We are pondering a road trip in April. When I mapped the 33 hour drive from my house to my sister's in Pennsylvania, Tim wasn't convinced it was a super fun idea.
I suggested maybe we could meet in the middle (not that there's tons to do in the middle of Nebraska) when he suggested we meet in Nauvoo. After I recovered from my shock, I immediately called Hill with the exciting proposition. Thank goodness for the time difference because it was barely 7am here. {Did I mention that I miss my sister & her family terribly!}
So, my wise readers, who among you has made this trek? We would be driving (obviously- if we were going to fly, it wld be to PA) so what do you recommend along the way. Where are some good places to stay along the way? What do you recommend seeing? What tourist traps should we avoid.
This is all extremely hypothetical, but a girl can dream, can't she? I would love to hear your insights! Thanks!
3 comments:
I'm seriously jealous that you are even considering a trip to Nauvoo. I want to go there so bad!
I'm sure Lisa will comment as well, but here's my two cents on
driving across the country. We loved it. We drove from Utah to
Kansas where we stayed a few days, to Nauvoo for another day or
so, to Ohio for a few days and then to Mount Rushmore on our rush
back home. Our kids were generally pretty good, but that's
because we took steps to make sure it was a fun trip for them as
well.
* A DVD player is a necessity. The kids just can't stand sitting
for that long without something to distract them.
* Don't plan on doing more than 8 or 9 hours of driving per day
unless you're near the end and everyone just wants to get home
anyway. You're going to be tired too you know.
* Don't make it one big long trip to Pennsylvania on the freeway.
Since we tried to stop at something interesting most days, we
ended up not driving on the freeway for a lot of the trip.
That was an unexpected surprise. Other than the sights we saw,
I really felt that we got to see America. We stopped in a
school playgound in Oklahoma. For some reason I remember that.
It felt so peaceful and awesome to get a feel for the greatness
of this country.
* Get a good GPS (we borrowed Lisa's brother's Garmin Navi).
It'll reduce your stress a lot because you'll never get lost.
You'll be able to make unplanned side trips and stops. It also
makes getting gas easier since the stations are programmed into
the system.
* The journey itself is as big a part of this as getting to
Pennsylvania. You're going to be on the road for days at a
time. So don't rush it. Take your time and enjoy the road.
* Pack light. You can get along with a lot less than you think.
We had to unpack almost everything every night since it was on
a rack on the top of our car, which wasn't fun. My brother
came along with us so that was very helpful with unpacking. If
you can pack light so the nightly ritual of unpacking is just
pulling a few suitcases out of the trunk, you'll be much
happier.
* If you have room in the car and a suitable single
friend/relative who is willing to come along, do it. Having
one more adult to help corral the kids is nice. They might
even babysit a night or two in the hotel room so you can have a
night to yourselves.
I recommend going to places you have always wanted to see. We made it a point to see Mt. Rushmore, always wanted to go there. As Mike said with little ones you might want to try to keep a daily drive to around 8 hours. More than that and you are all getting sick of the car.
First thing you need to figure out is when you want to leave and how long you want to be gone for. Is Tim going? If so, how long can he take off. That is what set the parameters for our trip. (not Tim but Mike)
Then I started finding out what were places we wanted to stop at to see that were maybe about 8 hour day trips. I have another link to send you that has way cool ideas for things to stop off the road to see. Remember our cadilac stone henge?
Decide how many days you want to stay in Nauvoo. That might be what determines how far you drive each day.
We did a crazy route since it was in the very middle of our 16 day trek. Anyway, call me and I will send you links and things
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