Cross-Country Trip with Kids

[dcrunnergirl52]

If anyone is interested, we just got back from a 30-day cross country trip from DC to San Diego and back, going through Yellowstone, South Dakota, and Missouri with our four kids (ages 10, 10, 8, 3). Here is my VERY long trip report from our 30-day, cross country road trip. I put it on Google Docs b/c it's so long. I didn't spend a ton of time editing, so please excuse typos.

docs.google.com/document/d/1sBhhN5p_0m1lhC8wmdAsMJpLAEOw9vaGYsVSYE8v5d0/edit?usp=sharing

Overall, it was the most amazing trip…I highly recommend doing it if you ever have the chance. So many amazing things to see and do, and just so fascinating to see our beautiful country and the diversity of landscapes, people, animals, etc.

In addition to everything described in the report, we also made lots of grocery store and Target runs, bought a ton of souvenirs, ate drive-thru lunches, packed tons of picnics, made lots of stops at gas station bathrooms, ate lots of ice cream, etc. The kids did a fantastic job on the car and overall, but there were some very frustrating, cranky moments that aren’t captured below or in our pics, LOL.

We were very covid conscience the entire trip, only eating in one indoor restaurant, wearing masks indoors everywhere, not letting the kids go to indoor pools with other kids, and quickly leaving anyplace that felt crowded.

I learned a lot of tips about doing long-distance with kids, planning this type of trip, etc., that I’ll post that later. We also have a ton of photos, and happy to friend anyone on FB if you want to see them.

[meowmaps]

Your trip sounds awesome!

This is definitely something on our minds as my BIL lives in Colorado and flying with two kids sounds unappealing. I figure there's a lot we could see and do on the way there and back. We're looking at summer 2023 as our our first potential attempt. We'll have a 5 year old and 2 year old.

Do you mind my asking, what kind of vehicle did you use? We're hoping to get an SUV in the next year or two but wondering if renting an RV is more practical for a trip of this nature.

[dcrunnergirl52]

meowmaps, we just drove our own Honda Odyssey. We just got it used last year, it has low mileage, and didn't drive it that much over the past year, so we didn't mind putting the miles on it. We did have it checked out before we left just to make sure nothing was about to break.

In total, we drove about 7,500 miles. We were able to fit everything we needed in the trunk/storage behind the third row and in between the seats (like snacks and stuff that used while driving).

We considered renting an RV but didn't want to be tied to such a big vehicle and I wasn't really comfortable with the safety features of an RV, especially for my youngest. Also, the cost to rent the size we would need for our family of 6 was going to be like $7K plus gas and campground fees (plus the hassle of an RV). After a long day of driving, I just wanted to go into a nice hotel with a hot shower, not worry about hooking up electrical, etc.

[expatjen]

What an amazing adventure! Kudos to you and your husband for driving all those miles! I enjoyed reading your recap (and saved a few hotel recommendations - thanks!).

I’d love to take my kids on a cross-country trip like this. It really sounds fun!

[flygirl]

We just did a Yellowstone/west trip in our RV in 11 days…I would have loved to take 30 days off and traveled further!

[krystee]

We are hoping to do a three-week Route 66 trip in a few years, including 2.5 weeks to drive there and a few days in California! I’m happy to know it was a great experience and not a miserable nightmare. Our kids will be 6 and 9 when we hope to go.

[Deleted]

If you're a bachelorette watcher, the hotel where you stayed in Albuquerque (Hyatt Tamaya), is where they filmed this current season. We love it for staycations (we live about 15 minutes away).