Travel Advise for a Toddler..

Manu & Arin,

I took my girls on a road trip to LA last year and were are going back shortly. I have a tv and DVD player in the car. I popped in Barney and they loved it. Barney made the trip much easier as it kept my little ones content. Now you will likley learn every song as the video is replayed over and over again, but it works. Good luck.
- T.

I have not had to travel with my son since he was 9 months old for more then 2 hours, but I have had friends that have bought a portable DVD player and it hold their child for a few hours. Not sure if you let your child watch tv, but it does help.

I have the same exact problem, however I have a 10 month old. My husband and I are planning our first family vacation for next month which requires over an 8 hour drive to the location. We have decided to drive at night, considering this is when she sleeps the longest. It is not the most ideal situation, but we both agree it will get us all to our desitnation somewhat happy...hopefully there will be if any screams and cries.

Not too sure if this helped, but thought I would let you know what we are doing.

S.

If you drive up Highway One, through Marin, Sonoma, and into Mendocino County, there are lots of accessible beaches where a toddler can play in the sand, and pick up rocks and shells, and experience the Pacific Ocean. You could plan however long a drive you want, and plan frequent stops so he can play and wade in the water. You will probably love it too--- try to stop on a beach when the sun goes down. It can be so spectacular!

Without knowing where you are, and thus how long the car ride would be for you to, say, Santa Cruz, I can't suggest any destinations. But overall, plan on stopping frequently to let him stretch his legs and burn off some energy. Bring new (or haven't been seen in a while) toys that won't easily scatter or get lost on the floor. You could build him a little center, with one of those lap TV trays things you see at Michaels... bring paper and crayons, play dough, the kinds of stuff that is open-ended play and easily contained. You could make him his own "car bingo" game, with pictures of things to look for on the road -- cow, tractor, stop sign, etc...

I agree with the previous post. My daughter who is 28 months loves to go to Monterey and Santa Cruz. She loves going to Monterey Bay Aquarium and Dennis the Menace Park (the best park I have ever seen). We also just took her to the Boardwalk and there was about 8 rides she could go on and she had a blast.