A little over a week ago, my oldest son, daughter, and I made a 15-hour road trip down to Florida for a family birthday party. It took us a day and a half to get there and a day to get back. On the way there, we made a boatload of stops including Buck-ee’s in Alabama, Kidsville in Cornersville, Tennessee, an orange stand, the Official Florida Welcome Center, and Grandpa Joe’s Candy Shop – just to name a few. So, you can see how our 15-hour road trip turned into a day and a half.
With all of this in mind, I want to share some tips, stops, and details of our road trip to Florida.
For starters, we rented a Nissan Rouge with nice woodgrain on the inside. I drove for the majority of the trip, with my oldest son taking over from time to time, and my toddler daughter rode in the back in her car seat, of course. If you’re looking to rent a car for your next trip, do use my affiliate link and check out Discovercars.com.
Be sure to be mindful of your speed. Oftentimes, we rent cars and find ourselves going a bit faster than we should because we aren’t used to the speed or power of the vehicle. I’m only sharing this because we got pulled over for going a bit above the speed limit. Thankfully, I received only a warning and we were on our way. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Road Trip Preparation
In preparation for the trip, I packed a cooler of food, drinks, and snacks because I do not like eating food from random places while on the road. I have a small fear of getting sick and ruining the trip like my youngest son did on our road trip to Canada a few years back. I’m not throwing shade his way, I’m just mentioning that it can happen and I want to use precautions.
I also made sure that I was “cute and comfortable”. I knew that I wanted to take photos along the way, so I dressed for some casual photos but also made sure that I was comfortable and wore my adidas SWIFT RUN 1.0 women’s running shoes that I wore for my “Be a Mermaid” Virtual 5K about a month ago.
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Road Trip Wraps and Fresh Corn
Anywho, I made us delicious wraps that I learned about a few years ago on Pinterest. The wraps are pretty simple and inexpensive. I grab some burrito-size flour tortillas, delicious cheese slices, and meats.
I roll the meat, cheese, and veggies in the wraps and seal them in plastic wrap. I usually make about 12 of these wraps to last for a few days. They keep well and are great for easy snacking or even a meal if you add something to it.
Since fresh corn is in season, I made a few ears of corn and wrapped them in foil as a side. My daughter loves corn and I know that if there is corn, she will eat. It’s easy, inexpensive, healthy, and works.
Read about our fun at the Urbana Sweet Corn Festival.
FATTY Smoked Meat Sticks
I also brought along a handful of FATTY Smoked Meatsticks. I was introduced to them a few months ago and have grown to love them. They come in various flavors, but we have been enjoying the Original and the Buffalo Chicken. The Buffalo Chicken is a bit spicy for me and my daughter, but my sons love them. They are keto and paleo-friendly which people love to hear.
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Aside from the road trip wraps, fresh corn, and FATTY Smoked Meatsticks, we had an assortment of drinks and other snacks that held us all the way down to Florida, but not back – which was okay. We just had to stop and choose better options from what was available.
As I mentioned earlier, along the way, we stopped at Buck-ee’s in Alabama, Kidsville in Cornersville, Tennessee, an orange stand, the Florida Welcome Center, and Grandpa Joe’s Candy Shop in Ocala, Florida.
From those stops, we had a little fun by stopping, browsing, and taking a few photos. I am so glad that we did because it really added to the memorbility and experience of the trip.
Final Thoughts
From our experience, I would encourage you to leave a day earlier than needed, if you can fit it into your itinerary and budget, and use the extra day to make spontaneous stops along the way. Be sure to budget in at least $100 for a random hotel stay, if you are not taking a recreational vehicle such as a campervan or RV.
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