Remember it or not, I believe going on trips will help shape the kids' development by allowing them to see different places and experience different things. I don't buy the saying that it's a waste to bring a small kid traveling because they won't remember it anyways.

Regarding road trips, although destination trips where you fly and visit certain cities save a lot of time and involve less driving, road trips allows you to see the small towns and places along the road. I also like looking out for interesting town names. Fun ones I remember along I5 are Yolo, CA and Weed, CA haha.

We are headed to another one in the summer, a long one. From your home town Toronto all the way to the easternmost point of Canada. Fun fact, we also saw the town of Dildo in NL when planning our trip, but will probably not visit it, because it's a bit out of the way.