The Schwartzberg boys, 9-year-old Jordan and 6-year-old Brandon, managed to hold out until about 6 p.m. before their parents heard the first cry of: "Are we there yet?"

Since then, Michael Schwartzberg and Stacey Needle have been hearing the question every 15-20 minutes as the entyer the final stretches of their journey from Pikesville to North Hills on Long Island, Needle said.

Brandon insisted that it was his younger brother who kept repeating the classic refrain of the tired juvenile traveler. But Needle said Brandon has been chiming in with his share of "are-we-there's."

The boys seemed to be holding up pretty well overall, Needle said, thanks in no small measure to their hand-held Nintendo games.

Meanwhile, their father had escaped the bumper-to-bumper of the Long Island Expressway and was drawing on his knowledge of the local roads. Arrival imminent.

And what is the first thing Brandon plans to do when he arrives at the grandparents' house?

"Eat," he said.