We made it!  1700 miles round trip as a family of five.  We had such a great trip, and by far the most peaceful one.

The trip there was split into two legs (8 hours Friday, 8 hours Saturday), so I was stingy with surprises from the activity bag (compiled from various “road trip ideas for families” searches).  I saved most items for the long, long, LONG 15-hour drive home.  Here is the breakdown for how the items went over.

1. A binder – given immediately
This was great.  They enjoyed having the step-by-step maps, played road trip bingo repeatedly, and were pumped about the math pages.  License plate bingo didn’t really fly.  It didn’t stop Chad and I from calling out plates we saw the whole time.
2. A hanging toiletry bag – given immediately
The best!  They had everything they needed at their fingertips and actually put their things away.  For the return trip home I stocked them up with more snacks and gum.  PS – gum is a huge hit.
3. A clipboard – never used
These never left the bag.  They just used their binders as something to write on.
4. Easy Sudoku puzzles – given on the second leg to SC
These were deemed “too hard” and weren’t touched.
5. I Spy and Where’s Waldo books – given on the long drive home
“I Spy” was too easy, “Where’s Waldo” was too hard.  These were not a hit.
6. Library books – given immediately
These were a big hit!  I did lots of research on Pinterest for books that would interest kids the ages of mine.  They read in the car and at the beach house in down time.  I also read “Fantastic Mr. Fox” to them on the second leg to SC, they loved it.
7. Notebooks – given half way through the first leg to SC
These were helpful, especially since Eli bought himself a “how to draw Angry Birds” book from the book fair that day!  That was a happy coincidence.
8. Stickers – given on the long drive home
The girls liked these, Eli not so much.  I bought candy stickers so the girls created a candy shop in their notebooks 🙂
9. Coloring/Activity books – given half way through the second leg to SC
These were good. And there were lots of pages so they lasted for both legs of the trip.
10. Brain games – given on the long drive home
I think the kids used these the most.  I only bought 2 because I couldn’t find a third I liked and I really should have searched for a third!  I had to time them and make them rotate, and this lasted for hours!  
11. A bag of Smarties – used immediately
Once they discovered there was a reward for road trip bingo, they played it much more!  Success.
12. Pipe cleaners – given on the long drive home
The kids were hesitant about these, then I researched (Pinterest) some ideas for them to make and passed them along.  And they were off!  Flowers, lizards, trees, bracelets…they were busy for a while.
13. Glow sticks – given at night on the first leg there, and on the way home
Again, success.  My fabulous sister sent the kids some glow sticks in the mail, which they got on the way there.  They didn’t know I had more!  And I had an extra package for the inevitable non-working glow stick.  I highly recommend this.
14. New movies – given on the long drive home
I bought Jungle Book and Pirate Fairy.  I knew they really wanted to see Pirate Fairy so naturally I saved that for last 🙂  They got Jungle Book after lunch, and Pirate Fairy at supper time. 
15. Homework – umm…..
This didn’t really happen.  It did for a little bit, but it’s hard to help them when I’m not next to them.  This was a difficult car activity.

They watched so many less movies than we normally do!  I’m so proud of them.  They are amazing travelers.  We had mandatory potty breaks any time we got gas or stopped for food, so there weren’t any extra potty stops!  It’s been our best trip so far.

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