How to survive Driving 17 hours with a one year old

We drove down to the Gulf Shores of Alabama a few days ago.  Before we left, we debated how best to do the trip.. do we drive over night and try to go straight through? Do we split it up, and stay somewhere half way? Or do we take 3 days to drive down, and maybe add a little sightseeing along the way? 

We decided to split the drive and stay near Memphis, TN.  The day before we left, I had a moment of panic. Are we crazy? Are we really going to drive for 17 hours, over 2 days with a ONE YEAR OLD??

Well, we did, and we survived, and I'm now going to enlighten you on how we did it. 

1. Snacks. And then more snacks. Cheerios, puffs, yogurt melts, banana muffins, crackers, ritz crackers, fruit, gas station food, so many snacks I don't have space to name all of them. And there are crumbs in the car seat to prove it.

2. Elmo on repeat on a portable DVD player.  One, Two, Three... Four, Five, Six.. That's how the numbers go... Seven Eight Nine, Ten Eleven Twelve, That's all you need to know. I now sing ALL of the Elmo songs in my sleep.  

3. Pajamas all day. The first day he wore a one piece outfit with booties, and that was a pain in the butt every time I had to change him in the gas station bathroom. So from now on.. pajamas it is. Plus, I know his toes will be covered.

4. A seat next to them. I'm so glad we took the truck, there is much more room for me to climb to the back to entertain the little guy. The last half hour of the trip got a little sketchy, but we made it! 

Not pictured: favorite books and toys... right now, anything that has wheels or is about animals.  

Who has survived long car rides with kids? Anything I missed?