As I mentioned a little while ago, my husband and I planned a trip to visit his family in Houston by car, so we could bring Kaylee along with us and hopefully spend a bit less on transportation and boarding. We live in Blacksburg, VA so flying requires at least one layover plus 3 hrs by car for a one-way trip and would likely take a full day anyways. Needless to say the layover and winter temperatures would preclude Kaylee from joining us on a trip by air anyways. So on the road it was!

We followed your advise. We had all her vaccination vet records and a few printed lost posters in tow. Fortunately, neither of these were ever needed. Also, her travel crate that could fit in my civic, multiple bedding blankets, her own peanut butter, toys, chews, etc. She kept her snap collar with ID tags on at all times, in case the worst happened. For walks we used a halter and leash. That was if the leash/halter broke, she might not be able to get away and she would have her name/phone/microchip ID # on her still.

Because we wanted to travel 3+ hrs at a time without stopping we gave her a water dispenser on her crate. She took advantage of the thing during the trip, but with all the bumps, water was everywhere in her crate. This therefore required that we switch her blankets at every stop and air dry them overnight for the next day. There were also times when water fell on her face, which makes it an item I would never use on a shorter trip. 

We stayed in Tuscaloosa, AL and Meridian, MS on the way down and back up respectively. I wanted to recommend the Best Western Park Plaza Inn in Tuscaloosa and the Drury Inn & Suites in Meridian for any traveling through. The rooms were <$100 with minimal or no pet fee/deposit. Staff at both were really nice to us and we didn't have too much of an issue playing a bit of ball with Kaylee in the room itself at night. While I felt that the area in Tuscaloosa was a bit sketch, I think Kaylee liked it better because elevators at the actual hotel were really scary for her. The "walk" areas around both places were less than ideal, trash and dog poo were present throughout, not to mention they were both close to the highway. 

While driving Kaylee was much better than I every could expect of a dog. She slept and remained quiet while the care was moving all the way down to Texas and only whined when we stopped for food and gas. On the way back, she didn't even do that. It was a drastic change from either my or my husband's experiences with dogs on longer drives.My previous pup required benadryl as a sedative before such a trip.

She continued mostly good behavior at my parent-in-law's house (with a fenced yard!) and multiple guests. It seemed that she just took it in stride and claimed the place as her own. Perhaps she'll get to visit her grand and great-grand puppy parents once again this summer when we try to make the trip in 3+days rather than two.

In the hotel playing ball

On his parent's sofa

Her first b-day party in their kitchen