Conference moira::parenting_v3

    Personally I don't think it would be very fun.  I have driven the
    Boston-Atlanta stretch about 6 times, both by myself and with another
    driver and it is a long, boring drive.  Once I then took the greyhound
    bus on to Florida which was physically not as bad as driving except
    that there was a woman on the bus being really rotten to her child
    the whole way.  I'm assuming your primary motivation is cost?
    There is an alternative which is taking the train, however it is
    not that much less expensive than flying.  There are some fares
    to Florida for under $200 and I think the 17 month old could fly
    for free.
    	Linda

    This is my first reaction!  
    
    About 15 years ago I drove from Boston to Hilton Head (South Carolina)
    and had to stop twice overnight.  Actually we probably could have
    skipped the second night and gone straight to our accomodations on
    Hilton Head except they were not ready for us I think.
    
    But to travel all the way to Florida without sleeping is unwise IMO. 
    It's a LOOOOOONNNNGGGGG trip, particularly with young children.
    
    More recently, my husband and four children and I drove from New
    Hampshire to Maryland in one day -- it took about 10 hours non-stop. 
    By the 10th hour the kids were really itchy.  Unfortunately my
    husband's assertion that "we can find a hotel along the way" proved
    wrong, we had to drive till 2am to find a vacancy in Virginia!  
    
    Personally, I'd put a bit more planning and overnighters into a trip of
    this magnitude.
    

    Unless you are driving in a mini-van, I would opt to fly with the baby
    and have my husband and two other kids drive.
    
    My son who is 22 months old would never make a trip like that. Over
    thanksgiving we rented a caravan and drove to Rochester NY which was
    nine hours. Surprisingly Eric did very well, for two reasons, we had
    him sit in the frony with Dad and I gave him some medicine to make him
    alittle sleeply. Plus if he got fussy because of being in the car seat
    I would take him out for 5 minutes and let him walk around the van.(I
    know I bad, But it was a long trip.)
    
    Lynne

    Last Christmas we drove an all nighter with a 16 month old and a 3� 
    year old.  We left around 7pm from New Hampshire and arrived in 
    Charlston South Carolina at 12 noon the next day.  We purposly left
    before their bedtime, and they stayed awake for a few hours.  I would
    say that they slept *most* of the night, but a few times I looked back
    and one of them was awake just looking out the windows.  We did stop
    for about an hour on the North/South Carolina border at a big rest
    area and let them run around.  We also stopped for a good breakfast,
    but besides that, I would say that they did just fine driving.  I'd 
    rather go all through the night anyday (more time to enjoy there)
    
    		- Janice

    We've done it several times and have always regretted it.  From Soutern
    Mass to Central Fla., it's 25 hours of driving if you have no problems
    or traffic snarls.  Then you are so tired once you get there/get home.
    Last January we did it in 2 days, 12+ hours per day and stayed
    overnight on the Virginia/No. Carolina border for about $35.  It was
    much better.

    I would like to caution you on having kids in carseats for that
    long of period of time.  I have a friend whose son began limping
    after a long trip in the carseat and was taken to the doctor after
    the limp did not improve.  It turned out he had nerve damage from
    lack of circulation and no movement.  Now, this child did not let
    on that he was hurting in any way--no crying or fussing but the
    doctor suggested that his leg probably "fell asleep" and was not
    really painful.  Please, if you must take this long trip stop at
    least every hour or two to let the kids stretch and walk.  Carseats
    are very confining for safety's sake but were not designed for extended
    legnths of time.  I think of all the fidgeting I do on a long trip
    but harnessed into a carseat makes it an impossibility to really
    stretch, etc.
    
    I have taken my 20 month old son on at least 6 extended car trips
    (8-14 hours) but we have many frequent stops, even if we only stop
    long enough for him to walk around the car.
    
    Regrds,
    Pam

    I have done the all night trips a couple of times.  My children were 4
    and 6 last time we did it.  I thought it was great.  We left about 6pm
    or right after dinner.  We live in Texas tho, so it only took us 20
    hours to get to Orlando, Florida.  We arrived about 10 or 11 am the
    next day.  We made several stops to stretch and woke the kids up each
    time although it would have been okay to let them sleep.  We have a
    station wagon and had the back seat folded down, and all the luggage
    was in the roof carrier.  They had their pillows and sleeping bags and
    a foam mattress underthem.  My Husband and I took turns sleeping with
    them so nobody really got that tired the next day.  My Husband and
    myself took a short nap in the afternoon, but the Kids didn't.  I will
    never fly to Florida again.  The savings is just to big...
    
    regards,
    
    lynne c.
    
