How do you stay awake when driving long distances? Any foods that help?

I am sorry, but 700 miles in one stretch overnight is gruesome and dangerous and should not be done! No matter how little time you have, safety comes first!
I have driven good 400 miles in one stretch and the last 100 miles were treacherous and I was so glad to get out of the car. You'd be driving an additional 300 miles and all I can say is - don't do it!

I've done it a couple of times. 1200 km over 12 hours. The key for me is starting early in the day (5 - 6 a.m.) , so that the driving day is over at a sensible time. I stopped at drive-throughs for iced tea and a small snack about every two hours. Bathroom/quick walk breaks every second snack stop.

I have to stay away from any kind of dairy snack as I find they make me sleepy.

i do a little over half that amount a couple of times a year, i find that too much caffeine, actually burns me out, i like lots of water, a little caffeine/sugar (maybe one coffee, tea or iced tea) and some fruit and protein (nuts, pepperettes and cheese sticks), i stay a way from carbs, i find they make me sleepy

I've driven long distances many times, and I usually try do it at night. (lots less traffic and radar)

but I would hesitate to do it with passengers...

trail mix and water.

with stops to walk, whiz, and fuel.

I'm with Beth on this one. Drink cold water. You can't sleep if you have to pee. lol
Definitely take breaks - stretch your legs and if you feel sleepy, pull over!!! Little cat naps are great, I don't normally sleep for long, too uncomfortable, but I feel much better for having them.
Don't get too hot or eat too much or you will be tired, snacking is better than full meals.

i also prefer the road less travelled, stay in civilization, but get off the freeway is my motto

Well for the love of pete - don't eat turkey!

There isn't very much food that would qualify for what you are expecting. The only things I can think of are sugar and caffeine based like chocolate. So if caffeine is a problem then the additional sugar rush would make things worse.

I'm used to driving about half that amount. Drove from NYC to Pittsburgh to bring a friend to her family on Christmas times. The best thing to do is keep plenty of fluids. Plan ahead for regular pit stops. And have your family keep you preoccupied with good music and conversation.

Many highways today have a corrogated surface on the shoulders, and a pattern of lumps or 'turtles' on the left. With surprisingly little experience, you learn which way to steer without having to wake up at all.

I won't be driving at night. What I meant to say was I won't be able to stop for an overnight. We plan on leaving at 6:00 a.m. It should be about 12 hours of driving, including short stops every 2 hours or so. In my younger days I once drove from the east coast to the west with only one overnight stop. I would just like to eat whatever might help keep me more alert.

I do plan on leaving about then, at 6:00 a.m. I will stay away from the dairy and I do plan on stopping every couple of hours.

Thanks! Maybe if I have one cup of coffee in the morning, then stick to protein bars and nuts for snacks, with one stop for a real meal at lunch.

I usually prefer to drive at night, but with the kids with me it will be all-day drive going through one big city.

Drinking lots of cold water sounds good for keeping away the sleepies!

I drove many, many times from North Carolina to New Jersey and from Bangor, Maine to New Jersey - usually about 10-12 and sometimes 14 hours depending on the traffic around Washington (from NC to NJ) alone with my children.

Just because of my own particular body's rhythm, I learned that it was better for me to sleep as late as I wanted the day of the trip and leave by noon.
If I wake up early in the morning, I have a very sleepy time around two or three in the afternoon. But if I sleep until about ten in the morning, I'm good to go for the rest of the day.

So I'd pack the car the night before, sleep until about ten, eat breakfast/brunch before I left at about 12 or 1:00 in the afternoon, get five or six hours under my belt, stop for supper at about 6 or 7 - have some iced-tea and supper and then drive to my destination where I'd arrive at about midnight.

That worked best for me in terms of my body, my kids (they slept the last half of the trip), traffic, and my parents didn't mind us showing up at midnight because they stayed up late anyway.

I almost never snacked when driving. I ate a meal before I left and supper at our halfway point and that was it. I probably made trips like that 20 times by myself.

I'm night blind, which means I've always been chary of twilight driving situations too, so I always drove from Los Angeles to the near Oregon border in two days, the second day a short fairly early one, for my own safety and others. Besides, it was saner. I virtually always took the prettier route, highway 101, per mapquest, 701 miles - which passed through a lot of gorgeous countryside, ocean side, rolling hills, redwood forest - with plenty of small towns with unique small-town-cafes, in great contrast to shorter and more brutal routes (but not short by much, approx 50 miles). Contrast, not just for the driving serenity, but re cafes and scenery - and also re hours' worth of long haul truckers on your tail even if you were 15 mph over the speed limit on the route I found a bad choice for me.

I'd do most of it the first day, in whichever direction I was going. For ease of generalizing, say, 500 miles, early morning until sunlight worry time in later afternoon, doing these round trips sometimes 2 or 3 times a year.

Since I took the route many times, I explored many just off the highway small towns and developed favorite cafes - at which I would get light meals or snacks.
I could rattle off the names even now. Sometimes I'd sit and eat at the cafes, watch the locals (thinking, the BlueBird cafe) and sometimes I'd pick up a sandwich to go at a grocery place I liked (Oakville Grocery, anyone?) along with either water or some juice. I'd eat half the sandwich, and then sometime later the other half. Wouldn't eat again until I stopped for the night or at home/destination.

Like others, I'd combine gas station stops with peeing and getting some liquid to go. That's when I first discovered vitamin water, which I consider quite a joke but was tasty and nice and cold, or iced tea. In winter, coffee.

My business partner, on the other hand, had no night vision difficulty, was rather bold in life in general, took what I think of as the brutal highway, stopped rarely, and made it in 10.5 hours (estimated 650 miles).

My parents drove across the US several times when I was young. I remember a lot of bits of those trips. I think they were on the less frantic side of the coin, except once in a while, and that is part of why I am now still a fan of travelling.

urrg, I forgot to mention both my and my business partner's different routes took us both through or near San Francisco. Me, I went up 280 through the peninsula, sometimes staying at friends' place, or going on to a bit north of the golden gate.

Like all cities, SF can be a clog, but I enjoyed it every time except the one of the debacle weekend (never mind). Santa Rosa was also a clog. Avoid it at rush hour.

Personally, I would never try to drive that long a distance in one day with two children, but it's your call. You can buy those energy drinks that teens are so fond of. I guarantee you will not fall asleep if you drink a Redbull or Monster every few hours.

There will be chocolate in the car, that I am sure of. That will provide most of the caffeine I end up consuming!