Not sure if this is a question as much as it’s mpsims since it’s about a trip I want to make this summer with my children.
I need to find a way to figure out what is exactly halfway between Davenport Ia and Lake City Fl. Cut in half the distance is 545.565 and I can’t figure out where that lands.
My guess is somewhere in Tennesse, but where exactly. I can’t figure out how to get mapquest to pin point the halfway mark and I’m not a member of AAA so I can’t use their triptix thing.
I am driving down some time this summer with my five children in my mini van. No, I am not insane and yes it may end up like National Lampoons Vacation.
And please feel free with things we might want to stop and view along the way since I figure it’s a 16 hour drive but not sure I want to make it in one shot and I figure half way down is a good place to stop. I’m looking at possibly two days down and back and we have at least two weeks of vacation time.
Going on little money too, so big things are out of the question. I want my kids to see neat things for example The biggest ball of twine in Minesota and such. You know, real Americana stuff. 
My oldest daughter turns 18 in August and we’ve never taken a family trip.
I looked on the AAA site, but couldn’t figure out how to get TripTik to show the half-way point.
Google Maps has it at 542 miles from Davenport to Nashville. Pretty close.
If it’s going to be exactly 545.565 miles - no more, no less - you’ll probably have to search with addresses and not just cities.
Well, I just put up what the exact half is. Within a few miles here or there will be peachy.
Nashville, huh? What’s it like around there?
I have never really been out of Iowa. Illinois does not count since it is 15 blocks and a river from my house and around here we don’t really separate the two states. We are the Quad Cities kind of all encompassing.
I’ve been to Minesota once for a week for a death watch for my husbands aunt and Wisconsin at five, and the Carolinas as a three year old so I can’t count those really either.
Thank you for taking the time Foxy. I tried a few different things and couldn’t narrow it down enough to get the direction right. I am not too good with searches and such.
I think I googled 545 miles from Davenport Ia. and it took me in the wrong direction. I suppose I could have put to the south or towards Florida?
I wish I could be more help, but I’ve never spent time in the areas you’ll be driving through.
Maybe some Dopers who live along the Davenport-to-Lake City route will be along with some tips.
It sounds like you’re in for quite an adventure, regardless of the stops along the way! 
We will make a few stops here and there because I think if I don’t let them out of the van once in a while things could get ugly even though for christmas my mother in law got them a portable dvd player and they have a few hand held games.
You know your kids better than I, but I find it best to do the bulk of the road trip on Day One. By Day Two, the natives are REALLY restless, and one hour feels like four. You’re more achey, and less patient, and the car trip games got real boring several hours ago. Plus, it’s nice to have pleasantly surprised kids who say, “that’s all? But yesterday we drove more than THAT!” when you get there early in Day Two. Puts everyone in a more positive mood for your actual destination.
So we drive and drive as much as we can Day One, rather than trying to find a halfway point.
As far as Tennessee goes, my parents took me to Lookout Mountain when I was about 4, and I’ve never forgotten it. I still have dreams where I’m walking in those amazing caves with the gorgeous rock formations, where everything looks wet and glossy but isn’t. It’s 688 miles from Davenport, so about 3 hours past halfway, in a straight line with Davenport and Lake City (at least on Rand McNally’s trip planner), so you wouldn’t have to veer off course much.
That is a very good point WhyNot!
I like the idea of driving most of it on day one then the “short trip” on day two.
My sister suggested I try to drive it all in one shot but I don’t want crabby, tired kids when we get where we are going and I think if you show up in the middle of the night it’s hard to get your bearings about you.
Crabby tired teenagers will be worse than crabby tired 10 and 9.
When we went to Minnesota we arrived at 3am and the rest of the week I was off so to speak. It was a rushed trip because of an impending death.
You should definitely take some time to see the Smoky Mountains around Chattanooga, especially if you’ve never been out of Iowa. Probably wouldn’t want to take a detour so soon after leaving, but if you’ve got time on the way back, consider stopping in St. Louis for good food and to check out the arch and other architecture. Finally, same deal as STL, but if you or your kids are interested in history much, Springfield (which you’ll drive right through) has quite a lot of interesting Abe Lincoln stuff.
Another thing, with kids that age, is that a hotel itself can be a tourist attraction, especially if they have a pool. So you can keep driving until you see a large Holiday Inn or similar and stop wherever you happen to be. (Unless, of course, you’re traveling during a holiday time when rooms might be scarce.) Let them work out their aggression whacking one another with pool noodles while you relax in the hot tub! Better than spending $100 on hotdogs and cotton candy while looking at the World’s Largest Model Hemorrhoid.
(Most hotel pool areas close at 10:00 PM, FYI.)
I think they would like odd attractions as well as history and nature stuffs.
We spend alot of time in a few local parks around here. One called Wildcat Den where you can see the dens and go in them and they have an old mill that still works and we swim in the pond there in our clothes after a nice walk on the trail.
I’m also going to buy lots of the disposable cameras as well as hopefully have replaced my digital camera by then.
My meth-head brother in law stole my camcorder otherwise we’d be taking that too. I suppose I could get one at a pawn shop tho fairly cheap that would work for the trip. Heck might even find mine.
If you’re looking at the Mapquest directions, haul out your pocket calculator. Down the right hand side, to the left of the map links, is the distance for each segment. Just start at the first segment and begin adding, looking at the displayed answer until you get to milage that is just over or just under your target mileage, then simply look on the map to measure forward or back to your target.
(In your case, Nashville, at 568 miles, is just past the mid-point. However, I also agree with the suggestion to push on beyond that point, stopping somewhere near the Smokies, (near Chattanooga or Signal Mountain?), then taking a look around at the scenery the next morning before pushing on for the last, easier, 400 miles…)