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OT – Any tips for traveling across country?
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We are embarking on a cross country car trip with lots of camping and a very few hotels sprinkled in for re-grouping. We’ll head from New Orleans to San Francisco then up the California coast to Portland and over to Mount Rushmore and down somehow back to New Orleans … hitting all the big stuff along the way! I hope we make it! 😉
Any tips? I’m well versed in traveling with the kids in the car. I’m anti media so it’s only old school types of fun I’ll allow. What do you do?
Any good spots avoid or not miss?
Camping meal ideas? I’m bored with mine and this time I’m trying to really keep them simpler but filling. I’m panicked about bears now after reading up on these west coast parks! Sheesh. It makes me want to eat in restaurants the whole time!
Depending on the ages of your kids, you may want to look into the Exploratorium science museum in San Francisco. Lots of hands-on fun and exploring!
If you have time, make sure to check out Arches National Park in Utah, and Balboa Park in San Diego (and the amazing zoo there as well)! And maybe do the border crossing to Tijuana to give your kids a taste of another culture. My only other tip, from a trip hubby and I did years ago, is to make sure to see something local every day, even in the “less-exciting” states. There are lots of hidden gems to be found 🙂 I can’t wait til mine are old enough for big roadtrips like that! Enjoy! 😀
how FUN!!!!!
Do not miss Yosemite, but if you plan on going there at all and want to stay in the park you will need to get reservations ASAP as they fill up (even the campsites) a year in advance.
oh and Tahoe… oh do not miss Tahoe <3
all the west coast parks have bear lockers… use them for food AND toiletries… do not leave anything in your car. Most of the more popular tourist places have rangers on duty that will shoo off any bears (like yosemite)
I’m not sure where you plan on camping in San Francisco… you may want to stay outside of the city and take a day trip in. The Marin Children’s museum is in a pretty cool location (at base of Golden Gate Bridge) if you’re interested in that kind of thing. I don’t go to the city a ton but my favorite spots are Palace of Fine Arts, Golden Gate Park and the Ferry Building.
plan for extra time to make your way up the CA and OR coast… roads are slow and windy but the scenery is beautiful and so worth it. If you like cheese (or ice cream) the Tilamook Cheese Factory is pretty cool.
As you leave Portland and drive towards Mount Rushmore follow the historic Columbia River highway… path of Lewis and Clark… the change in scenery in a relatively short time (from ocean to mountain to barren almost desert like) is just amazing.
On road trips we do a ton of audio books… and we always start our trip by having a little present in each kid’s seat, it’s typically something like legos or mad libs… on our longer road trip this summer (SF to Seattle) I’m planning on having a few surprises for the kids for our various days of travel, newness is huge lol! I’m planning to pack some books and car toys for the ride home so they are also new and exciting. Plan for longer stops to RUN the kids! I like to look on trip advisor or yelp for park suggestions in the city we’re driving through.
Five years ago, we did a similar trip from WI to the Pacific Ocean. We covered nine different states in three weeks with four kids ranging from age 5-17 in a mini van 🙂 The 5 year old was our best traveler!…two teenage girls…UGH!
Anyway, our first stop was in northern North Dakota, where we helped missionary friends with VBS on the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation. From there, we saw Glacier National Park (our favorite!!), Mt. Rainer, Mt. St. Helen’s, took a light house tour, whale watched, played in the sand dunes, went to Yellowstone National Park, Mr. Rushmore, and the Corn Palace.
We kept cost down by only eating one meal a day at a restaurant. Before we left, we purchased a cooler that plugged into the van so we could keep a half gallon of milk, fruit, cheese, lunch meat, veggies, etc. I packed a low Rubbermaid type tote with dishes, can opener, and dish soap. It slid under the seat for storage. We ate breakfast at the hotel/motel, then packed lunches or snacks, and usually ate out for supper.
I recommend each child having their own journal or notebook. At the end of each day or while we were driving, we encouraged the kids to journal about the trip. They recorded things like where we were, things they saw and did, and drew pictures of animals, plants, and trees that we saw, etc.
When we stopped for gas, we’d talk to the locals and ask them about sights to see off the beaten trail. Some of our most scenic stops were places we’d have never known about with out asking.
Other than National Parks, we didn’t do a lot of touristy or amusement park sorts of things. It just cost too much money for us. We stuck more to nature. We saw a plethora of new wildlife!!
Safe Travels…
MelissaWe’re back!
1 suv.
4 people.
3 generations.
39 days.
15 states.
6,731 miles.
Thanks for the tips. I couldn’t respond but saw them. We managed to hit a lot of your suggestions too. Just an epic, amazing trip to have taken. This country is VAST.
I headed out with the idea that I’d fall in love with the West coast and never want to come home. I’m kind of a hippy at heart so I pictured it all 60’s groovy and super mellow. I was surprised to find it far more sophisticated and faced paced. I did love the scenery and the powerful Pacific. However, I came home from the trip realizing I’m a Southern girl through and through. I love the open (sometimes too open) way that folks interact in the South … we share, talk to strangers without thinking about it, generally say speak to anyone and everyone. The pace in South is slower and the tea sweeter. Saturday when I stopped in to Walgreens and the cashier told me (totally unsolicited) what she’d had for supper (complete recipe mind you) I knew I was home! 🙂
I think these trips are good for sort of clarifying things.
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