Calling all travelers - need advice!

Good morning, fellow travelers.  I'm sure at some point in your lives, you've been on a long car trip, whether it was that two hours as a kid to Grandma's house, which seemed to take forever or a really looooong cross country trip, like the one we're planning. 

Let's do the math: 3600 miles, even at an optimistic 60 miles an hour translates to a minimum of 60 hours in the car. Assuming we split the driving evenly (which we better not!),  that would be 20 hours driving and 40 hours as the happy passenger.  That's a full week of work. (Yes, I do remember how long a work week was)

As a kid traveling from Schenectady to Point Pleasant Beach for the summer or through New England on a Labor Day trip, we had lots of diversions. On the old country roads, there were plenty of opportunities to play "count the cows" and hope you didn't have a cemetery on your side, since you'd have to start over because all your animals were dead. My father was not immune to helping you out by going around the block to be sure the cemetery was on your rivals' side, so that they lost their animals, too. Did he only do that for me? I remember my competitive oldest brother planning weeks ahead the license plate game or roadtrip bingo. Funny thing is he always had the rules in his favor, assuring you would get stuck with Sinclair gas stations, while he got the more prevalent Shell or Esso.

For my own kids the trip to Grandma's was filled with Bon Jovi and Anne Murray tapes. We alternated between "Shot through the Heart" and "Apples and Baninis".  I want to eat, eat, eat apples and baninis...I want to oat, oat,oat apples and banonis.  Classic tune.  We usually arrived without me having to grit my teeth or turn around and swat at the restless legs in the back seat. Food helped, too.

When Gary and I traveled XC to South Dakota in 1980 in our un-airconditioned gray Toyota Corolla station wagon, we relied on old copies of the New York Times Sunday crossword.  We'd yell clues and answers to each other over the roar of the wind and the thrum of passing 18 wheelers.  Yes, we were a little nerdish.

So, we're looking for suggestions from everyone. We're assembling our music selections, gathering the NYT crosswords and have some books on tape.  Eric is thrilled that the Camry still has a tape deck, so Anne Murray may live again.  Let us know your ingenious ideas for passing the time.  There is a limit to how long you can gaze at  blueberry fields in Michigan or prairies in North Dakota without losing your inner zen!

Genesis - the beginning

Not exactly a Biblical story, but an epic trip in the making nonetheless.
Eric:    Mom, what do you think about helping me drive cross country this summer?

Mom:  You do realize that I have to take a power nap when I drive from our house to the shore (75 minute ride)

Eric:    Maybe Scott could come too?

Brothers Then

Brothers Now

So here's the team in a picture from Beth's wedding.  They look happy here. Will they still be smiling on August 19?