A tank full of gas and a tightly packed minivan? Check. Our dog-eared copy of Drive I-95, heavily highlighted? Check. Three excited children — my 11-year-old son, my 5-year-old daughter, and my 4-year-old grandson? Check, check, and check.

With all systems “go,” we took off on a thousand mile trek down the East Coast, starting in New Jersey and ending in Florida. Our destination was Disney World, but as Harry Chapin once wrote, “It’s got to be the going, not the getting there, that’s good.” With that in mind, we hoped to make the 16 plus hours of road time as exciting as a spin on Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Orbiter.

Well, okay, maybe that’s too ambitious. But we did want to make things as comfortable, enjoyable, and painless as possible. And if we could make it a bit fun, so much the better.

When the alarm went off at 4 (yes, we’re talking 4 a.m.), I was bleary eyed but excited. My husband, Scott, and I quickly made coffee, finished packing the van, and roused the kids to put them — jammies and all — into their car seats.

Road Trip Success Tip #1

Do as much of the drive as possible while the kids are still sleeping. We planned to pull out of the driveway by 4:30 a.m., and with any luck it would be five hours later before the kids woke up and needed breakfast and bathroom breaks. By that time, we’d be almost a third of the way through the trip without a single, “Are we there yet?”

I always enjoy driving, and I was looking forward to taking my turn behind the wheel. We had loaded all the iPods with personal favorites, selected a variety of books on tape, and picked out appropriate videos to pop in when boredom levels rose.

Tip #2

Take advantage of technology. I remember endless road trips with my siblings, crammed in the back of my mom’s old station wagon, entertaining each other with made up verses to “Kumbaya.” But if you want to arrive at your destination without a pounding headache from one too many rounds of “A Thousand Bottles of Beer on the Wall,” plug in whenever you can. Walkmen, iPods, portable DVDs, and in-car video units can be lifesavers on a long journey.

Of course, the best made plans often go awry. We had just crossed the Delaware line when my grandson Bryan needed a potty break a mere half hour from home, but we had to remember...

Tip #3

Respect all your passengers. We wanted to make the best time down the highway, but when Bryan needed a pit stop (or when Libby complained about car sickness on the drive back), we had to listen to the request. Doing so makes for a much more pleasant trip for all involved, believe me.

After the unexpected stop in Delaware, it was pretty smooth sailing through Maryland. We hit the DC area just about rush hour, and ended up eating breakfast in Virginia.

Tip #4

Choose a real restaurant, one where someone will wait on you and clear your place, not a fast food joint. Let the grandchildren have a real meal, complete with dessert if requested. Let them know when the next food stop will be, so they know to clean their plates and fill up while they have a chance. (Of course, there’s also an addendum to the food tip: stock a cooler with kid-friendly snacks, fruit, sandwiches, and juice boxes for in-between stop noshing. This will save time and money.)

We made great time through the Carolinas, playing I-Spy with the South of the Border signs and taking full advantage of the increased speed limit. We played a few guessing games as well, but because two of the kids were preschoolers, we didn’t do any of the “spot the license plates” or “find something that begins with a T” games. We made up Disney games, like “What ride do you want to get on first?” and “Whose autograph is the one you want the most?” These allowed us to pass the time while getting an idea of “must-dos” on our itinerary once we arrived.

We planned to drive non-stop, and we succeeded in doing that on the way down, arriving at our rented villa 17 hours after we left home. Once we passed the Florida border, the group voted to bypass a dinner stop to go straight through. Again, the key is respecting the passengers’ wishes. We did grab some snack food at the last fuel stop to tide us over. Just remember, keeping up everyone’s spirits is more important than making the drive in record time.

Which brings me to the ride home. We planned to do it just the same way — one fell swoop, plenty of snacks and videos and rest stops along the way. But I came down with a sinus infection while in Florida, and there was no way I was going to face that 4 a.m. alarm.

So we changed our plans and ended up eating brunch in Downtown Disney and staying in the Sunshine State until after noon. Then Libby’s aforementioned car sickness kicked in, and coupled with my inability to drive a whole shift, we had to stop at a hotel in North Carolina for the night. No failure in that, just remember to expect the unexpected.

Tip #5

Roll with the punches. After all, the goal of the road trip is to enjoy the scenery and each other, so don’t let your agenda (or a traffic jam) stand in your way. Sometimes the “road trip disasters” are the very things the grandchildren recall when they look back on the trip — and it’s all good then.