Driving to Florida from Wisconsin, Where to stop?

[8bitclassics]

I am driving with the family over Thanksgiving from Wisconsin down to Florida. I know it is hard to say which route, but wondering if any good places to stop at that has classics at least in the Tampa Bay / Orlando area? Will be heading down on the west side of Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, etc. Should be an interesting drive to say the least with a 6 year old and 4 year old. Just picked up a dual-screen portable DVD player that comes with a 25 game joystick. Will probably take couple of the Namco PnP sticks for them to play also. Wish the FB2 ran off of batteries.

 

Corey

[maibock]

Being one that's become quite the veteran of family long trips(yikes been at it for 15 years!) I feel for ya, man..

 

Here's an idea you might enjoy and could help with bringing along the FB2.. I couldn't find it on Radio Shack's webpage, but it's an adapter that you plug into the car's lighter power outlet and then the opposite end has a reguler house 3 pronged outlet. It's awesome for car trips since it's strong enough to power a Nomad, laptop and a small TV or anything else with not a lot of wattage(haven't tried the FB2 yet, maybe this winter). I think it was around $50, well worth the money to keep the kids at bay on long trips.

[+remowilliams]

12V voltage inverter a definite must have for powering the toys so you can get some relative "peace"

 

That or load the stasis chamber on to the roof

[carpecarne]

Funny, I'm moving to Madison in a couple of days. Are you from around there? If so, what do you think of it? I've never been so it's going to be quite the adventure.

[SteveW]

Too bad you have to haul a family across the country... If it were just yourself, you could use Google Maps and plot out all sorts of great places to stop along the way. It would be kind of difficult to deal with children while stopping over and over at flea markets and videogame stores here and there. When I get the chance to go down to visit my sister's family, I find all the flea markets and thrift stores along my route. I can also find any restaurants along the route that have free Wi-Fi, so I can websurf while I eat. I don't know how I planned long drives without Google Maps.

[8bitclassics]

Funny, I'm moving to Madison in a couple of days. Are you from around there? If so, what do you think of it? I've never been so it's going to be quite the adventure.

960383[/snapback]

Wife and her family are from Madison. I live about 1 1/2 hours southwest of Madison. Very nice town. Lot of thrifts, but very expensive usually. And lots to do, especially if you are a Badgers fan The whole town is pretty much red for the Badgers. It does have a few video game stores like Pre-Played on both the west and east of Madison. Another that escapes me right now, but has more classics (but more expensive) which the one on the east site is next to Target in a strip mall, and the west side store is near the West Towne mall behind the ShopKo store in a strip mall.

 

Moving to Madison for a job? Where from?

 

Corey

[8bitclassics]

Being one that's become quite the veteran of family long trips(yikes been at it for 15 years!) I feel for ya, man..

 

Here's an idea you might enjoy and could help with bringing along the FB2.. I couldn't find it on Radio Shack's webpage, but it's an adapter that you plug into the car's lighter power outlet and then the opposite end has a reguler house 3 pronged outlet. It's awesome for car trips since it's strong enough to power a Nomad, laptop and a small TV or anything else with not a lot of wattage(haven't tried the FB2 yet, maybe this winter). I think it was around $50, well worth the money to keep the kids at bay on long trips.

960264[/snapback]

 

Saw one at Wal-Mart for $17, didn't pick it up, but maybe I will. Need something for my laptop also when the wife is driving.

 

Corey

[8bitclassics]

Too bad you have to haul a family across the country... If it were just yourself, you could use Google Maps and plot out all sorts of great places to stop along the way. It would be kind of difficult to deal with children while stopping over and over at flea markets and videogame stores here and there. When I get the chance to go down to visit my sister's family, I find all the flea markets and thrift stores along my route. I can also find any restaurants along the route that have free Wi-Fi, so I can websurf while I eat. I don't know how I planned long drives without Google Maps.

960504[/snapback]

Well kind of have to take them on a family trip. Cool thing is they mostly enjoy stopping at thrifts now if they have money to spend Kids like finding cheap toys. But won't be able to stop at many. Probably just follow the route and if I see anything, will stop for a "bathroom break". I know in the Tampa area, there is a few flea markets, so maybe I will find some items there.

 

Corey

[8bitclassics]

Forgot to mention, wife is allowing me to get a Xbox 360. Hopefully my SUV will have enough power to handle it Saw the demo to Condemned which should be out on day 1, looks good! Sucks I will only have it for a day and half before I start driving for two days.

 

Corey

[carpecarne]

Wife and her family are from Madison.  I live about 1 1/2 hours southwest of Madison.  Very nice town.  Lot of thrifts, but very expensive usually.  And lots to do, especially if you are a Badgers fan   The whole town is pretty much red for the Badgers.  It does have a few video game stores like Pre-Played on both the west and east of Madison.  Another that escapes me right now, but has more classics (but more expensive) which the one on the east site is next to Target in a strip mall, and the west side store is near the West Towne mall behind the ShopKo store in a strip mall.

 

Moving to Madison for a job?  Where from?

 

Corey

960575[/snapback]

 

 

Awesome! Thanks for the store locations! I will try to check it out.

 

I'm moving to Madison for a change of pace while I wait for a job here in Ohio to open. I have some friends in Madison who need a roommate and I thought, "Hey! Let's leave Ohio for a couple of months!"

 

So yeah. In a nutshell: a totally random decision with barely any logic. :-)

 

Oh and I've heard of those Badger fans... Then again, my brother is a Buckeye FANATIC. He goes tailgating every saturday and his house is littered with memorabilia and other OSU crap. In a way, I'm kinda used to it.