Trip planning with a 2 year old in tow...

So we have 2 trips coming up.  One in June and one in July.  J's family is June and we'll be driving the new car for this adventure.  We did this last September and made an overnight stop going and coming back.  Made the trip a bit easier with a little one.  I also took a trip from hell to NY to visit my family.  Had lots of storms and long story short, took me 36 hours to get from Chicago to NY.  Not fun at all.  G had a blast even though I was an exhausted wreck.  Hoping these 2 trips go smoothly.  I'm excited about both of them.  Travelling with G is an adventure in itself.  She's so different every day.  I'm in planning mode for the trip.  Especially the one to NY.  I need a lightweight car seat.  Hoping to be able to attach it to the stroller and travel that way.  If not, I found a luggage carrier to turn a car seat into a stroller securely and easily....I hope.  Also need entertainment for G and snacks, milk, etc to carry along.  So much to think about and I love planning it all.