Trip Motivation
In June 2019, we drove to Omaha, NE to watch the Vandy Boys baseball team in the College championships: The College World Series. We went for the round of 8 and loved cheering on the team and briefly exploring some of the sights of the city. The Vandy baseball team is usually a strong contender. Next year, we may book some refundable Southwest tickets to fly and save us from the long drive.
Part 1: Nashville, TN to Kansas City, MO (8.5 hours plus stops)
We broke up the drive there into several parts. For more on how we handle long road trips with kids, read more here. We left our house at noon and drove through St. Louis and across Missouri to spend the night at a hotel in Kansas City. We stopped every 2-3 hours with a brief dinner stop at Taco Bell. We arrived at our hotel at 9:30 pm which was an inexpensive Best Western near the highway we found using Hotwire.
Part 2: Kansas City, MO to Omaha, NE (3 hours plus stops)
The next morning, we spent some time at a playground and visited with some friends who live in Kansas City. We had a great lunch at Jack Stack Barbecue before our 3-hour drive to Omaha.
Part 3: Omaha, NE to St Louis, MO (6.5 hours plus stops)
Two days later on the way back, we broke up the drive by driving from Omaha, NE to St Louis first and completing our drive from St. Louis to Nashville, TN the next morning. We made several stops along the way, including a playground near St Joseph, MO and several Love’s Travel Stops. Love’s is our favorite gas station stop – they have clean bathrooms and good food and snack options. In St. Louis, we stayed at a La Quinta Inn near the highway because it was pet friendly. We have visited St. Louis since and would probably stay at Hyatt if we were passing through town again.
Part 4: St Louis, MO to Nashville, TN (5 hours plus stops)
If we were doing this drive now, we probably wouldn’t be able to stretch the days and would have to suffer and push through the whole 11+ hour drive in a day. But back when we had vacation days to spare, we stretched out the long drive by adding in fun stops. On this trip, we ate a leisurely hotel breakfast and made a long stop at IKEA in the morning before taking our time driving home with a playground and lunch stop at Chik-Fil-A and other quick gas station stops.
Driving Recap
We spent a lot of time driving on this trip. On Friday, we left Nashville at 9 am and drove 10 hours to Kansas City, MO On Saturday, after visiting with friends, we finished our drive with an additional 3 hours of driving. After spending the weekend in Omaha to watch some baseball and explore some sights, we left Monday morning and drove 7 hours to St Louis, MO and finished our 6 hour drive home on Tuesday. Overall, we spent 24 hours driving over the week.
Alternative: Flying?
Because Southwest airlines is refundable and we often have points or companion passes, an alternative option in the future may be to fly. There is a one-stop flight through Chicago that takes 4 hours and costs $100 each way. We would need to book it speculatively as soon as the calendar opens. We won’t know until the week before whether our baseball team will be playing or not. We would need to account for the costs of the flight and car rental, but it may be a way better option due to time constraints and not having to pay for multiple hotel nights on the way there and back.
Activities in Omaha, NE
Read our post here on fun activities in Omaha, NE
