Kids and the Beach/kids and a Road Trip)

Baby Powder - for the beach, it removes sand from skin like magic. So when you're piling back into the car, sprinkle baby powder onto their feet, between toes and fingers and sand literally slides right off.

Have a fun trip. Sounds like you have a good driving plan.

The 123 magic videos had a good suggestion for a long drive. You tell the kids that they could be eligible for up to xx in souvenir/ pocket money but if there is any fighting or whining or whatever, you will dock money from both of them. He suggested quarters and bags in the front of the car so it's really tangible. Both kids were motivated to be on their best behavior.

See if it works for you.

A milk crate in the back of the car for a bag of pretzels goldfish peanut butter baby carrots trail mix sunflower seeds. A five gallon jug of diluted juice over ice and a sleeve of cups. It's good to have food on hand because those roadies breakfast burritos can be sketchy sometimes.

We live 1/2 an hour from the beach and go often. We pack light for the beach. A few pails and shovels in a mesh bag (sand falls right off). A queen sized flat sheet, that 5 gallon jug, 1/2 a melon, cheese sandwiches, some grapes and some salty snacks. We take one chair and one towel. I don't want to have to lug a lot or collect a lot. A proper umbrella and hats make us all more comfortable. As for activities we dig to china, make a moat, bury daddy, let the sea bury our feet, hop the surf, search for seashells, chase fish, inspect the catch if anyone is fishing, pretend to be sea monsters, swim, fill a "pool", feed the seagulls, dig for clams, collect seaweed, spot ships, draw things on the sand etc. if there are kids around then they come up with their own fun games.

Best F. B.

I suggest one of these http://www.amazon.com/High-Road-Kids-Organizer-Station/dp...

...filled with new coloring books, crayons, special travel cups, and some special toys or games.

Bring your tablet or portable DVD player for movies. Headphones are highly recommended, unless you want to hear the same Disney movie 4 times in a row. These are really great, both my kids have a pair. http://www.amazon.com/Sony-MDRZX100-Series-Stereo-Headpho...

Break up the trip into rest stops/gas stops/potty breaks. Do something different between each break.

Even if you don't have kiddo potty trained before you go, he'll probably be by the time you return. Vacations are great for potty training. Watch out for the "auto flushing" toilets. Bring a pad of post-it notes to cover up the "eye" so it doesn't flush on your little dude's bottom and scare him.

ETA: If you find either of your kids get a headache or feel nauseous on the ride, stop by a CVS, Walgreens or Walmart and get a pair of Sea-Bands. They're basically little wrist bands that have a plastic nub on the inside of each wrist that presses on a pressure point. It's a miracle for car and sea sickness, and the kids feel like superheroes wearing them. :-)

We always did our long driving trips at night. The kids slept and hubby and I traded off driving so we could each rest.

The beach is a blast. Pick up pails at the dollar store or walmart. I always pick up those cheap gardening shovels for around $1.50 and they hold up much better than the plastic ones. Plus you can use them yourself once you get back home.

Use pullups for the toddler on the car trip.
You don't want a pee soaked car seat.
Also be prepared to bring some Dramamine just in case you need it.
Our son loves car rides but on long trips when he was a toddler he had a year or two when he'd get carsick.
With a toddler and 6 yr old I'd stop every 2 hours to stretch and have a bathroom break (20 to 30min) because a nine hour drive broken into 3 hour chunks with an hour break in between makes for a 12 hr day which is a long time to be on the road.
(If you could drive at night while they slept it would be different.)
I'd shoot for two 6 hr days of driving if I could find a spot to spend the night somewhere near the middle - make sure it has an indoor pool for the kids.
For in the car, have something they can watch movies on - it really helps to keep them happy during a long drive.

It'll be a grand adventure for everyone!
Enjoy!

oh, what fun! i LOOOOOVE the beach, and haven't been in a couple of years. am having ocean withdrawal for sure.
the drive won't be much fun, but it'll be worth it. we did a drive almost that long in a freakin' pick-up truck with no back seat. the boys got grumpy and wiggly, but we did as you're planning, snack and run-around breaks, and we all survived it and had a great vacation.
a cooler with plenty of water and some easy snacks, and you're good to go!
have a wonderful time.
:) khairete
S.