    

RE: .7

>    time although it would have been okay to let them sleep.  We have a
>    station wagon and had the back seat folded down, and all the luggage
>    was in the roof carrier.  They had their pillows and sleeping bags and
>    a foam mattress underthem.  My Husband and I took turns sleeping with

   This sounds interesting.  Did regular lap-style seat belts work
   during the night, or do you have some other form of passenger
   restraint in your car?  
   
   Thanks,

   - Tom
   

    
    I'd suggest the train.  You can leave Worcester, MA at 8 AM and be in
    Tampa around 2 PM the next day.  A sleeper compartment is around $350
    if I remember correctly.  AMTRACK has a 800 number you can call for
    details.
    
    I don't know the temperment of the driver(s) or your kid(s), but in my
    case, I've got two itchy girls (ages 2 and 4), and I begin to loose it
    after an hour...
    
    					John G.

    In my opinion it depends on the attitude of the children.  In my case I
    say quite firmly NEVER AGAIN!!  We drove to the DC area when AJ was
    2.5, he never slept more than a couple hours at a stretch.  Now mind
    you this is a kid who is usually asleep before we're 20 minutes into a
    trip.  My sister inlaw has visited from Florida several times with her
    children from infancy, they're now almost 4 and almost 6.  They've
    driven back with my inlaws, stopping one or two nights just to sleep
    and usually doing much of the travel at night.  No problems with the
    children, either physically or discipline wise.  But her children are
    what I call *very well* behaved.
    
    I second the opinion of taking the AMTRAK or getting some kind of air
    fare deal.
    
    Lyn
    

    I don't know if you've made up your mind yet or not so I'm adding 
    my thoughts on the matter. My family and I have made the trip almost
    every year since I've been in NJ which is 20+ years. When it was just
    Jim and myself we would do all night drives; but when the kids came
    along we made frequent stops and always stopped overnight somewhere.
    You have to remember that we were traveling from Jersey so our ride was
    somewhat shorter than yours will be. If you just want to make good time
    I suppose you'll take 95 all the way down. But if you want to take your
    time take 301 when you can. It takes you through the towns but its a
    lot more interesting. Or you could take the intercoastal hwy. Rt 17
    which is supposed to be very nice. For some obscure reason we have
    never taken that route. But we will this year for sure. The kids will
    probably do very well if you just stop and let them walk around for a
    couple of minutes every so often as suggested in a previous note. Mine
    loved to travel until they reached the teens. Now we have a hard time
    getting them to go anywhere with us. Good luck whichever way you choose
    to travel and have lots of fun.
    
    Trudy
    

    My husband, myself, and 3yr old daughter just returned from a car trip
    from Pittsburgh to Key Largo, Fl.  It was not as bad as I thought it
    would be.  
    
    We left around 10:00 pm on a Saturday night.  My daugher
    slept most of the time.  We arrived in Raleigh NC around 7:00 am the
    next morning where we stopped to see my husband's sister and rest.  We
    left her house around 8:00 pm and by 3:00 am we exhausted.  My husband
    did most of the driving and I cannot sleep in a car so we stopped at a
    rest stop in Georgia.  We slept for a few hours in a cramped car.  We
    finally arrived around noon in Key Largo.  It was in the upper 90's and
    we were exhaused. It took us till the next day to "adjust" and start
    having fun.  During the trip down my daugher slept most of the time but
    she did wake up every few hours and ask the same questions over and
    over again "Where are we going?  Where are we?  Are we there yet?  Why
    are we going there?  This could become nerve racking.  Not to mention
    that we were so irratable we constantly were telling her to shut up.
    
    We decided to travel during the day on the way home and I think this
    was much better.  We left in the morning and and arrived at my brothers
    in Charleston SC around midnight.  We stayed overnight and left the
    next morning.  We were rested and felt much better.  We arrived home at
    approximately midnight that day.  My daughter was awake more during the
    day but I had bought her car toys to keep her busy and since we were
    not as tired we didn't yell at her.  She was so good during the whole
    vacation that we never deserved our bad moods.  
    
    The next time we go  to Florida we will either fly (only cause with a 
    two week vacation four days of travel takes a large chunk of time) or we 
    will leave during the day.
    
    One thing we did learn is that even though my daugher said she didn't
    have to go the the bathroom when we stopped, which was frequently since
    I am pregnant, I learned to make her come with me cause it never failed
    that 5 minutes after we left the rest stop a small voice would come
    from the back seat saying "I HAVE TO PEE".
    
    
    Angie