Florida. WWYD?

[nicolewi]

We still haven't decided whether to attempt the drive to Florida (from Wisconsin) over spring break with our kids.

--Kids are 7, 5, 3 and 1.

--If we went, we would get up super early and try to get like 5 hours in before they wake up, then do 8 hours more (broken up with meals/breaks) and stay overnight just past Atlanta. Then we would have another 8 hours or so the next day and we'd arrive. We'd stay about a week and then drive back home. 

--We have free lodging. DH's parents have a rental condo that's open. This might be the only year for this as they are thinking of selling it.

--BUT it's inland, so every time we go to the beach we have to pack up the minivan and fight traffic and find parking. 

--MIL REALLY wants us to go.

--I would go if DH wanted to try it, but he is more hesitant so I would have to talk him into it. I love Florida and am sure the kids would have a BLAST at the pool and beaches, but even I am not sure whether it's worth the drive. Especially for the one year old. Being stuck in a car seat, rear-facing, for that long seems really rough. 

--This isn't that big of a deal, but now my parents, who usually don't host holidays due to location, are actually hosting Easter. Not a huge deal, but if we don't go to FL, we'd go there for Easter and probably stay overnight, and then try to find a couple fun things to do during the week back at home.

WWYD? We can't decide. I go back and forth. 

[lala]

When you say inland, how far is the drive to the beach?

There are a million things to do in Florida. Also it's spring training time.

I would go.

[nicolewi]

It's only like 15 minutes but traffic can be bad. They are in Naples, but inland from the beach.

[minismama]

Naples traffic isn't all that bad. I lived there for a bit. I mean, it's not great. But the trip sounds completely manageable and affordable and I would absolutely do it. Naples beaches are so beautiful and there is a TON of stuff to do in that area. You can message me for more info if you want

[dizzycooks]

I'd do it.

[Deleted]

I would do it too. Sounds fun!

[dizzycooks]

I will say it's all about your attitude. If you're "ok this may take all day and they might cry and it could be really ugly, but in the end we will spend a few days at the beach and get away from home" then awesome. If you're " they better behave and we aren't stopping for at least 4 hours and omg why are they crying??" Then, no, not worth it.

[vettymama]

Like Dizzy said, I think it depends on your attitude. I would do it, but would need lots of reminders it might be hell getting there but awesome when we actually do.

[quesyrah]

I would do it

[Deleted]

I guess I'll be the lone dissenter and say I think it sounds miserable. 4 entire days in the car (and that's if you can keep to your schedule) for like 6 days at your destination just doesn't sound worth it to me. MAYBE if Disney was involved. :0P But...id much rather take a closer trip than deal with THAT long of a car ride to and from.

Like you all said, it's about attitude...and I guess mine stinks haha!

[momin2013]

@sing4mysavior, I'm kind of in your boat, too. Having driven a similar distance to Florida before (pre-DS, though), I've never gone for less than 10 days because when you consider 2 days there and 2 days back, it's not enough time IMO for a real "vacation".

If you can swing an extra day at the beginning (and maybe end, too?), then I think it would be more worthwhile. If not, if you really want to go, just go - it will be fun, but I'd expect to be a bit exhusted afterwards (I'm just thinking of all the packing, driving there, getting settled, repacking, driving home, then unpacking again that's involved).

I think another factor is how your kids are on long car rides. If they manage o.k., it might be possible to get there in the time you expect, but if they get antsy quickly, it could end up taking a lot longer to get there, because you might need to make more stops.

[Katiedid]

Last year we did a 13 hour car trip that ended up being 16 hours with stops to use the bathroom and clean up puke.

We have a Florida trip coming up and decided to fly this time. The estimated time to drive is around 17 hours...that sounded miserable to me. My kids did fine (except the car sickness) last time but I don't want to be in the car that long. If you're kids are great travelers and pretty easy going about being in the car, I'd go for it. But that does sound like a lot of car time for a short trip.

[nicolewi]

Yeah, we are figuring we would be exhausted and DH doesn't think we (the adults) would have any fun at all. He didn't have that great of a time last time we went to FL, but I did. We flew then, since we only had two kids. So he thinks it's going to be horrible for us. Thanks for all the opinions. I just don't know! DH and I will have to talk further.

[iheartthe80s]

There is no amount of money you could pay me to make that trip.

[Kcthepouchh8r]

I'll dissent too. We do seven hours in a car every summer with the kids and they've hit their max by then. We could possibly get creative and maybe do an extra 3 hours if we really had to but that would be the most I could imagine. We easily add an extra 90 minutes for pee breaks, getting them out to stretch and move and we time the commute either really early or late too. They are active kids and could never tolerate sitting for 13 hours one day then an extra eight hours the next. The only way I would ever put my kids in a car for 21 hours is if we have two weeks so we could do 3 days there, 3 days back and a week at the destination. A couple days of fun wouldn't be worth the three days of misery I would have between the days of driving there and them being off that first day after the long drive.

[lala]

See, everyone is different b/c there is no way in hell I'd drag it out over 3 days.

Families have been taking crazy road trips for decades, everyone survives - the parents might have a few more white hairs though...

I would prefer to have more like 7-8 days once there but I think I'd still rather attempt it and see what happens rather than sit home in the cold for a week. Or I'd play it by ear and keep checking air fair in case a crazy deal comes up - or even priceline the flights and make do w/ the times you get.

[lala]

Or calculate how much you'll spend on gas, food, and other activities. Then spend that on a vacation with a shorter drive.

[nicolewi]

@mama2b, absolutely! We say that all the time, too. In fact, when they are all crabby and we're changing diapers and doing time outs on vacation, we'll say, "making magical memories for the kids!" I don't know. With this trip, I'm just not sure whether it would be okay or more than we could take.

[lattelady5]

I'd go. Pack the van the night before and get up early 3/4ish9 and go. My kids(and H) usually go back to sleep. Stop for breakfast and as needed. Unkess you have really bad travelers Im sure it will be fine. We stop at parks or rest areas with parks I get munchkins for grumpy hunger moments.

FWIW, my 4 year old asks to RF on long trips. She can stretch her legs and sleeps better so don't worry about that

[Kcthepouchh8r]

Feb 18, 2016 11:26:59 GMT -5 lala said:

See, everyone is different b/c there is no way in hell I'd drag it out over 3 days.



If I had a crazy long commute and getting on a plane wasn't an option I would want the drive to seem like part of the trip vs a chore. I wouldn't do more than 8 hour days in the car. I'd drive 4ish hours, find some kid friendly tourist attraction that will get them moving, spend a few hours there, have lunch, then drive again when I've worn the kids out. Drive 4ish more hours, get a hotel with a pool, get some room service or pizza takeout and let the kids swim for the night. Repeat until I get there.