids have devices and headphones for the long stretches of driving? I know my kids would be happily occupied for hours in the car that way. Also audiobooks are awesome.

I envy your chance to drive across the country. It has been a life-long dream of mine. Good luck!
 
mimisgirl said:
San Antonio
Click to expand...
My dd has flown here 2 times in the past couple of months as her husband is in the military there and she can't be (live) with him at the moment. Not sure if you have ever heard of the show Fixer Upper on HGTV? They are in Waco
https://magnoliamarket.com/silos/ and my dd has stopped at their place both times.

We really have not traveled so I can't help you. But we do have experience with doing a 600 mile trip to my parents summer home every summer. I always make up little totes (shoe box size) and they could fill it up with what they wanted. Coloring books/comics/candy/word search/card games...... I'm sure I'm dating myself but they all had a Gameboy to play with. MP3 with their own music.
Hopefully you have a vehicle with a dvd player? Have movies for them to watch.
Also put money in their boxes and when we stopped for gas they could learn how to budget for their trip themselves by buying themselves something at each stop.
also make sure they each have a pillow as you will find they will sleep a lot. :)

My oldest son has been to Moab Utah 2 times and loved it there! He went both times with a group of guys to go mountain biking. They did camping so I not sure on good hotels in the area.
http://www.moabadventurecenter.com/
 
Last edited:
Oh goodness! Wishing you a wonderful move and travel! I hope it all goes snoothly! Exciting!

I don't really have any ideas for you, but I hope you get to see a lot and the kids are good in the car!
 
The Dallas/San Antonio/Houston have anything - besides a Disney Park - that you could possible want to do. Museums, Amusement Parks, Malls, Historical Places, Space Centers, Water Parks, etc. If you let me know the kids interests I can help steer you in a right direction!
 
This sounds exciting (and I can see how it's a little scary!) I haven't travelled in that area but good luck. Even just watching for signs for little hole in the wall amusements as you drive is a good way to find things. I do second the little totes idea...it's always nice for them to have their own stuff in the car that they can get themselves. I have found that LEGOs keep our kids incredibly busy on airplane rides and would probably work in a car, too. We buy them a couple little sets each (new & exciting) and then throw in a few pieces from home.
 
oooooooooooooh! welcome home first!! and what a culture shock but memories to be made! My parents did this trip starting from Florida across Texas, and then up the west coast with us when my brother and I were 5 and 7! IT was AWESOME!!!
My mom is the master of ziplock bags with snackies in them. (these would magically appear when we were cranky and a bit tired) This is before electronic games, so we had a new game each day. Alphabet game from bill boards, states over the whole trip. She made a map and we colored it in as we found them. We had scavenger hunts. Bingo cards. She read out loud, but today you can books on CD or even on your phone.
My dad did a lot of bulk driving at night(when it was long boring trips), we would pull into the hotel at 11am, he would go and sleep for 4 hours and we would swim and get all the wigglies out.
The Alamo was such a huge memory, as was Juarez and Tijuana. (you all have passports to it would be easy).
The San Diego zoo is too me one of the most amazing zoos.
San Antonio (in New Braunfels) is a wicked awesome waterpark The Schlitterbaun. We had such a blast there!
My dad always stopped at the fun weird things off the hiway. I remember a huge alligator that was boring but the billboards were awesome, as is the one for THE THING coming up or towards California! The continental divide to this day makes me happy! We had caterpillars with us! and they came out and we released them on the divide! Pretty cool...smack dab in the middle of the continent!
My mom took photos, and the stories were told, and I am now 52 and the memories of that trip are still fresh and wonderful!
 
I'm not familiar with those areas to give suggestions, but will just say that having a quick prayer and/or agreement to speak kindly to one another before trips always helps our family. LOL
 
That sounds like an awesome road trip.... which I would not want to take with my toddlers. :/
 
Maybe you better don't stop to many times... it will make the overall trip so much longer... Do a few fun 'only family who fits in this car' trips, because probably all the family you go to will have planned out a few extra visits, parties,... for you so you will need the 'just you guys memories' too.
Maybe you can make a car-bingo and (oh sorry, don't know the age of your kids) a trip diary for the kids where they can write or draw in, with all the states (you can find so much fun states- stuff in the store) in it. with a plan of the full trip, maybe allready pictures of all the people you are staying with. And don't shoot me, but you really need a tablet for every kid! you can fill them with different movies and apps, so they can switch tablets during the trip, or just the favorites for every kid on their own tablet. Put strings for every kid on the mirror in front of the car. One for every kid. If they are behaving fine, the strings stays, if they misbehave take the string away. Only kids who have their string on the mirror at your next stop can have a special treat (a little candy, a little present like new paper and pencils to color with, something to choose from the tank station store,...) Make sure to check out pinterest too, you find so much fun ideas their to make the trip easier. And don't save money on SD-cards, you may not have the time to upload all pictures during your long trip, but you do need to take time to make lots of pictures, because this will probably be a once in a livetime experience.
Wishing you lots of succes, fun and patience! :D
 
Chel said:
The Dallas/San Antonio/Houston have anything - besides a Disney Park - that you could possible want to do. Museums, Amusement Parks, Malls, Historical Places, Space Centers, Water Parks, etc. If you let me know the kids interests I can help steer you in a right direction!
Click to expand...


