Driving from Dallas...

[gorebunch]

My family is driving from the Dallas Metroplex this coming Saturday morning for Orlando. This will be our first trip driving so I was wondering if anyone had any fun stops along the way. We are staying overnight on our way down so our trip will be split up a little bit. It will be myself, my wife, and our 3 kids (10 year old son, and 7 year old twin daughters).

Thanks!

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Maybe you could stop at the beach somewhere, I'm assuming you'll be driving through the panhandle of Florida.

 

[Demeter Tess]

Destin is gorgeous, but that's if you have a good bit of time to kill on the beach.

 

[JohnD]

Not sure how leisurely your drive is. The closest that I-10 comes to the Gulf in Florida is Pensacola. You could take a side trip to Pensacola Beach. Maybe even double-back to the Fla-AL state line and visit the FloraBama bar. There's also the Pensacola Air Museum which is pretty cool. But the previous commenter is correct: Destin is beautiful but farther from I-10. Otherwise, I-10 is pretty boring. (The drive along US-98, 30A along the coast between Pensacola and St. Mark's is really picturesque but you need plenty of time for that.)

 

[ninjaprincesst]

Having driven from Fort Worth many times, i hate to inform you the drived is boring. For most of the trip you have solid trees on both sides of the road. You would have to go a pretty long way off your route to get to a beach or anything exciting

 

[gorebunch]

Thanks everyone. I was afraid that there wasn't much to see. We are actually going to be in Orlando for a week and then be at Orange Beach, AL for the next week so we are already doing the beach thing.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

I'm guessing you pick up I-10 around Lafayette, LA- right? Sorry, only have driven from Houston. In any event- there are a few things along the way to consider. There's a tourist trap gas station right before you hit Baton Rouge that has a live tiger...town is Grosse Tete...it's just at the end of the Atchafalaya. The USS Alabama on the edge of Mobile Bay could also be interesting. As you enter the Pensacola area- you'll see lots of Blue Angels stuff- i.e. on the overpasses and at the rest stop on the Westbound side. The National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola also gets rave reviews. If you have some extra time in Louisiana, there's even the option of stopping for a swamp boat tour. And once in FL and you have made that turn onto I-75...there's always a number of options...like visiting the gators in Lake Alice at University of FL, the various natural springs in that area (neat for swimming and much different than a beach experience), there's Silver Springs- but that's really an all day kind of thing, and even the Citrus Tower once you get off 75 onto the Turnpike. I'd suggest Biloxi, but it's just not as much fun with the kids since casino rules are pretty strict. We've stopped for the night there, but I've usually wound up in the room watching the kiddos while DH plays blackjack.

In any event- maybe this helps.