NYC to Missoula by road
Carol Cain is Founder and Publisher of The Adventures of a NYCity Mama and did somethign really brave – she drove from New York Cty to Missoula, Montana. That was a two week round trip with three boys and her husband. Any parent looking at this would bolt for the nearest exit. Most kids would too.
But the Cain family went ahead anyway and did it. Given the decreasing delight in air travel, a lot of people need to consider road trips. The Cain family braved the challenge, came through it well – so well, they are planning a cross country trip for next summer.
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3 Responses
I’m a big fan of road trips. With family in Canada and four kids in tow, airfare would run us $1500+…and we’d have to rent a car! Needless to say, we hit the road a lot.
One thing my husband and I found helpful is that we drive a lot at night, switching off so the other can rest, while the kids get some sleep. Then there’s less whining
I recently had to fly from San Francisco to Baltimore and back with my four little ones (7 and under) and my heavily pregnant wife. It was a *nightmare*, aided and abetted by ignorant and downright vindictive airline staff (thanks United – won’t ever be flying with you again). From now on, if I can’t drive there, I’m not going there.
I’ll make one exception, namely trips back home to Scotland, but if they ever open that bridge over the Beiring Straits….
I totally agree with the driving at night thing. My wife and I have driven from our home in the Bay Area up to Portland OR a few times and we find that leaving at about 4pm and then stopping for dinner a couple of hours into the trip makes it an adventure for the kids. They gradually drift off to sleep by about 8 or 9 after a perfectly wonderful family night out, leaving Mummy and Daddy with long hours of empty roads and just each other to talk to… thank goodness for NPR – just kidding
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Road trips with kids have a lot to offer. Like Carol said, you can see all of the things along the way. Your route can be flexible. You can experience so many new things together as a family rather than dealing with the rush and pressure of air travel.
I’m glad NYCityMama discovered that kids can travel without all the technology. I’ve traveled with my four children (ages 4-8) since the first was born, always by car, and we’ve never had a DVD player.
We recently did a 3800-mile trip from Minnesota to Texas using a roundabout route to avoid a major snowstorm. We were gone 12 days and our total costs for the trip, including gas, hotel, food, and fun, were the same as airfare and car rental would have been for the six of us.
While road trips do require more time than air travel, they’re an option families should not be afraid of exploring.