If you want to read about a fun site-seeing road trip then read my post on part two of the road trip or about my previous cross country road trip. This one ain’t it. This part of the trip was survival, a means to an end. At this point, we were just figuring out the logistics of driving two dogs, two children under two, and a trailer across the country. Is it even possible to stay sane under those circumstances? Well, it took some trial and error but by the second leg of the trip we had figured out how to at least set ourselves up for the most success.

From Sea to Desert

Our Route unfolded as follows:

Surf City, NC to Atlanta, GA

Our pet-friendly stay:

Staybridge Suites Atlanta Buckhead

We ordered delivery to the hotel room from Blue Moon Pizza and it completely turned our night around! The Family Meal Deal was such a delicious feast!

Atlanta, GA to Ruston, LA

Our pet-friendly stay:

Holiday Inn Express Suites Ruston

For dinner, we went downtown Ruston and ate at Ponchatoulas, a Cajun restaurant. I wouldn’t say it’s anything to write home about (I say as I write about it), but it definitely did the job and we went back to the hotel full and happy.

Ruston, LA to Midland, TX

Our pet-friendly stay and dinner in Midland were by far the best of the trip, however, Mom and Pop Esquivel’s details are reserved for friends and fam only, sorry.

Road Trippin

Off we set, leaving our home in North Carolina en route to Texas to spend some much-needed family time with in-laws before we made the move to Japan. Our goal was just to get there as quickly and painlessly as possible.

Except that first day was anything but painless and definitely not properly thought through. For starters, we got a lot later of a start than we intended to. A simple mistake that had a ripple effect of consequences. My first and probably most important word of advice;

1. Get up and leave early.

On subsequent days we learned how much an early start to the day made a difference. I’m talking 7 am or earlier. Our kids are much happier in the morning time than they are in the afternoon or evenings. They’re like gremlins or Cinderella but instead of 12 am being the magic hour it’s 2 pm. After day one of mistakes, our driving days ended up looking roughly like this:

Wake up, pack up, grab breakfast and coffee (lots of coffee), and hit the road.

Our toddler would chill, play as much as he could in a car seat, and eat until nap time (which is around 9 am -10 am) when my husband and I would then get to enjoy a little bit of peace and quiet.

*Trip Tip* something that we both enjoyed that really helped pass the time was listening to audiobooks on Audible. With the Old Breed and Shogun were our books of choice as they were both set in Okinawa.

The end of nap time means lunch! This would generally be the big stop for the day. We would get the dogs and Waylon out for a quick stop at a rest area (or a gas station with grass). After the babies had a quick run around we would load everyone back up, grab lunch to-go, and hit the road again.

Lunchtime on the road occupied everyone for about an hour or so… then the meltdowns set in and the “are we there yet?” feeling would loom for the rest of the day’s drive. This brings me to my next word of advice;

2. End the driving day early.

Because afternoons were generally when things started falling apart, we made it a point to try and reach our destination around 3 pm (for everyone’s sanity). This would allow us about an hour to get checked in and settled into the hotel (yes it generally took an hour to do all that). We would then have an hour to breathe before making our way to dinner. On the first day of travel we got into our hotel after it was already dark. Everything was rushed and we were grumpy. We ended up ordering delivery from that local pizza spot mentioned above and our night was salvaged. Delivery time was also a lot faster than quoted, thank god!

3. Pick a hotel with onsite or nearby food options.

The last thing you want to do when you’ve been driving all day is to pack everyone back in the car and drive to get food (especially when you have to haul a trailer around everywhere). On the second leg of the trip, we would try to pick hotels that had restaurants in them or somewhere within walking distance. Extra points if the hotel had a fancy restaurant where we could treat ourselves to a nice meal and drinks after a full day of road food.

4. Stay organized and throw your trash out, At. Every. Stop.

My best advice when dealing with the chaos in life is to stay organized and stay clean. A, control-what-you-can-to-help-you-deal-with-what-you-can’t, sort of ideology. There’s no way to do a drive with your kids, pets, and an excessive amount of luggage and have an easy-breezy trip. It’s going to be stressful and overwhelming at times. Having your things organized will keep you from searching through every bag when you need something. Keep the same bags in the same spots. Have little bags inside your big bags to keep similar things together. Keep a plastic bag to collect your trash in and throw out your trash at every stop you make. Don’t let it pile up all day (or worse let it pile up all trip *gross*), that will just add to your to-do list when you get to the hotel, and trust me, you don’t need to add on extra tasks. The little things make a big impact!

Road Trip Essentials

Below I’ve put together a list of some of the most helpful things for us traveling cross country with the whole family. They’re all on amazon, so, you’re welcome!

1.Brita Water Bottle: A water bottle with a built-in Brita filter. This is my go-to water bottle! Especially on the go, no need to worry about whether the tap water is potable or pay for expensive hotel water bottles. Simply fill it up from any spout and enjoy. It’s easy for my toddler to drink out of as well.

2.Spill-Proof Sippy Cup: As spill-proof as they come! My toddler can make a mess out of anything but these definitely hold the liquids more than they let them loose. Easy to clean and mimic drinking out of a normal cup, so they’re a good transition piece.

3.Yeti Backpack: Y’all! This thing is MAGIC! I used it to transport my frozen breast milk and the majority of my stash made it to JAPAN. I was super impressed with its ability to keep that precious liquid gold frozen, especially in times when our hotel didn’t have adequate freezer space. However, even if you aren’t a psycho like me and using it for frozen breast milk, I would still recommend it to keep your road snacks or drinks icy.

4.Pup Stuff Bag: This was a great way to keep the puppy dogs’ stuff all in one place. It comes with food and water bowls and plenty of extra space.

5.Snack Cups: As I said earlier, my toddler can make a mess of everything. These snack cups help diminish the mess though. They also work as extra entertainment as it’s a little more challenging to get the food out.

6.Back of Seat Car Organizer: Great for keeping all the toys and baby supplies off the car floor and in order!

_{All of these are affiliate links (I think I’m supposed to tell you that, first time… kinda nervous).}

5. Enjoy the little things

My last word of advice, enjoy the little things. Put your phone down and watch the landscape change, savor that glass of wine with dinner, stock up on the free coffee and soak up those sunrises.