thoughts on an across country trek with a 2 year old

[shanniesue2]

HA! If that title doesn't beg for some "ARE YOU CRAZY's" I don't know what does.

Anyway, we just got notice about a family wedding in Jackson Hole Wyoming this summer. The ILs would like to camp instead of doing the motel room. And then would like to spend some time in Yellowstone. Here's the catch. DS will be not quite 2 1/2. It is 18 hours of driving time for us. We have a VW camper van that if we can get it in good running order would be pretty comfy for camping, but the issue we keep thinking of is 18 hours of driving with a 2 year old. It would take us 2 days there and two days back. It doesn't seem very nice to make DS sit in a car seat for 4 days.

A couple of options we have though of: all of us fly and rent a car when we get there. But then we have to consider how to travel with camping equipment. DH drive and DS and I fly and meet him up there. Or just all of us drive.

What would you do?

[halomancer]

We just spent a day and a half each way on an 8 hour drive with a 2 1/2 year old, so I would say to allow more travel time if you want to drive. You will want to stop more often and for longer so your LO can run around.

[jocelyndale]

Long road trips are the time I allow unlimited videos. Our son is RF, can't really see out the window, but can hold an iPod touch. Toddler apps are awesome. We also have a small DVD player.

Stop for playground breaks (in the summertime, we often stop at elementary schools if we're in the middle of nowhere--they generally have easy to access playgrounds). For meals, stop someplace with a playground. We like parks with picnic areas near a playground. DH takes DS over to play while I quickly prep a meal (I can do that more quickly than DH). Or they both take the dog for some playtime if we've found a park with an off leash area for doggies. Interstate highway rest stops are generally too hectic for me to feel comfortable with DS, but the farther we get from the East Coast, the more spacious they tend to be.

It will take more than 18 hours to drive it. Always have a backup plan. Last summer, my two year old REFUSED to camp. You know how toddlers are capable of shrieking hysterically for hours? Yeah, we didn't go there. Thank goodness he likes hotel rooms (and there? a bucket of ice, a couple cups, and a warm bath = an hour of toddler fun).

Drive through Starbucks are your friend when the kid is asleep and you need to make up time. Just don't let yourself get too fatigued.

[shanniesue2]

yeah, I know it would take more than 18 hours to do the trip... it would just be 18 hours of driving with various stops along the way. And that was my thinking, too... drive for a while, get out and find a park or something, back on the road for a bit. With 18 hours of road time, I don't know if we could make it in two days... which would mean 3 days driving up there and 3 days back... I don't know if we can allow that much time just for travelling. DH only has so much PTO (my time is unlimited during the summer b/c I'm a teacher)

[Skippy918]

Can you fly and then see if there are places that rent camping equipment? Are your ILs local to where the wedding is? Can they bring camping equipment? That seems like an awfully long drive with a 2 year old.

[potatocraft]

How we do these loooooooong drives. Dh gets out of work a few hours early, we leave about 2 and I make sure to keep ds up from his nap so he will sleep in the car. I have the car all packed and ready before DH gets home so we can just pee and leave.
Then we make the first stretch a longish one. At least 3 hours or longer if ds is napping. We then stop for dinner and some run around, either at a big rest stop that is about 3 hours down the road or at a restaurant. Get lots of antsys out there. If you stop at a restaurant, find one that shares a parking lot with a big box store, then after dinner go over to the store and put the kiddo on the backpack leash and let him decide where to wander in the store. This stop is usually about 1.5 to 2 hours long. Pee and get back in the car, get gas, sodas for the road (for the adults), whatever. Get DS in his pj's and get his blankie and water and settle him into his carseat with his lovie. Then hit the road again. He usually will sing to the radio/ talk/ pet the dogs/ play for an hour or two but then will fall asleep for the night (basically) and you can drive a few more hours until you are ready to stop. Now I'm a night owl by nature so I don't usually stop until 1 or 2 am. And I decide what I'm going to do before the offices to the motel closes and call one a few hours ahead to decide where we are going to spend the night. Then I can just stop and get the key or whatever when we get there.
But, by starting at 2 in the afternoon I have knocked 9 or 10 hours of driving time out of the park with no pain the first day. Then the second day you get up and start after breakfast. Stop when you see cool attractions or when dc needs a break to run around. You can stop more because you are starting earlier. Don't worry about a schedule and tell people you will be there when you get there. You will probably be less familiar with this half of the trip anyway, and will probably find more fun stuff to do. If it gets to be late and everyone is just done and you still aren't there then stop for the night. But I bet you will only be an hour or 2 out from the destination. It is doable and we do it a few times a year.
Bring lots of snacks, books, a wipe board and some markers, books on tape, a dvd player(maybe) or the ipod filled with cool stuff to listen to. And don't forget adult stuff to listen to too, the kid will fall asleep eventually and you don't want to be stuck with just barney or whatever. ya know. Bring the camera and maybe at 2.5 you could even get him a kids camera and show him how to use it. That make some fun digital ones for kids now, and you could just bring your laptop to upload. That way they could help make their own scrap book of the trip.
Good luck and have fun, it won't be as bad as you think.

[artgoddess]

That's a long, but beautiful drive. The thing I keep thinking is there isn't really a major airport that close. So you'd be spending a bit of time in the car anyway or spending a holy fortune, plus changing planes with all your stuff to land at a closer/smaller airport. I think you can do it. We did cross country with your son when he was younger than yours. Although we didn't do too many long days like you described, we had a couple balls in the car to throw and chase when we stopped and we stopped often to nurse, eat and play. We had one of those portable DVD players and DP recorded a bunch of TV onto DVD's before we went. short shows like Jojo's circus worked well for him, he was too young for a 90 minute movie to hold his attention then.