In addition to music, I'd sugguest some books on CD/tape if you plan on driving late. I've made the trip back and forth from SC to KS a few times now (about 1200 miles one way) and the killer part is always that midnight to 5am lull where it's just straight highway and road noise. Music isn't very stimulating to me at that point, so I listen to comedy (Eddie Izzard and some classic stuff like Abbot & Costello, Jack Benny, Edgar Bergan & Charlie McCarthy) for more stimulating stuff to keep my brain going. I also like to bring a small cooler with some water and heavily loaded (sugar/caffine) pop to keep me going when it's late. Plus I usually toss in a couple candy bars for a quick fix when I'm in the middle of nowhere.
Don't forget common sense stuff. Check all of your fluids and tire pressure before you leave. This is just a personal sugguestion, but I try not to drive it down to below a quarter of a tank of gas before I fill up. I usually start looking around for a good place (I like bp/Amaco gas personally) to fill up a little before the 1/4 mark. Like I said though, that's just a personal sugguestion. I don't like driving my car down to the E ever and sometimes you can get caught between two towns where you don't see a gas station for miles. Especially when it's late, those mom and pop gas stations on the side of the interstate stand a good chance of being closed and leaving you in a fix for gas.
Good luck. I hope you have a safe trip.
