surviving a road trip with toddlers [plus a look at our visit to Maine]

If you follow me on Instagram you know that we recently took a road trip to Maine. By we I mean myself and my toddlers. Sounds pretty crazy, I know. But we survived! And because we were (relatively) successful, I am sharing my tips for surviving a road trip with toddlers, plus a look at our visit to Maine.

We headed out on Monday with the intention of making the complete drive in one day. At the start of the trip my GPS said 9 hours which had us arriving at 630PM. Totally makes sense right? Leave after breakfast, drive through until lunch, stop to stretch and eat, then drive through until dinner. Except that is not what happened, but this brings me to my first road trip tip.

Timing is EVERYTHING.

We left the house at 9AM, once we stopped for gas, we hit the road around 930AM. Within 45 mins, Lily was asleep shortly followed by Cam. If it is possible, try to schedule your driving to take place during nap times then a good chunk of your road trip will not require distractions.

The beginning of our drive we made great time. From our door to just north of NYC in two and a half hours. There was no traffic, just smooth sailing. Then we hit Connecticut. It went from four lane highways to tight, curvy, two lanes roads PLUS it started to downpour. Instead of cruising along at 65-70 mph we were now down to 40-45 mph which I understood due to the rain, but it had slowed us down big time.

We stopped for about 45 mins to have lunch in Norwalk, Conn. When we got back into the car, my GPS said that we would now be arriving at 830PM instead. With just a 45 min lunch break, rain, and some slower moving traffic.. we had now added 2 hours onto the trip. The rain wasn’t letting up and the roads were not clearing up anymore. This was causing me to get very antsy, meanwhile.. this brings up road trip tip number two.

Screen time.

One of the easiest distractions during a road trip is screens. For us, the iPads provide the distraction needed to maintain sanity during a trip like this. We haven’t used them for any other trip we’ve taken, but the most we had ever driven was 4-5 hours, so this was definitely a different circumstance. The kids played games, watched a few shows, and stayed pretty content.

After about two more hours of driving, we had been on the road (with the exception of lunch) for almost 5 hours, with 6 hours to go. I was getting tired of driving in the rain, slow moving traffic, with an arrival time that was getting later and later. I was trying to push through to make any kind of progress, but the state of Connecticut which is NOT big was taking hours and hours to get through. Which leads us into the third road trip tip.

Don’t be afraid to split the drive.

At around 3PM while we were driving around the city of Hartford (still. in. Connecticut.) the GPS started to get a little jumbled and we made a wrong turn. Growing incredibly frustrated with the set backs, I looked up and there was a hotel in front of us. I immediately felt the need to stop, rest, and finish the next day. If you are taking a road trip, especially by yourself, don’t be afraid to stop for the night. There is no need to push yourself too far and put yourself (and your family) at risk of something bad happening.

We got snacks, ordered dinner, and laid around in the hotel for the rest of the night. It was something simple, but glorious. After not sleeping well the night before our trip, what I needed was to stop and get some sleep to start fresh the next day when the rain would hopefully clear up.

The next morning we got up and headed out at 9AM, the GPS had us at 5 hours until our final destination. Away we went. There wasn’t much of a breakfast eaten that morning, and.. here we are at road trip tip number four.

Pack plenty of snacks.

With toddlers who are always asking for a snack, it is important to be prepared. There was also a few times that I was starting to grow hungry and wasn’t sure when we’d be stopping next. Not to mention, gas station snacks are about three times the price of regular snacks. We packed crackers, fruit snacks, cookies, raisins, and sunflower seeds. This was very helpful when they were asking for snacks and I had no intention of making any stops for a while.

Our final destination was an old friend of mine and her husbands house in Oquossoc, Maine. We see each other every few months when she visits her mom, who lives near me, but I had not visited her yet since making this move. Last time I took a road trip to see her, Michael and I drove nine hours to Charleston, South Carolina.

We pulled in at just about 230PM as the GPS suggested. Our first night was low key, letting the kids hangout and gossiping about whatever we had forgotten to tell each other recently in text.

The next day we visited the local library a town over in Rangeley, Maine then headed back for naps. After the kids got up we headed to the local park and then to dinner at her workplace, Bald Mountain Camps Resort. The food and environment were great, but the best part was watching all of these local residents know each other so well. Numerous people stopped to talk to my friend and her husband because the town is small, they all know each other. It was such a small, but adorable thing to witness.

Because I was so fascinated by the numerous ‘Moose Crossing’ signs I had seen on the way, they asked if I wanted to go ‘moose hunting’. What they failed to mention is that moose hunting really just means drive down the road and look. Seeing a moose in Maine is like seeing a deer anywhere else. I was stunned when we DID actually see a moose after maybe ten minutes. It was a great end to the day.

Thursday was the most beautiful day during our trip. It was 80 degrees, sunny, and the most enjoyable part was the lack of humidity that we experience back home. We packed up and headed to Smalls Falls. The easy to navigate trail and shallow water for the kids to play was the highlight of the trip. They were in heaven. We packed and ate our lunches on the trail and splashed around for quite a while.

After having such a rough trip up, I decided it made more sense to leave Thursday evening instead of Friday morning. That way I could drive until bedtime, then stop at a hotel, then pick back up the next day. Stopping around 3PM on Monday made for many hours sitting in a hotel that we could avoid by leaving that night.

Trip home was slow but steady. We took a different route which lead us through the western part of Maine, across the top of New Hampshire, leading into the northern part of Vermont before heading south. It was quiet, filled with beautiful rolling mountains, and cute little town after cute little town. We stopped for dinner at Village Pizza in Haverhill, New Hampshire before getting onto a major highway. After that it was a smooth trip back to Hartford, Conn. We decided to stay at the same hotel that we did on the way up, Candlewood Suites.

Starting the trip back up Friday morning at 930AM, sitting in a little traffic around the New Jersey/Delaware state line, we arrived home at 2PM. Everyone was quite happy to be out of the car and back home.

To this beauty, I thank you not only for your hospitality during our stay but for years of friendships that has lasted through many states. I love you and am thankful to have been able to visit you and your family in such a beautiful place.

Now I’m curious, have you been to Maine? I want to hear all about it!