For the journey I would download a lot of movies for them to watch on the ipad. Also games for them to play,

I live at the beach and like to keep it simple when we go down. I put sunscreen on the children at home before we leave. We each carry our towels. As we don't sunbathe (we go for the surf), we don't usually even take hats. It's onto the beach, into the water, out and home. If we were sticking around for a walk or play, I'd take hats. And definitely lots of water!

A bucket and shovel for each kid, towels, and a small cooler to hold drinks.

Are you staying at a hotel, or at a condo? If you are staying at a hotel on the beach, then they will surely have beach towels and M. even have beach chairs on the beach by the hotel. If you are staying in a condo or in a hotel that is near - but not on - the beach, then you probably need to bring these things.

I like to stop in a grocery store in the beach town and buy fruit to put in the cooler to snack on at the beach, and I buy some breakfast food to keep in the room to eat in the morning - bagels, breakfast bars, etc.

If you can, either borrow or buy a portable DVD player and some DVDs of their favorite shows to keep the kids entertained.

For the 6 year old, I also like to print out a map (do you belong to AAA? If so, you can print a custom map there). I give it to my kids so that they can keep track of our progress AND map reading is a great skill :)

I drove 17 hours with a 19 month old that had just started using the potty. We brought it in the car with us, and while on holiday, his potty training solidified and he started just taking himself. it turned out well for us. I do think I might have had him in diapers in the car, I can't remember. I know he had on trainers, and I bought a seat cover for his car seat.

Do the drive at night. It really is the easiest when you have a really young one.

Yay for you!

We have taken road trips every year since we got married 21 years ago, and our boys are 17 and 11. We usually go to the beach, but have gone to the mountains, too. Usually we go about 13 hours away, and occasionally we break it up into two days, but we prefer driving straight through. We usually leave our house at about 3:00am. That way we get at least some sleep before we leave, but the boys can sleep some in the car before the sun comes up. That has worked well at all of their ages through the years.

As for the beach, the suggestions you've gotten already are great. We like to go in the morning, and stay until naptime back when the boys were little. Then we would go back to the condo and clean up while naps were being taken and after naps we could go do whatever we wanted. Now we stay at the beach a bit longer, but still like to clean up and rest a bit in the afternoon. I love lazy afternoons after a morning and early afternoon of beach play!

Have a wonderful trip!

We have travelled with our kids for forever on long car rides and never broken trips up. The first time we went to Disney it was starting to snow in the DC region and it dropped over a foot (VERY rare for this area), so it took us 19 hours to get from our house to our resort. We left at 6pm and got there the next day. It was totally fine. We stopped when the kids needed to take a break, but so often they slept or did what activities they packed.

A few summers ago we drove 12 hours straight to Atlanta, and this summer will be driving what looks to be another 12 hours to Nashville. I also drive 8 hours to my sister's house a few times a year with one stop when it's just the kids and I. So I'm just saying there are people who don't break up that drive, but plenty that do. I would play it by ear and do what works for you all.

For the beach - LOTS of water. And snacks. But most importantly lots of water. We bring sand toys, beach balls, BIG towels, tons of sun screen, and boogie boards. I also bring a portable speaker to play music on my phone because the kids really enjoy that when they are taking a break.

Have a fabulous time! The beach is my most favorite place on earth and I actually need to get to one soon.

I never did car trips longer than about 6 hours with our kids, so I can't offer tips there. But for the beach, the water suggestion is a good one. I'd bring along a small portable cooler as well. Something to keep the water bottles sand free (as much as is possible) and cool.
I'd also keep at least one on hand solely for rinsing salt water/sand out of eyes, and a spare towel for face wiping during in/out turns in the water. :)

Cheap sand pails and scoops are fun for the kids. Just be sure when you leave the beach, to refill any holes they dig. Sea turtle nesting season. :)

I also agree with breaking the two days into 6 hours each of driving.

