Roadtrip

We just took a road trip with a 4 year old and 21 month old. The DVD was a life saver. We brought along the Nintendo DS for the 4 year old. He usually only gets to play for 20-30 minutes but I let him play longer in the car and it kept him occupied. For the youngest one I bought a few new cars and a new book for him and when he got fussy I pulled out a new toy. Like someone else said we drove through all naps and when we stopped for anything, even gas, we let them get out and walk through the store for a little bit. I brought lots of snacks with us (more than I thought I'd need). Good luck and have fun!

Here are some tips on things to keep her occupied.
http://www.bigbluetrunk.com/ourcorner/600

I agree with most of what's been said--when my oldest was 22mos we drove from Little Rock to Phoenix. We stopped every couple of hours if she was awake, and drove through any and all naps we could. I would look up places along the way that have play places or parks/playgrounds on your route to get some exercise and excess energy out. We made a "treasure box" of toys she hadn't played with in a while, and a bunch of new cheap stuff from Big Lots and the Dollar Tree and let her pick one thing an hour or so when she was awake...it really helped. We played "I Spy", we counted different colored cars on the interstate, and learned a bunch of silly songs (there's a CD at walmart called silly songs and there are like 50-100 of them depending on which set you buy). we took the lovey, the blanket she slept with, and a couple of her favorite sippy cups and drinks she loved (pink lemonade, apple juice and capri suns) as well as snacks she loved in a "snack trap" container (honey nut cheerios in one, rainbow goldfish in another, and yogurt covered raisins in one).

I agree with everyone else that mentioned leaving around a nap time.
We travel a good bit with our 2 1/2 y/o on trips that are between 5-6 hours long. Several days to a week before hitting the road we pack her "box of fun" (a rubbermaid tub) with a few new toys/stickers/books/etc she doesn't see until along the way and she gets to help me pack some of the books and toys she would like to have along the way. We put the box of fun out of sight and don't play with that stuff until we are in the car. Our family doesn't watch much tv so we don't take a DVD player with us but might for such a long trip in case the toys all other stuff gets boring to the child. The Leapfrog Tag Jr reader is a great occupier, we sing kids songs along with the ipod/cds, and play I Spy for most of the waking hours of travel. When we stop we make sure it is somewhere she can get really move around and also eat so Cracker Barrel is a favorite now b/c of the outside rockers and checkers, and inside has the toys and restaurant. Yesterday we were traveling and prepared a picnic for one of our stops and our daughter loved it. Have fun!

Not sure if you have an iphone but they have alot of great applications for toddlers. I travel alot and always pack a lot of snacks, music cd's, coloring and sticker books, finger puppets, books, and a new toy. I always save the new toy for the trip. My rule is I let her entertain herself as long as she can before I begin giving her things to do. When I am done with the coloring, puppets, and snacks then I start the videos. But I usually don't have to start the videos for a few hours or sometimes after a nap! Good luck!

We often take road trips and one thing that we have done is leave around afternoon nap time, that way you get a nap and then stop at a local park to get some of the extra excitement out. Then head back out. We try to plan our driving around nap and night time.
I have found that the Dollar tree has a lot of fun things (cheap) that keep my boys entertained... glow in the dark bracelets, dinosaurs, and crayons and coloring books. I also purchased one of those lap desks from Walmart (the ones that have sides, hard plastic) fits perfectly over the car seat and allows a hard surface to color on.
Happy traveling!

Bring a light stick and the toddlers fav. stuffed toy

For long trips, I wrap up a bunch of little things, and every hour or two (depending on how many things I have, how long the trip is), the kids get to open them up. Gifts can include a coloring book/crayons, silly putty, pipe cleaners (which they love), a new little book, a snack of some sort, a toy, etc. I don't buy anything fancy; I usually shop at the dollar store or the dollar spot at Target. My kids get SOOO excited.