Holiday Insanity? Prepping for a 10-Day Family Road Trip

What happens when 2 bloggers and their 2 kids hop into a 2013 Cadillac SRX Crossover?

Yeah... I'm not so sure. 

Sometimes I wonder about my sanity. On top of work, my blog, the gala I'm helping with and the impending holidays, we decided it would be a good idea to take a 10-day roadtrip out to Omaha, NE to see Jason's family for Thanksgiving. While Jason grew up with road trips and actually sees them as relaxing all I think is "OMG STUCK IN THE CAR WITH THE KIDS FOR HOURS ON END!" as I start to hyperventilate. 

The key to a road-trip is obviously to make the driving as fun as possible and I have to say I'm very excited to be making the drive in the SRX, on loan to us from GMC West for the trip. With the entertainment system in the car, plus all our various iDevices, I'm hoping the trip flies by in a series of naps, movies and photo stops. But the complusive planner in me is stressing, which is why I thought I would share my (non-expert!) list on prepping for a road-trip.

1) Plan out the route - but don't set it in stone

The last time we made this trip we were re-routed a few times by weather. Instead of going up and over the Rocky Mountains as planned, we ended up taking a southern route though New Mexico and Kansas. While stressful at the time, we saw parts of the country that we never even expected to see. But we also lost money on hotels paid for in advance. Luckily with all the apps out there we will never really be stranded without a room for the night, so while we are making reservations, we are not paying for anything up front.

2) Packing smaller "hotel bags"

While I plan on taking the big ticket items out of the car at night (ie: computer bags, iPads), it's nice to not have to take everything out of the car. We pack smaller "trip bags" with just the things we need for the on-the-road part of the trip so we don't have to unpack and repack each day of the drive.

3) Mapping it out with the kids

While the getting out to Omaha, NE part of the trip will be the direct route, coming back we decided to take an extra 2 days and let the kids chose where to stop - well, to an extent. While they wanted to see the Grand Canyon, after looking at the map we realized that probably would be too much of a non-direct haul, so we decided to stop in Moab, UT and see Arches National Park. 

And the 2nd stop that the kids wanted? Vegas, Baby. I guess it stems from us always saying how fun Sin City is... but even though we won't be partying it up, we are staying on the strip and going to show them some of the tamer sights the city has to offer. 

But you know the trip wouldn't be as much fun with out Jason and I broadcasting our every move. So yes, we will be tweeting, blogging, instagraming and updating statuses along the way. 

Follow along with us at #SRXRoadTrip - tell us where to eat, what sights to see and if there is someplace we need to stop.