Cross Country Trip was GREAT - thanks for advice
 

My family and I just returned from our 4 week trip from Ohio to the west coast. I had planned the trip for almost 1 1/2 years. I posted questions periodically on this board and got great advice. Thanks! <BR> We drove our full size van on our 7600 mile trip. The kids (9 and 10) had a TV/VCR and lots of new movies, so they didn't mind the drive too much. We stayed in hotels since we are not the camping type. <BR> We visited 9 national parks. Our favorites were Bryce Canyon (take the 1/2 day horseback ride with Canyon Trail Rides), Mesa Verde and the Grand Tetons. Other activities we loved were touring Alcatraz (I called the # in the AAA book that morning and got tickets for the afternoon), Disneyland, staying on the Queen Mary, Craters of the Moon, the Wyoming Dinosaur Museum in Thermopolis, WY and touring Monument Valley (Harold Simpson's Trailhandler Tours). <BR> It was fun to be together as a family for 4 weeks and naturally we now feel like we need a vacation to relax! It was refreshing to be out meeting nice people from all over the world. Thanks for all of the good advice!

Sounds like a great time Donna. My kids are close in age to yours and I was just wondering what kind of pace you set for driving vs. sightseeing time. What do you think the limit for hours in a day, or days in a row of driving would be? Thanks for replying when you get a chance. I imagine you have a lot of laundry to catch up on. How does one pack for a trip that long?

In response to the question from "Curious": <BR> Since we started in Ohio, we did three days of driving to get to our first "destination". We covered up to 760 miles on one of those days! With a start at 5 AM we covered lots of ground, with a 2 hour visit at a museum to break up the day. Once we were in the "vacation" part, we kind of alternated staying one night at a place and then the next night staying two nights (thus no driving every other day). Of course it didn't play out this way the entire trip, but was close. It was a very fast paced trip, but we wanted to cover lots of territory! The kids did not complain very much at all about the driving thanks to the TV and lots of new books of puzzles/car games. As far as packing, I packed four duffle bags with two changes of clothes for the entire family, so we didn't have to handle big bags with everything. I visited laundrymats once a week, which was more efficient than trying to do a load here and there. <BR> This kind of trip is not for everyone, but for families who are used to driving it can work out wonderfully! I would go again in a second if I could and the memories will last a lifetime!

Wow Donna, I'm impressed! We're taking a driving trip soon and I was thinking 480 miles in one day was pushing it. Now I feel like a wimp! Well you've inspired me so I'm going to try and cover more ground in one day. Thanks for answering!

Thanks for posting. We are planning a 5000 mile trek from Maryland &quot;out West&quot; to include Badlands, Mt. Rushmore, Custer, Devils Tower, Grand Tetons, Craters of the Moon, Yellowstone, Beartooth Hwy, Teedy Roosevelt NP &amp; Mall of America. Our boys will be 10 &amp; 11. Our first destination will be 1000 or 1300 miles from home (depending on which way we &quot;loop&quot; the trip). I am starting to gather travel &quot;toys&quot; &amp; entertainment for my kids. WE too are used to driving vacactions. I know it won't be all love &amp; harmony but it will be a lifetime memory. You have provided encouragement that it can work.

Donna,
My spouse &amp; I are toying with the idea of driving back to Mich/Ohio to visit family. We are in San Jose, Ca. I'd be interested in your route. We'd like to see southern Utah on way there and try to hit Mt Rushmore and maybe Glacier on way back. That's about as far as we've gotten with places we want to see. We have no schedule since we're retired. Any advice or tips you could give us would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Um, folks, look at the dates. Donna's trip was FOUR YEARS AGO.

OMG...that's what happens when I do a search and just read the results...duh