Where in Texas is the Disney park???
 
Last edited:
I can only give advise from what I see my dd do. The kids spend summers with dad and dd has to drive 6 hours to get them to the half way point. Each child, ages 10 and 8, has their own little tv hanging on the back of the front seats. They each have their own head phones. They can play games, watch movies etc and dd says this keeps them entertained for hours. Wishing you best of luck and safe driving on your very long trip!! Make memories!!!!
 
I LOVE this website roadtrippers.com. You can actually plan your trip include stops, and things to do. They have some really cool stops to explore. Things off the beaten path...The reviews are by people who have actually been there...again I really LOVE this site and if you sign up for the newsletter they send you really cool stuff too.

Where in Oregon is your final stop???
 
Oh, your trip sounds amazing! Do you know what you will be driving yet? Regular car or an RV?

If you're doing a rental and can get an RV, the options for places to stay are so much more open- state and national parks, private campgrounds, etc., and I bet that the awesomeness that is traveling in a camper would keep your kids occupied at least some of the time. :) You could just drive until you were ready to stop for the day and then find a nearby campground to set up in.

Are you going to come anywhere close to the Tennessee/Alabama border? You mentioned western TN (I'm a Nashville native, living in Huntsville now), but that could mean the northern or southern part of the state. If you're anywhere near Huntsville, I highly recommend the US Space and Rocket Center (although the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in DC is even more fantabulous). If you end up nearby and would like a guided tour, just shoot me a message!
 
Arches is beautiful! The trick about driving across is the states get longer to make it through the farther west you get!

If you are big on parks, it might be worth your money/time to check out the parks pass: http://store.usgs.gov/pass/index.html
There's a fairly large list of parks across the US that it will work at, and it's a pretty decent bargain if you plan on hitting up a few of the parks. Plus, it's good for a year, so you could use it in Oregon.

Do you have a tentative route planned? That might help with suggestions!
 
I have no clue but yayyyy for moving back! :)) now you will have enough fall pics to scrap with !! Haha :) wishing you loads n loads of good luck n love my friend :)
 
OMG ya'll thanks so much for all the help so far, you all are just so awesome.
now let me see if I can answer all the questions, he he.

@michelepixels yes, they will have devices for parts of it, which helps, and we all love audio books - that was what got us through the last half country trek we did, they just get antsy like all kids, he he. It has been a dream of mine too, which is one reason we are trying to fit in some fun stops - but to be honest I never thought of doing it with all the kids - always dreamed it more as me an hubby getting away, he he.

@Sokee thanks for the links. I am hoping for DVD's in the car too, but we have NO idea what we will be driving as yet, and our portable DVD player form past trips has died - might need to get a new one eh? I love the idea of giving them money for stops - that is perfect.

Thanks @jk703 @NancyP @Pallavi01 (fall pics - yay, and maybe some snow now and then) @AnneofAlamo - that is what I am hoping - that this can be good memories for all of us years in the future :) @gonewiththewind - good reminder thanks! @klee73010 - yep, not looking forward to the toddler's reaction at all.

@Chel that would be helpful, eh, he he.

Ok, so there are three - oldest is a boy aged 12 - he is my nerd, loves reading, drawing, science and history, Legos, and anything techie (really into Minecraft at the moment). He enjoys nature and hiking/climbing and seeing historic sites.

Then my daughter who will be 8 next week. She is girly girl to the MAX (So not me, I have no idea where she gets it. She likes dancing and music and animals. She likes nature too, but is not so big on hiking or climbing - more into flowers and gardens.

Then the three year old - he is the chaos factor in all this. He likes trains and cars and swimming. He also likes yelling and tackling, eek.

hubby wants me to add that he would like to know where the good Breweries are. He started home-brewing last year and has gotten into that, I have no idea on that one though, lol.

@sberkan thanks - yes, my kids all love Legos - that is a good one too. Last time we flew home ( I just had two then) I made little surprise packs for each layover - had little snacks and coloring books and such - maybe I can do something like that for this part as well.

@carrie1977 I am not sure yet, it will depend on where we decide to go - I would like to at least make it over to the Grand Canyon - having never been there before - both Hubby and I have spent lots of time in Colorado so I am hoping to head further West before starting north, but again, not sure yet.

@Frumpje love the string idea - my kids are used to this kind of thing - but I have never tried it in the car. Thanks!

@elk2009 thanks for the link. Our final stop is Eugene - hubby got a full ride to do his PHD which he has been wanting to do for ages - so we are going to go for it. I am not too keen on "being back in school" but if it helps him advance then I can stick it out for a few years.

@scrappyjedi we have no clue. At some point we will need to buy a vehicle, though we will most like be renting for some of this. We also will need to pick up our few belongings from storage, which might mean we need to trailer or seomthing. My parents have offered their RV, but we are not sure how reliable it is, and that would not be until Texas. In Tennessee we will be in Dyersburg - so generally in the past we have taken two days between DC and Dyersburg, and another two days between Dyersburg and Dallas. I have back issues to boot, so I can't really do more than that at a time.

@bestcee - ohh, the park pass, I had forgotten about that. Good idea. No, we are still in the planning phase, so nothing sure yet.

Thanks again.
 
Back
Top