AboutSuzan Jackson Expertise I am a writer specializing in topics related to family, especially enjoying travel and the outdoors with children. My husband and I have traveled extensively with our own 2 sons - now ages 10 and 14 - since they were infants. I can advise on travel by air or car and on a variety of destinations across the US. We also enjoy many outdoor activities with our sons. For more information, see my websites: www.travelfamily.net and www.outdoorfamily.net.
Experience Traveling with my own 2 boys since they were infants, by air and car, to a wide variety of destinations, both urban and outdoor. Writing about travel with children.
Publications FAMILY FUN magazine
See my website www.travelfamily.net for articles and tips on traveling with kids.
Question I am planning a 12 hour + trip. I currently have a 2 year old and a 4 year old. We managed the trip last time by driving several hours and then trying to find parks or other outdoor places to run and play so we could burn some energy before the next phase of the trip. What I am most interested in finding is a way to find the indoor play structures along the way. I know of several of these places near my home, so they must be all around the country, but they don't seem to be on a catalog anywhere. We found one near Cleveland, and it was great for the kids to climb on for an hour or so and then we could continue driving. I can find large amusement parks, but I have been spending a lot of time searching for mall playgrounds and other smaller areas, where preschoolers can play for an hour without spending a fortune.
Thanks for any ideas.
Sally
p.s. My husband strongly dislikes McDonalds, so that is a very last resort.
Answer Dear Sally -
I laughed at your p.s. because that was going to be one of my suggestions! We take long road trips with our two boys every summer, and when they were the ages of your kids (they're now 10 & 13), McDonald's playland was the highlight of the trip!
I think, based on what I've seen here on the East Coast, that many of the chains of indoor play areas have gone out of business and the ones that remain are often locally owned, rather than chains...which makes them harder to find. One exception is Chuck E. Cheese - though I feel the same way about Chuck E. Cheese that your husband feels about McDonald's! But that's my own bias. To find a Chuck E. Cheese near where you're traveling, use the location finder at their website:
You didn't mention where you live or where you're traveling, so I can't help with specific places, but you can easily find some yourself. Just go to a search engine, like Yahoo or Google or whatever is your favorite, and type in: indoor play and whatever location you like, like a city or state name. For instance, here are listings I found for Washington, DC, and Pittsburgh:
Finally, if you'd like to read more about my advice on enjoying road trips with kids, visit my website. I've just recently put together the travel section, so the navigation isn't finished yet, but you can get to the road trip article this way:
www.suzanjackson.com
Click on Travel
Click on Travel Tips
Click on Road Trips with Kids
