traveling to Ohio, where to stop w 9 month old

[Anonymous]

We've made this trip often, but were wondering if there's anywhere that would be a good place to stop with a baby, maybe where we could put a blanket down for him to crawl on.

We're going to Cincinnati first with an overnight stop near Wheeling. After Cincinnati, we're going to near Sandusky Ohio, and then back to DC. So we'll be on the PA turnpike, 70, 75, and the Ohio turnpike.

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Having made the round trip to Cincinnati about 50 times in the last 9 years (my wife sees a specialist in Cincinnati about 4-6 times per year) we've started to collect these locations in the last year (15 mo twins here):

- Breezewood, The Gateway, you can go upstairs and there are some places where you can put a blanket down
- PA Turnpike, North Midway (mile 147, 14 miles West of Breezewood), not so good as it has not been renovated yet
- PA Turnpike, North Somerset (mile 112, 49 miles West of Breezewood), good, this is one of the rest areas that has been renovated. We've taken a table by the windows the furthest you can get from the food court and been able to lay a blanket down, then lay the chairs on their sides and make a little playpen. As long as you aren't traveling on the really busy weekends on say Saturday afternoon, you shouldn't have a problem
- PA Turnpike, New Stanton (mile 77, 2 miles before the exit for New Stanton), good, another renovated rest area, see above
- WV I-70, There is a Welcome Center just over the border of WV that has been newly renovated and has a place where you can get brochures and info about WV. But it's been a long time since we've stopped there, so I don't remember if there is space for a blanket, but you could try it and see.
- St Clairsville, OH. (Ohio I-70 mile marker 218) If you take I-470 to bypass Wheeling, just after you merge back onto I-70, you will cross the border into Ohio. After you come around the bend in the road, the first exit will be for St Clairsville. If you go down the hill, you'll end up at the Ohio Valley Mall. Just inside the Macy's entrance is a food court with a big eating space. You can probably find space there to set up.
- I-70 mile market 131. Both east and west-bound, they have these huge renovated rest areas that have two sets of bathrooms and vending. We've used these rest areas several times for exactly this. We go to the set of bathrooms on the far left side because they seem less crowded. Also, between the men's and women's room, there is a family bathroom. We park right in front of the park bench and we've had snack time here and let them crawl around for about 30 minutes. We just did this the week before Thanksgiving (east bound) and we had snacks there.
- I-71 South (mile market 68). Another one of the huge double rest areas like I-70 West mile marker 131. Perfect. We've also used this one a few times.
- I-71 South (mile marker 65). Tanger Outlet Mall. This mall visible from the highway has an outdoor children's play area and an indoor food court.

[Anonymous]

Not OP, but this is awesome! We make this trip too, and these suggestions are so helpful. Our last trip was a nightmare with two little kids (we were better when it was just one). I would only add that we avoid 270 on the way home if its a holiday weekend and instead go down 80 (?) and catch 66 across, but we live in NoVA. It's a quieter drive and takes about the same amount of time as sitting in traffic on 70/270.

[Anonymous]

Thanks so much!