Excellent point. DC/Baltimore is a form of Hades similar to the Cross Bronx Expressway. Reaching that point before 5 or 6 o'clock in the morning is a thing of beauty.
For long car trips with kiddos when we don't want to stop to eat or like the highway offerings, we snack on the mixed fruit salad from Stew Leonard's (hope there is one near you; so worthy and every piece tastes like well fruit not just looks like it, LOL), buy pre cut celery sticks and put a couple of ice cubes in the plastic container to keep them crisp and cold and add in some baby carrots, sticks or curls; nothing wrong with grape tomatoes either. Goes well with peanut or almond butter, or hummus. Sometimes I make granola clusters and go as light as possible on the sweetener so they're not too sticky. Mixed nuts with coconut flakes and dried fruit makes a tasty substitute for the granola as well. Use s/s insulated travel mugs for soup; keeps hot for a nice bit of time. Make a muffuletta or nicoise pan bagnat sandwich with a good sturdy bread like ciabatta, boule, or any Euro peasant style round bread. Neither of those sandwiches use refrigeration needed condiments so they hold up well for car travel. We rarely drink sodas so I make some home brewed iced tea, freeze the bottles and they should remain cold until you reach FL. Only half freeze the first bottles you'll be drinking. You can do much the same with juices.
@Je-Ree Olenik and
@MooseBucks, be sure to know what comfort stations are open on your chosen route in case nobody else has mentioned this yet.
Try to keep crumbly snacks to a minimum in the car; nothing like trying to sleep a top dropped goldfish. When you stop at a rest area go ahead and remove that fleece type blanket from the seats so you can shake it out, spray it with Febreeze, and turn it over.