Please find below some tips we live by while on the road...

• Travel routes and accommodations go hand in hand when planning, and good careful choices here can make your life a lot easier. Explore multiple options when researching highways as well as walking routes, then link to where you'll stay. Our choice of accommodation was often just minutes from the interstate, a short cab ride, and central for walking to almost all of our chosen attractions.
• We stayed at Hampton Inns while on the road. We like it because there are no surprises - Except for the pleasant upgrade offered in Savanah! Hamptons include free wifi, parking, full breakfast, and are worth their rates. It'd be our first recommendation.
• We made good use of our Atlanta CityPasses - purchasing them at our first stop and profiting at subsequent visits where lines were avoided.
• Importantly, the visit to Sullivan's Auto to have the car given a checkup. The 2006 Toyota once again performed admirably.
• Call the card company before leaving so they know the card may be used abroad and drop a limit on expenditures in case it gets stolen. Janie called just before we left.
• Beware that many states won't accept a Credit Card at the pumps without a zip code. This is annoying for Canadians. In the New England states, you usually have to go in and purchase at the counter prior to pumping... pain in the butt! We found that once we reached our most Southern Service Stations, they were happy to forego that step - perhaps enamoured with the 'exotic' Canadian visitors? Or maybe just more trustworthy.
• We have a solid Canadian dollar in the markets... around .93 cents. It left gas, food, clothing and accommodation a good deal. We didn't take much cash, we just used the Bank of America Bank Machines which didn't charge us bank fees.
• If you have questions... ask them. We got great information on attractions and even just where to pick up some groceries / bottle of wine.
• Have your ducks in order at the border... you know what they'll ask about and possibly for... be ready and organized. Janie uses a spreadsheet App on her iPhone to tally everything up!!!
• While in the car...
  • We used a combination of GPS, google maps and paper maps. We always knew (roughly) where we were, reducing a lot of road stress. Of course, we found the GPS irreplaceable in the larger metropolitan areas.
  • The kids are awesome travelers. However, it was always important to stop and get out for a bit. We took time to stop and stretch/snack/bathroom/etc. at obvious points to keep the peace.
  • This time through we purchased a LL Bean duffel bag for laundry as it gets dirty in the Toy Yoda! Hope to use it more on upcoming excursions.
  • We tried to keep a cooler at all times filled with water and goodies between the kids, keeping cold a host of healthy treats. Worked well on the longer car trips as well as in the hotel room at night.
  • The i-Pod/i-Pad and accompanying chargers left a means for music, and maps as well as our main communication tool home via face time / e-mail. The Radio Dramas that Janie downloaded this time weren't as big a hit as novels have been on these road trips. The kids took turns DJ'ing to provide spurts of entertainment. We made a rule a long time ago that no one wears headphones in the car. It has enabled us to share more experiences - both the good, and the silly/noisy.