Interstate 10 — Santa Monica, CA to Jacksonville, FL

Holiday Inn Resort Pensacola Beach

14 Via De Luna Dr, Pensacola Beach, FL 32561 · $$$

If you want to break up the I-10 drive with a beach night, Pensacola Beach has the whitest sand in Florida. The Holiday Inn Resort is right on the beach — your kids walk out the back door and their feet are in the Gulf. It's a splurge compared to the Hampton Inns along the highway, but after two days of driving, the sound of waves and the sight of your kids running into the ocean makes you forget what gasoline costs. You're on vacation. Act like it.

Hampton Inn Beaumont

2160 S 11th St, Beaumont, TX 77701 · $$

Beaumont is the natural overnight if you left San Antonio or Houston in the afternoon. You're at the Louisiana border and tomorrow you've got the long bayou stretch ahead. The Hampton Inn is right off I-10, the pool takes the edge off, and you can eat at one of the surprisingly good Cajun restaurants in town before calling it a night. Don't try to push through to Baton Rouge tonight. You'll thank me.

Comfort Suites Baton Rouge

7959 Essen Park Ave, Baton Rouge, LA 70809 · $$

Baton Rouge is the midpoint between Houston and the Mississippi border, which makes it the logical overnight for the Texas-to-Florida run. The Comfort Suites is right off I-10 with a pool and suites that give the kids their own corner. Tomorrow you've got the long Mississippi-Alabama stretch, so sleep well. Also, LSU is here, so if it's football season, book three months in advance or sleep in the car.

Hampton Inn Mobile I-10 Bellingrath

5765 US-90 W, Mobile, AL 36619 · $$

Mobile, Alabama gets overlooked on the I-10 corridor and it shouldn't. Mardi Gras actually started here — not New Orleans, here — and the city has great food and genuine Southern charm. The Hampton Inn puts you right on I-10 and tomorrow morning you're in Pensacola for lunch. If you're doing the Texas-to-Florida run, Mobile is the right overnight. Better food than the highway hotels in Mississippi and cheaper than anything in Florida.

Comfort Suites Tallahassee

1026 Apalachee Pkwy, Tallahassee, FL 32301 · $$

Tallahassee is the Florida capital, which surprises approximately everyone who assumed it was Miami. If you're on I-10 heading east toward Jacksonville or connecting south to Orlando, Tallahassee is a sensible overnight. It's a college town with decent food and the Comfort Suites is right off the highway. From here you've got about four hours to Orlando via I-75 south. You're in Florida. The hard part is over.

Hampton Inn Jacksonville I-10

1170 Airport Rd, Jacksonville, FL 32218 · $$

Jacksonville is the I-10 to I-95 handoff point and if you're arriving from the Gulf Coast after a long day, this is where you stop. The Hampton Inn near the airport is right at the interchange. Tomorrow morning you head south on I-95 — St. Augustine is an hour south, Daytona is two hours, Orlando is three. You've crossed the entire Gulf Coast. Sleep the sleep of a champion. You earned it.

Gulf Islands National Seashore - Davis Bayou

3500 Park Rd, Ocean Springs, MS 39564 · $

A national seashore with white sand beaches, nature trails, and a campground, ten minutes off I-10 near Ocean Springs. If your family needs to decompress from the car and get sand between their toes before Pensacola, this is the spot. It's quieter than any beach in Florida, the water is warm, and the entrance fee is less than what you spent on gas station snacks an hour ago. Secret weapon stop.

USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park

2703 Battleship Pkwy, Mobile, AL 36601 · $$

A World War II battleship you can walk through, climb on, and pretend to command — plus a submarine right next to it. Your kids will spend two hours running through gun turrets and engine rooms and you will briefly consider whether you were meant for a life at sea. The USS Alabama is right off I-10 in Mobile and it's the single best kid-friendly stop between New Orleans and Pensacola. The submarine is a tight squeeze but your kids will love it. You might get stuck.

Blue Angels Practice - NAS Pensacola

1878 S Blue Angel Pkwy, Pensacola, FL 32507 · $

If your timing works out — and you absolutely should check the schedule before your trip — you can watch the Blue Angels practice for free from the grounds of NAS Pensacola. No tickets needed. Just show up, find a spot, and watch six F/A-18 Super Hornets do things that seem physically impossible while your kids' jaws hit the grass. The National Naval Aviation Museum is here too and it's free. Free museum. Free air show practice. Pensacola doesn't get enough credit.

