doesn't sound great to me and i'm the type to do 15 drives, etc.

I agree with someone else to find a cheap flight to some point and then train from there. For example, you can always find cheap flights into Chicago from one of the area airports and then maybe train from there. You'll love yourself for it.

I took my two boys (4 and 17 months at the time) on a train last year. Our trip took 36 hours, and we had a lot of fun! I brought projects to work on for my older son, and toys and snacks for both kids. As long as you expect to play with them, and not do your own reading or resting, I think it can work out well. We slept in coach, since the little guy will sleep anywher, and my older son loves any excuse to sleep with me instead of in his own room.If you decide to do it, good luck and enjoy!

From D.C. to Chicago in a sleeper isn't too bad with books and a video player. Not sure about 42 hours. My kids loved it when they were young like yours. Now, the response from my kids is along the lines of are you nuts?

Yes, I think it's crazy. If you really can't afford to fly then I wouldn't go.

Fly!

CRAZY

Anonymous wrote:I've done long hauls in the air (30 hours) with a young toddler, so I'm not completely freaked out by the idea of something like this. But it will be pretty hard. What will you do in Chicago? Can you leave your luggage somewhere and run the kids around until they are completely exhausted?

Another alternative which I'd look into--what is your cheapest fly/train combo? Fly a discount airline like SW to as close to your destination as you can manage (Denver???), then get on the train. If you can afford to spend 4 days in travel, sounds like your dates are pretty flexible.

I just did a similar long-haul flight with my under-2-year-old and I think 42 hours is just crazy.

OP, $550 is not worth it -- just take a flight!

No way!

Yes, you are crazy. For 12-15 hours I'd say yes, but that is too long. Fly!

I've done long hauls in the air (30 hours) with a young toddler, so I'm not completely freaked out by the idea of something like this. But it will be pretty hard. What will you do in Chicago? Can you leave your luggage somewhere and run the kids around until they are completely exhausted?

Another alternative which I'd look into--what is your cheapest fly/train combo? Fly a discount airline like SW to as close to your destination as you can manage (Denver???), then get on the train. If you can afford to spend 4 days in travel, sounds like your dates are pretty flexible.

I would kill myself on a 42-hr train ride, unless I was locked in a sleeper with a pile of booze and 2 strippers. Doing that with kids? The short answer: YES! CRAZY

We've done that trip to Chicago without a sleeper. The last time we did it, the kids were 7, 5 and 2 and I was by myself with them. The trip to Chicago was actually pretty fun. As you know, the train leaves in the late afternoon and the scenery is very pretty. Around 6:30 we had dinner and then I dressed the kids into their pajamas. We read books and by 8 pm, I told them it was bedtime. We had brought blankets and a pillow for each of the kids and my idea was that they were going to sleep in their seats. this didn't happen. Instead, the oldest child made a sort of bed on the floor under the middle child's feet. The youngest slept on the floor curled up under my feet. We washed all blankets and pillows as soon as we got to our destination! Anyway, the kids all slept well and woke up around six. We got breakfast and ate in the observation car, watched a movie on my laptop and were in Chicago.

The train ride home is kind of lousy because the train leaves Chicago later in the evening, the kids were wired and didn't want to go to bed right away. They still woke at 6 am and I had another 6 hours or so to entertain them before getting into DC.

Lots of benydryl !

I took my five year old on an overnight ferry (2 nights/one full day) last summer and it was challenging. The ship was certainly bigger than a train (in terms of running around) and we had a small cabin, but it was a lot of work and she watched far more DVDs than I would have liked. That said, she has great memories of the trip and wants to do it again ... your kids might have a blast even if you will swear never again.