drive from montreal

[stitchaholic]

this january we will be headed to the world on jan 2nd,but since the flights out of montreal or even burlington VT are very expensive these days,i was thinking about driving. I would be driving down alone with my 2 kids ,my son who is 8 and my daughter who is 10.
has anyone done this drive with kids of similar ages? know of any good,safe places to stop for the night? or during the day for smaller rest stops?
any advice on what to do with kids of this age on such a long drive?