Road Trip Tips to Get You Happily to Your Destination
I love a good road trip! True, flying will get you where you need to go quickly, but a road trip provides so many opportunities to see all the beauty, inventiveness, and quirkiness of America. And a road trip enables you to add stops that you might not otherwise get to experience if you were flying. Parents of littles, though, may struggle with how to keep kids occupied in the car. Here are some tried and true tips for a great road trip!
Start the trip off right!
Leaving early in the morning allows you to get many miles behind you on Day 1. Wake up early to finish packing up your vehicle. Roll the kids out of bed, make them go to the bathroom and brush their teeth (or not, your call), and hit the road! Pack breakfast for Day 1 so that they can eat in the car as they wake up. This also saves you from having to worry about dirty dishes that accumulate during the breakfast ritual.
But what to do while on the road? You can only hear your child’s favorite DVDs so many times before you lose your mind. So what else can you do? LOTS!
During The Drive
Sticker books - Crayons can melt and markers can get lost between the seats, but sticker books can keep kids entertained for long periods of time!
Magnets - Take a cookie sheet and magnets along. You can even find paper doll magnets or magnets of trucks and diggers to keep kids entertained.
Audiobooks - This one has been pure gold for us! Audiobooks pass the time quickly for everyone. On our way to Universal a couple of years ago, my youngest was the only one who hadn’t finished the 7th Harry Potter book. We listened to it on the 17+ hour drive to Orlando and we all enjoyed it! Then we were all ready for Escape from Gringotts! There are many options for audiobooks, including CDs, Hoopla, Libby, Audible, Amazon, and others. Our local library has lots of excellent choices including battery operated devices that come preloaded with a book. You just have to plug headphones in, and each kid can listen to their own story. Harry Potter and Judy Blume books are definite favorites in our house.
License Plates - Be on the lookout for cars from different states - try to collect all 50!
State Line Prizes - Consider a small gift to give out each time you enter a new state. Raid the dollar bin at Target or check out Dollar Tree for small items that you can use to celebrate a new state.
State Playlists - Come up with a playlist for each state. Think: Kentucky Woman, Georgia on My Mind, New York State of Mind, etc.
Road Games - The alphabet game is a great one! Find each letter of the alphabet on billboards and other cars. Pro-tip: Always be on the lookout for “j”eeps, e”x”it signs, authori”z”ed vehicles only signs, and “Q”uickTrip gas stations. Or highway bingo - toy stores or Amazon can help you find bingo cards.
Glow Sticks - When it gets dark, glow sticks always seem to bring the fun!
Snacks - Never underestimate the power of snacks. A hangry kid is not a happy traveler! Have kids put together their own bags of trail mix before you leave nuts, raisins, Cheerios, M&M’s, dried fruit, etc.
When You Stop
Play - If your schedule allows and your kids could use some movement, find a place for the kids to get their energy out. Whether it be a rest stop’s grassy area, a state park, a Monkey Joe’s or a SkyZone, sometimes getting physical midway through the day can make for a much more enjoyable late day drive.
Break - When one person has to go to the bathroom, everyone else does, too! Hopefully this avoids stopping for the youngest to go to the bathroom and then stopping a half hour later for the middle child to go to the bathroom. Hopefully!
Eat - When stopping for food, rotate who gets to pick the place to stop. Parents have the ultimate veto, but otherwise everybody eats at the same place. No stopping at McDonald’s for Child A, Taco Bell for Child B, and Chick Fil-A for Child C. If you have a very picky eater, bring along some peanut butter or cheese crackers if they don’t like the stopping place.
Sleep - When stopping for the night before heading to bed, allow kiddos some time to jump in the pool at the hotel. It will get some of the pent-up energy out, and it will exhaust them enough to get a good night’s sleep and be ready to go again in the morning.
BEST OF ALL!
Road Trips give you the opportunity to see unique places and add cool stops to your vacation.
Before You Leave
Go to the library and check out the books about each state. Frequently you can find books about unique or quirky places that are off the beaten path such as the Shoe House in Pennsylvania. It’s a house shaped like a shoe. Like the old woman who lives in a shoe.
I rarely plan a trip that doesn’t involve multiple destinations. For example, when planning a trip to Boston, we also stopped at Niagara Falls, Cooperstown, Concord, and Newport. (Next time, I’m adding Seneca Falls, NY and the Women’s Hall of Fame, too!) When traveling to Philadelphia, we stopped at the Yuengling brewery in Pottsville, PA and Pittsburgh. On one trip to DC, we also stopped in Baltimore and Philadelphia.
Take a road trip to your next vacation and really, you’re getting two vacations in one! And, once you arrive at your ultimate destination, you don’t have to worry about a car. Having a vehicle opens up so many possibilities to make your vacation truly unique.
So . . . Buckle up and enjoy the ride!
Lacey Bordewick
Adventure Specialist Lacey loves travel and views it as a great way for families and friends to reconnect away from the hustle bustle of regular everyday life.
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