Lovedays wrote: As far as stopping, we stop when we need to go potty! We try to plan everything around that including getting gas - If we have to use the restroom and the gas tank isn't empty, we'll top it off.
Food, for long trips like the one you're describing, we buy everything at the destination. Not sure if that works for others but its how we've always done it and it makes my DW happy.
Clothes, I think that depends on the amount of clothing you own or can store. DW always plans on spending one day just hanging out at camp in the middle of the trip to do laundry. We found that most of the campgrounds we stayed at in Florida had at least one coin operated washer and dryer. In some places we have needed to find a laundromat.
It really is up to you as it is personal preference. In my family when it comes to those two topics, I'll do whatever DW wants.
I am afraid of how many time we will have to stop for gas along the way and how much we will spend. Is gas any cheaper south of us? We are up over $4.00 a gallon right now.
CCIntrigue wrote: Flying J in St. Augustine is a good place to stop. We always overnight there the day before checking into WDW.
As for food, I fill our freezer with everything we'll need for the entire trip. Staples stay in the MH year round.
As to tires, I might take one spare tire but certainly not two -- unless your tires are in bad condition already. In that case I'd change them before the trip.
Laundry -- if you're planning a week long trip, I wouldn't bother with the laundromat -- two week trip, do laundry midway through the trip to avoid having to pack so many clothes. We traveled with 3 kids for years and this worked well for us.
What is flying J? Isn't that a truckstop/gas station?
We will be gone 10-11 days. I know the kids have enough clothes for that long but I doubt hubby and I do, plus I know we will need towels. I just despise laundry LOL
CCIntrigue wrote: Flying J in St. Augustine is a good place to stop. We always overnight there the day before checking into WDW.
As for food, I fill our freezer with everything we'll need for the entire trip. Staples stay in the MH year round.
As to tires, I might take one spare tire but certainly not two -- unless your tires are in bad condition already. In that case I'd change them before the trip.
Laundry -- if you're planning a week long trip, I wouldn't bother with the laundromat -- two week trip, do laundry midway through the trip to avoid having to pack so many clothes. We traveled with 3 kids for years and this worked well for us.
Oh I forgot, Hubby wants to hit the beach for awhile when we are in St. Augustine. Any recommendations for that?
luvmykids wrote: chrisandmargie ~ Good luck. We haven't ventured that far from Southern Maryland yet either, but we are in talks of Disney in January. So, PLEASE post any tips you may have in the planning and the actual trip to FL. We have been talking about going halfway and stopping and then finish driving on the second day. Alot of DVDs for the player and headphones so we don't have to hear Mickey over and over.
I do know someone that towed from down here to Disney and she said it took 17 hours for them. They have 3 kids, like 10,3,1.
Joe
17 hours? We will take plenty of movies, books and they just got new game systems so hopefully that will keep them entertained. They are 10, 8 and 7.
I will post any tips we learn along the way. Where do you usually camp at? We normally stick within a couple hours of home.
A thought about food- taking w/ or buying on arrival. 1- do you want to spend vacation time food shopping? And, in a store you are not familiar with. Prepare family favs at home - freeze. Less stress for you while on vacation. I don't imagine hubby or sons do any of the shopping/cooking. Do whatever makes YOU happy on that point. I would stock up on everything except bread/milk- easily bought about anywhere. Have a great trip Kathy
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klm wrote: A thought about food- taking w/ or buying on arrival. 1- do you want to spend vacation time food shopping? And, in a store you are not familiar with. Prepare family favs at home - freeze. Less stress for you while on vacation. I don't imagine hubby or sons do any of the shopping/cooking. Do whatever makes YOU happy on that point. I would stock up on everything except bread/milk- easily bought about anywhere. Have a great trip Kathy
I would rather have most everything when we get there. Hubby on the other hand doesn't want the added weight. He does do alot of the cooking when camping, I just wonder why he can't do that at home LOL
But I do love the ideas from everyome about freezing our favs
We are taking our second trip to WDW in a week. I traveled with an almost 4 and almost 8 year old the first time. We took two long days (about 450 miles each) and then the last day was only about a 2.5 hour drive. We also made this trip during my daughters spring break so we didn't have the luxury of taking too many days to drive if we wanted to spend a week at Disney.
My husband is a firefighter/paramedic and he likes to get up early. I pre-made casseroles that were frozen for the two long days. I put them in the sink to defrost while we were traveling and then cooked them when we set up. I used disposables for these days and paper plates to eliminate time in cleaning up. The kids traveled in their pjs and had activity books, movies, and games for the trip. The kids did great. Although, we are use to traveling 350 miles one way to Arkansas and other trips in Texas. This time in the truck never bothered them, so an extra 100 miles wasn't that much more for them. You will just have to see how they do.
We leave in a week for Florida. We will be gone a total of 16 days and the kids are now 5 and 9. This is the longest time we have been away from home. I have already made my chicken spaghetti and frozen it for the first night. I will also have fun treats to break up the trip. Fresh fruit cups, homemade cookies, and rice crispie treats. It's amazing how these things can brighten a trip. I also have movies tucked away that they haven't watched yet or lately and new coloring books/activity books. Anything that you can keep as a surprise is always fun to pull out when they are getting tired or fussy. I wish you happy camping and best of luck traveling. QT2
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Hi there. We have taken a few trips with this mileage and distance. We are just getting ready oursevles to head out from Northern Arizona to Tahoe, Northern California, and then down the coast. We will be gone approx. 19 days.
For food, I generally pack a few frozen meals that I have pre-prepared. This also helps to keep your icebox colder. We have stayed in Wal-Marts and then I usually do any shopping that I need to do. I generally take any non-perishables with us. It always seems that I can get food cheaper at home then out on the road.
We usually do laundry once or twice also on the trip. Especially for the towels. There must be something weird in the air on vacation, because even the laundry seems sweeter Don't forget to pack detergent and quarters.
luvmykids wrote: chrisandmargie ~ We usually stay a few hours away also. Gettysburg, Williamsburg, Lake Anna, and Lancaster are our usual spots.
Joe
We usually go to Lake Anna a couple times a year. We don't have a boat but my brother does and he has a truck camper. I have been going to Lake Anna since I was a little kid.
We have stayed in Harpers Ferry, Gettysburg, West Moreland, Cape May, Hagerstown, Duncan's in Lothian and we even spent a weekend at Take it easy which is very close to home. Oh over Easter this year we went to a nice CG near Glen Burnie.. can't remember the name though.
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We will take plenty of movies, books and they just got new game systems so hopefully that will keep them entertained. They are 10, 8 and 7.
Don't forget to pack detergent and quarters.
