So I'm moving...(need rest stop/motel-type advice)

[Seshat]

You have a toddler travelling with you?

Okay. SING. Singing is a great way to keep a kid occupied. Get a big book of children's songs, or a tape, or a CD, or something. Sing with them, and encourage your kid to.

Activity books and CLEANABLE drawing tools. Stuff you CAN get off the insides of the car, anywhere the kid can reach. Or cover all that area. If not, skip the activity books.

Toys, especially with the non-driving adult sitting in the back with the kid.

Get a book of road-trip games. Some of them (like alphabet ones) the kid may be too young for; but he should be able to look for a car of each colour, and a house of each colour, and signs that are square and sideways rectangles and up-and-down rectangles and triangles and 'stop sign shaped' (octagons).

Be prepared for more frequent potty trips, and for the trip as a whole to take longer than planned. Speaking of potty trips, you may want to pack a potty - the kid may be happier using one on a roadside 'emergency' stop.

And have your mechanic doublecheck the anchor points for the kid's car seat. You'll NEVER forgive yourself if you don't do that, and the anchor point fails in a crash.

[RootedPhoenix]

No, I've not got a toddler. Although, I can get mistaken for one sometimes, lol.

I was just responding to a previous poster's eek-worthy experience. But thanks nonetheless, as I do have to remember the music....! (ADD makes long trips less than amusing, you see.)

Must be excited about moving, must be excited about moving...
Next step is to pack boxes, OH YAY. *whimper* But I have boxes! Yay preparedness!

Thanks again everyone.

[Jester]

Mint works good at waking you up when driving. Probably good to have a supply of those on the monotonous, long parts of the drive.

Wait, what? Explain! I want to know about this. I've never heard about it, and as a person who doesn't drink caffeine other than necessary, I am all about alternatives to it. So, spill....how and why does this work?

You have a toddler travelling with you?

Okay. SING.

Or just bring duct tape. I find it makes things easier, not to mention quieter.





WHAT?!?!?

Be prepared for more frequent potty trips, and for the trip as a whole to take longer than planned.

This is not necessarily a toddler thing. Same thing happened to me with a girl I was seeing on a holiday trip up to Tampa. Took us over ten hours to get there because of this nonsense. She slept on the way back, and it took us less than seven.

You do the math.

[Magpie]

Wait, what? Explain! I want to know about this. I've never heard about it, and as a person who doesn't drink caffeine other than necessary, I am all about alternatives to it. So, spill....how and why does this work?

Because... you know, I never thought to find out why. To the best of my knowledge it's actually a compound in the mint oil that makes you more alert. Sharp flavours help too though, so you'll get an added benefit from that. I used to use it to perk me up in the mornings. (Caffeine mellows me out, so that wasn't an option).

[draftermatt]

The longest drive I have ever done straight through is St. Petersburg, FL to the last truck stop on I95 in North Carolina.

Basically 750 miles in about 11 hours. I could have kept going but my brain told my body it was time to let my driving partner drive the rest of the way.

Rest/Truck stops are the ONLY places you want to stop for bathroom breaks. They're kept relatively clean (especially compared to gas stations).

Carbo load for energy, when you feel tired stop and stretch or stop for the night.

Keep track of where you are and what hotels are around that area (signs are a good one for this)

If you stop make sure your stuff is locked up tight, out of site, or take it with you.

[Aut]

Because... you know, I never thought to find out why. To the best of my knowledge it's actually a compound in the mint oil that makes you more alert. Sharp flavours help too though, so you'll get an added benefit from that. I used to use it to perk me up in the mornings. (Caffeine mellows me out, so that wasn't an option).

I don't know how it works. I read it in a magazine once. And I find as I get older, I am more prone to highway hypnosis and the desire to nod off, so I tried it. And it worked - at least while the mint was in my mouth. I have super minty fresh breath on road trips, lol.

[Seshat]

Rest/Truck stops are the ONLY places you want to stop for bathroom breaks. They're kept relatively clean (especially compared to gas stations).

I've also been to small town/villages which maintain a wonderful little park on their main road, containing a bathroom complex, a little eating area and playground, an information booth, and their main shopping area across from the park - with the most tourist-friendly shops directly across from it (and the locals' shops down the road a bit).

If the park is well maintained, the bathroom complex is usually clean and stocked, in my experience. If the road is a quiet one but there are tourist shops that survive anyway, those shops are so good the locals buy stuff there.

[Becks]

Hold on. People STOP and SLEEP when they're moving long distance?

Ok, to be fair, when the MOTH™ moved me out to NJ, we stopped in OH and slept for a few hourse.

Moving from NJ back to WI, however, we only stopped to fill up the truck, really.

And both trips are why I loathe driving through PA.

[Jester]

One other thing that should be mentioned....if you stop to eat, don't have a really large meal, or you could get "food coma" sleepiness while driving. Basically, eat somewhat light. Nothing gut-busting.

[Andara Bledin]

Basically, eat somewhat light. Nothing gut-busting.

And, on that same note, don't eat anything high in carbs. Keep to things that are easily digested.

^-.-^

[AdminAssistant]

And avoid chocolate for in-car snacks. It melts.

[RootedPhoenix]

And avoid chocolate for in-car snacks. It melts.

Now I have a mental image of a moving truck covered in melted chocolate, driving through the Nevada/Utah desert....

[Seshat]

Of course - you'll be going through desert. Are you up on your desert travel safety? I'm not, but here's what I'd do.


Before the trip, I'd contact both my car club, and the police station near the edge of the desert. I'd ask for recommendations from both, on traversing the desert safely.

I expect they'd want me to carry X amount of water per person, and Y amount for the car, and possibly a shade device that could be rigged over the car and an emergency sign signalling a need for help.

I also expect that they'd want me to report in to the police before I entered the desert and file a 'trip intentions' form - saying where in/through the desert I'm going, when I expect to be there, and which route I plan to take. Then when I make it, I report in the police at the other end, saying 'I got here'.

That way, if I don't report in, they know to look for me - before my water runs out. And the emergency signalling sign and car shade makes it easier for them to find me.

Most of the Australians who take these precautions don't end up needing them - they make it to the other end just fine. But the police in Australia don't make their recommendations lightly, because they have to make too many rescues.

[Jester]

This is not the outback. It's the desert between Cali and Utah. It is not nearly as remote as some of the stuff in Oz.

While precautions are a good thing (and I do recommend the water), as a desert rat myself, I would say some of Seshat's recommendations are a bit of overkill.

West Texas? Sure. Where you're going? No, not really.

[Spiffy McMoron]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I've heard that police/professionals/locals in the know/someone advise you not not use the a/c in your car when driving in the desert. The reason is that running the A/C compressor forces the engine to work harder, which means that it's more likely that your engine will overheat.

True or false?