We're doing almost a similar trip (14 hours) to Florida with three small kids and four adults. We plan on stopping every 2-3 hours as well - whether it be a McDonald's play place, Rest stop with a park, etc.

I am planning on buying some new school workbooks, movies, travel games, bingo, etc for the kids and will wrap them in aluminum foil and each hour or two, give them a 'new' gift. (Going to spend less than $40 for three kids) I am also going to go through their sticker books, coloring books, Seek and Finds, etc and bring those along. I do plan on bringing enough movies to get them through just in case they want that also. Each older kid (7.5 and 5.5) will have their own bags with coloring books, crayons, markers, stickers, books, etc so there is no fighting. Definitely will bring headphones as well as CD/Books on Tape from the Library for them to listen to and follow along. Snacks for along the way for sure - sweet, salty, healthy, various drinks, etc. My kids love Mad Libs so I plan on bringing a few of those along (plus great ways to learn about Nouns, Adverbs, Adjectives, etc). I'd have the little one wear pullups under his underwear just in case. Have Wal-Mart style plastic bags for accidents if not (or just in case as well). Bring TP!

For the beach, we are bringing what everyone says but I will add to bring spray and lotion style sunscreen (and maybe even a stick?) just to have all on hand. We're also ALL wearing swim shoes in case there is coral, rocks, etc on the ocean floor, super hot sand, etc. Don't forget Aloe Vera for those burns!! I love the powder idea, I will be bringing that as well. Oh - sunglasses for all, too.

Have fun! I can't wait for our trip, too!!!

Fun times!
We road trip quite often and they are usually long ones too. I'm a fan of adventures!
For us, we typically don't drive at night for a couple reasons. Often, it's just me & the kiddos so if I drive all night then there is no one to really watch them the next day when I'm crashed out. I would rather spend the day in the car & traveling and making that part of the experience than in a hotel room/someone's house sleeping for the first day. Also, one of my kiddos doesn't sleep well in the vehicle, he never has. Another one sleeps only fitfully and the third one can sleep anywhere. If I drove at night three of the 4 of us would be exhausted the next day!
Also, we play quite a few road trip games, the ABC game, license plate game, color of semi game, map the trip. I have the kiddos pack new coloring books, activity books, and regular reading books for the trip. We also listen to audio books and lots of music - we don't do the portable dvd thing typically.
If you are breaking the drive up I'd just play it by ear one how far to push it one day vs the other. Sometimes breaks will make it better and you can go longer than you originally thought.
Destin/Ft. Walton Beach is a great area. We lived there for about a year (actually moved there from Ft. Worth so I know the drive you're about to make). The Gulfarium is a neat little place but nothing spectacular so if the tickets are cheap it M. be worth a trip. The shopping there tends to run to the touristy side so you'll see quite a few beach stores. There are some great restaurants of all price points and styles. Also, some wonderful artists if you like to pick up local art.
Have a wonderful trip!

We took a road trip like this when our kids were 2 and 5. It was long, but it was OK. This was 13 years ago at this time of year - we drove from NY to Ohio to visit with family, then to Wash DC then back to NY all in a week. There were no tablets or smart phones at that time - but we spent $280 on a portable video player. The screen was the size of the contemporaty smart phones. BUT that video player was the life-saver of the trip. We had a giant canvas bag full of video tapes and to this day I recall the lines to many of the videos they watched on that roadtrip. We also had a small cooler - we froze water bottles to use as ice and had cheese sticks and yogurt tubes, fruit and snacks like pretzels and goldfish.

Now with smartphones and tablets load up movies and shows on your phones and tablets, get headphones that your kids will use (little ones don't always like earbuds). Don't bring along books or writing for the car part of the trip - that causes car-sickness. Google ahead of time different car games you can play. We were big on the alphabet game (find things outside the window that begin with letters as you go through the alphabet - it was always easy as we went through NYC - difficult in the farmlands of PA), make up progressive stories - you begin the story with two sentences and then it gets passed around the family members as each builds the story with a few more sentences, etc. I'm sure if you google family car trip acitvities you'll find a ton more.

