Advice for a cross country trip

I learned a long time ago to start my vacation the moment I leave my driveway, so relax and enjoy the drive!! Our very first trip we planned each stop from the get go, but had to make changes immediately because a fierce storm flooded our first campground. Since then we have an idea of where we are going, and after noon DW begins searching with her Ipad for campgrounds that will be close to where we will be by 4:00pm, in order to stop early enough to enjoy the evening. Though I would have already checked what our options were all along the way prior to shoving off. We had one scare this past year in Canada when we made an impromptu jaunt through the land to the north, and didn't realize we would be traveling through wilderness with no gas stations for a long time. We had to make a long detour to find gas, and it was a learning experience to make sure to review the direction we are going and what kind of facilities are in the areas we are traveling!