Wakulla Springs State Park

465 Wakulla Park Dr, Wakulla Springs, FL 32327 · $

Twenty minutes south of Tallahassee, Wakulla Springs is one of the deepest freshwater springs in the world. Take the glass-bottom boat tour and watch manatees, alligators, and turtles cruise beneath you in water so clear it doesn't look real. They filmed Creature from the Black Lagoon here and the old lodge is like stepping into 1937. If your family has been trapped on I-10 for two days, this is the palate cleanser. The swimming area is cold and spectacular.

Florida Caverns State Park

3345 Caverns Rd, Marianna, FL 32446 · $

Florida has caves. I know — I didn't believe it either. Florida Caverns is about fifteen minutes off I-10 near Marianna and the guided cave tour takes you through rooms full of stalactites and stalagmites that have been growing since before your mortgage existed. Your kids will be amazed that caves exist in Florida, which is a flat swamp state that has no business having caves. And yet. Here they are. Cool inside — literally. The cave is 65 degrees year-round.

Infinity Science Center - Pearlington

1 Discovery Cir, Pearlington, MS 39572 · $$

NASA's Stennis Space Center visitor center is right off I-10 at the Mississippi-Louisiana border. They test the rocket engines here that power the Space Launch System — the rocket built to take humans back to the Moon and on to Mars. The museum has simulators, real rocket engines, and a bus tour of the test facility. Your kids will hear a rocket engine test if the timing is right, and the sound alone will justify the stop. Way less crowded than Kennedy Space Center.

Buc-ee's - Katy

27700 Katy Fwy, Katy, TX 77494 · $

The original Buc-ee's mothership. If you're starting your Florida road trip from Houston or San Antonio, this is where the pilgrimage begins. Sixty-eight thousand square feet of jerky, fudge, beaver nuggets, and the cleanest restrooms in the Western Hemisphere. Your Texas kids already know what Buc-ee's is. Your out-of-state kids are about to have a spiritual experience. Fill the cooler. Fill the tank. Fill the children. Let's ride.

Whataburger - Beaumont

4150 N Dowlen Rd, Beaumont, TX 77706 · $

Whataburger is Texas's answer to every other fast food burger chain and the answer is 'sit down, we're not finished.' The honey butter chicken biscuit at 2am is a life event. Beaumont is the last major city before the Louisiana border, so this is your final Whataburger until the way home. Texas families treat the last Whataburger like a farewell ceremony. It's beautiful and also a little sad.

Waffle House - Gulfport

15101 Crossroads Pkwy, Gulfport, MS 39503 · $

The Mississippi Gulf Coast stretch of I-10 is one of the most underrated drives in the South — beach on one side, bayou on the other. The Waffle House at Gulfport is your pit stop in the middle of it. Yes, another Waffle House. No, I will not apologize. When it's midnight and you pushed too far past Baton Rouge because you thought you could make Pensacola, scattered and smothered is the only thing standing between you and a breakdown.

Buc-ee's - Loxley

20403 County Rd 68, Robertsdale, AL 36567 · $

The Alabama Buc-ee's catches you right before the Florida panhandle, which is exactly when you need it. You've been driving through the Gulf Coast states all day, the snack situation in the back seat has deteriorated, and someone needs a bathroom that isn't a truck stop. This Buc-ee's sits at the crossroads of I-10 and the road down to Gulf Shores. Refuel everything — car, kids, spirit. Pensacola is an hour away.

Sonny's BBQ - Jacksonville

7406 103rd St, Jacksonville, FL 32210 · $

Jacksonville is where I-10 meets I-95, which is the interchange that connects half the road trips in the eastern United States. If you're merging south toward Orlando, grab your last affordable meal at Sonny's before the theme park pricing takes over. Sweet tea, pulled pork, and the kids' meals come with enough food to feed a scout troop. You're about two and a half hours from Disney. This is the final real-world meal.

Boudin King - Jennings

906 W Division St, Jennings, LA 70546 · $

If you drive through Louisiana on I-10 without eating boudin, you have committed a crime against food. Boudin is a Cajun sausage stuffed with pork, rice, and seasoning, and the Boudin King in Jennings is the original. Your kids might look at it sideways. Ignore them. Order two links and a bag of cracklins. This is Louisiana — we don't eat boring food here. Two minutes off I-10.