As for the beach - we live a couple of miles from the beach. It's not very relaxing with little kids so as long as you're not expecting to read a book and lounge in the sun you'll be fine. Yes - baby powder is a must to keep in the trunk of the car to de-sand your kids before you get in the car. A mesh or plastic "net" bag for sand toys is good to have. You must have shovels - you can get larger plastic spades in most 5&10's near the beach or even Target I think. They're maybe 2 1/2 feet long, a wooden handle, a plastic shovel part. You need at least two - you can dig a deep hole so your little one has a safe place to play in the water where the waves won't knock her down. You and your 7 yr old can bury daddy in the sand, etc. While you can probably find a set of sand toys at any store within an hour of the shore, you can also use plastic containers from your cabinets. Deli salad containers, ricotta cheese containers, pastic cups, anything that can hold sand. Consider buying a "neat sheet" which is perfect for the beach. Have a small cooler that can hold frozen water bottles & frozen juice boxes. when you put the cooler down for the day at the beach, dig a shallow hole to put it in - the sand is cooler a few inches down. Put the cooler in the shade (shade of yoru chair, a beach towel, an unbrella, etc. Use ziploc bags for bitesized fruit like grapes & cherries. Sand will get on everything so so be prepared. with littel kids the blanket will be sand filled the whole time. Anticipate that. If the sun is hot turn your flip flops upside down when you take them off so they won't be too hot on your feet. If you brush aside the top level of sand where you're standing the lower layer will be cooler to stand on or lay your blanket on. Slather your kdis with sunblock before y0ou leave the house / hotel in the morning. it's so much easier to put if on and do a thorough job while they are naked inside that when the wind is blowing and they'r standing in the sand at the beach. Remember to get the tops of ears, back of neck, forhead, eyebrows, etc. Reapply to shoulder & nose more frequently than other areas.

Stopping along the drive for playgrounds is essential - and the good thing is that with smartphones you can easily find them. 45 minutes in the park with a sandwich or pizza can make all the difference for the kids.

Finally - always have a change of clothes and a container of wipes, and paper towels easily accessible. I have vivid memories of trucks flying by within only a few feet of us while my husband and I scrambled to dig out clothes from suitcases, paper towels and wipes on the side of the highway in order to clean up and change our 2 yr old son who had thrown up (too many goldfish I think) all over his car seat. We still laugh about that and recognize that instance at the watermark of having attained professional parenting status. We split the tasks, we got it done quickly, no one cried and we didn't get mad at eachother. And the car smelled like puke for the rest of the drive!

You will have a blast! Remember to take photos and videos of the silly moments, the every day moments, the pooped out end of day moments. When we look at our old videos we are astonished at how very quickly those days flew past. Savor these times - they are sweet.

ETA: Mum4Ever... I never knew that magic trick!! I learn something every day! Great tip!
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Oh my... Our road trips our 3 hours or less. Anything over 3 hours is a flight. No way could I stand be be in a car that long, nor my daughter.

The thing that some of my neighbors do are to drive at night if they are determined to drive. The children sleep through the drive.

What FL beach? We went to SanDestin for years, beautiful beach!! I hope you have a great trip!!!

Yes, leave after dinner and drive 5-8 hours. Kids will be asleep. Stop in a hotel and sleep a few hours. Go eat a good breakfast. Get in the car and head out again. Plan on stopping every 2 hours for the little guy potty breaks and everyone get out and move around.

This is the way road trips go with little ones.

We did the drive at night thing once, but my kids didn't sleep or at least not well, so we were all exhausted the next day, so it wasn't worth it to us. It's 12 hours to visit my husbands family. Now we just start early and stop at McD's and Chic Fil A that have playgrounds a few times during the trip. We eat while the kids run around and then let the kids eat in the car.

I would recommend pull ups for the car trip. When our oldest was potty training, we took a potty with us. He said he had to go, but we were too far from an exit to take him somewhere so we stopped and tried to have him go on the side of the road, but he was too scared. There ended up being accident in the car seat which made the trip seem really long for all of us. Even now that he's 6 if it's a really long drive I'll ask him if he wants to wear a pull up for the drive just in case and he always says yes. It really made an impression on him.

Favorite and\or new movies will help with boredom.