First Family Road Trip: NJ to Oklahoma
A family road trip across seven states with a 10-month-old, 4-year-old and 5-year-old might not sound like the picture perfect idea of a fun time but I am so happy we did it. It ended up being the perfect last big getaway of the summer and so much fun exploring random places in new states.
A total of five days was what we had from the moment we decided to give it a go until we were on the road! I’m not going to lie, two nights before I barely slept because I started stressing out thinking maybe we were crazy for thinking the kids were ready for such a long road trip. Honestly though, they surprised even us with how smooth and fun it all turned out.
ROAD TRIP ITINERARY
Remember that this was our first family road trip, with us being the parents, so the night before we thought we would be able to come up with an itinerary for the road with the big stops we would make on our way to Oklahoma. Definitely not! Across seven states, 21-hours driving distance, with three little ones, there were too many variants for us to plan it all out so we settled on a first stop in Pennsylvania and figuring out the next stop from there. This is how it went for us:
PENNSYLVANIA
What we did: Come on, we are the OG Sweatbox Fam so checking out the Rocky Steps and Statue was an easy pick. Also a way to fulfill one of hubby’s childhood dreams, to run up the Rocky Steps. Like good tourists we snapped a family photo with the Rocky Statue before literally running up the steps into the Philadelphia Museum Of Art. There was so much to see but you already know, kids and museums can be tricky so we picked two areas to see: Arms & Armor (they thought everything was so cool! It really was) and Asian Art. We also took the kids down to an art class where for about 20 minutes they created a family portrait.
Where we ate: Cosmic Café which is a cute little family owned spot which emphasizes on organic ingredients for their simple but tasty menu. Try the BLT and the grilled cheese that Achilles had was probably the best grilled cheese I have ever tasted.
OHIO
What we did: Elephants, giraffes and sharks and we were sold on Columbus Zoo & Aquarium. It is huge with so much to do that we did two days of the zoo (the second day was on our way back from Oklahoma). The camel ride and giraffe feeding were my favorites! I am still in awe with how even more beautiful and elegant giraffes are in person. Like, wow! We also got to pet stingrays which I was not expecting. Walked through an underground tunnel where sea lions swam all around and over us. The kids even jumped on a boat for a cool dinosaur ride down the river.
ILLINOIS
What we saw: Driving by, we got to see the Cross At The Crossroads which is the second largest cross in America.
MISSOURI
What we saw: In Cuba, Missouri we decided to stop for Pizza Hut which hubby and I hadn’t had since we were probably teens. Luckily for us it was a corner away from the Osage Trail Legacy which is the only known monument to Osage Indians. We may have broken the law a bit to snap the picture below because it was technically closed but we just had to.
Before that, also driving by, we got to see the Gateway Arch which is the largest arch in the world and pretty cool seeing it from close up like that.
OKLAHOMA
Where we stayed: Holiday Inn Tulsa City Center. Breakfast included, we booked a suite which was just perfect for the whole family. Lunch at their restaurant was really good and affordable. And the drinks were so inexpensive in all of Oklahoma! Coming from New York where drinks can easily be $20 plus, $5 drinks felt like Happy Hour all day.
What we did: Gathering Place is a must-go in Tulsa! Named the best city park of 2021 by USA Today, there is so much to do for the whole family and it left hubby and I asking where were parks like this when we were kids! Don’t feel bad though, we had a blast and even got to do their zipline.
We were about 10 minutes, walking distance, from the famous Blue Dome District in downtown Tulsa. There you can see the Blue Dome which was Tulsa’s first 24-hour gas station, go bowling at the retro-inspired Dust Bowl, buy some goodies to take back home at Boomtown Tee’s, enjoy Italy-style pizza at Andolini’s Sliced and enjoy coffee at Topeca Coffee with café from El Salvador.
Candy Castle is a cute retro candy and soda shoppe. So many fun treats and some crazy ones like tasty crickets and pickle flavored cotton candy which I don’t think I would be daring enough to taste. Their ice-cream sundae, on the other hand, was heavenly!
Where we ate: Check out Knotty Pigs and try out one of their specialty burgers. With menu names along the line of The Widow Maker and The Snake Charmer, I had the Mac Daddy: 1/3lb. cheeseburger topped with homemade Mac N’ Cheese and shredded American cheese. Hubby went with the hog father: 1/3 lb. patty topped with pulled pork, bacon, ham and a hot link with melted cheddar.
MISSOURI
What we did: We took advantage of all of us needing to get some exercise in between the long hours of driving and went on Ha Ha Tonka State Park’s kid-friendly trail up to the Castle and it’s gorgeous view out into the lake.
Where we ate: Sonic! Neither Argenis or I had ever been to Sonic Drive-In so that was fun to check out. The burger and the tots get all the thumbs up. Eating in the car was fun for about five minutes until we saw they had picnic tables and took our lunch outside.
ILLINOIS
What we did: Big Things Small Town in Casey, Illinois has all the small town charm with supersized roadside attractions to make it a great road trip stop, especially with kids.
Where we ate: Whitling Whimsy Café - cute little sandwich shop with so much personality where the decor is all W themed. I had a classic BLT and soup of the day: chicken cheddar. Everything was delish!
OKLAHOMA
What we did: Columbus Zoo was so great we decided to make a day out of it on our way back as well! See above.
We’re no road trip experts but we do enjoy traveling with the kids and I am so happy we dove into this adventure with them! If you’re thinking of doing a family road trip, I’m here to say GO FOR IT!
You may also enjoy: Tips For Traveling With Kids And Baby and Couples Only Getaway In Jamaica.
