Drive from Greensboro, NC to Orlando, FL

We just took a 4000 mile round trip to NM from OR. The kids did great and my kids were 4.5 and 2. I made each a travel box. The older one is a girl and she had her own stationary, envelopes, stickers, tape, colored pencils, stencils, writing pen and pencil, index cards with hole punch and tied together with yarn for flashcards we made along the way. I started with some of her friends names and then some things we would be doing, but kept the words fairly simple. She now can write her friends names with ease. For the 2 year old boy, his box had a little racetrack painted on it and a couple of small matchbox cars. He had a roll of transparent tape (loved it), paper, envelopes, stickers, colored pencils. Both had sewing tape measures that retract and small magnifying glasses. Needless to say, the boxes were a huge hit. They often played with the cars and racetrack at night while camping. We also brought a dvd player and Signing Time dvds and Backyardigans. I know my hubby and I got tired of Backyardigans, but the kids never did.
I put the boxes away when we got home and will update them for the next long trip.
Oh, if you go to any National Parks, ask about the Junior Ranger program. At Aches Ntl. Park, both kids were able to participate, but at Redwood Ntl. Park, only my 4 yr old was allowed to do it.
We all had a blast. Shortly after that, we took a flight to CO. So, it is all do-able.
The travel kits and dvd player were the biggest hits. I had a travel box for myself with a couple of books for bed time and a couple of games that practiced colors, numbers and shapes. That way, both kids could play the game. The 2 year old needed a little help. One was a card game that had the Sesame Street characters and practiced colors, shapes, numbers, but I don't remember the name of it and it is put away in storage right now. It was kind of like Uno or Skip Bo, but for little kids.
There are lots of possibilities, but the kits were the biggest hit and enough stuff in them for hours of play, but small enough to fit on a lap in a car seat.
Have fun,
D.

Make the drive when they would be sleeping, that way it makes the trip easier. Begin the drive an hour prior to nap time or just before bed time. If that is not an option just bring lots of things to to keep them busy (leapster, D. board, )or just invest in the portable tv for the car.

Good Luck

The time all depends on the time of day your driving, if you'll be near any cities near rush hours, and how many stops you'll need to take. Remember map quest just estimates the time your actually in the car driving.

I made a similar drive (CT to FL stopping overnight in NC) when my girls were around the same ages as your children. What worked for us was leaving NC early in the morning (4:00 am). The kids will sleep for at least 3 hours until it's time to stop for breakfast. (Note: It's been many years, but there's a nice small zoo in Jacksonville, FL, that was a good place to stop for a couple hours and release some of the kids energy.

I went to college in Greensboro and we would go to Miami during spring break but stop over in Orlando. Nine hours sounds about right if you drive straight through with no major stops. Good luck I hope you have fun!

I am sure if you can make the flight for 9 hrs then you will be able to handle the drive from nc to fl. We just made a last minute jaunt from portland oregon to LA. We were really only planning on going to fresno for business but D-land was only 4 more hours. I can say that we made plenty of potty stops. Plus the first night we decided to drive at night while the kids were sleeping, however with the use of our on board dvd player, driving during the day made it much easier. I also brought along some electric games for them to keep entertained. By the way, my little guy 3yrs 10mos when we did this. Good Luck and have fun.

a 9 hr drive usually turns into 10 or 11 with two small kids.
You'll need to make longer stops to keep the kids from getting too grumpy and get some of those wiggles out.