In the past 4 months we've visited both US coasts and traveled about 2K miles by car. Here's what we've learned that we think makes a difference in road tripping the simple way:
For the car:
1. STORY: A good story line is more useful than a DVD player. Telling stories to pass the time means less equipment, less stuff and less power hogging from the car. When the kids gets especially restless, old favorites to the rescue: Old MacDonald had a Farm, Bingo was his name-o, and The old lady who swallowed a fly! Get silly with the songs so that even you entertain yourself a little! Finger rhymes/tunes are especially entertaining for the kids - if you're not the one driving, that is!
2. GPS: A GPS is invaluable. We use the one on my phone. It may require a little extra juice from the car so another reason not to clog up the energy sources with a DVD player. One of the features we love about GPS is being able to find exactly what we're looking for - the cheapest gas, a certain store store, groceries, etc.
3. TREATS: Real treats as treats. For each road trip, I purchased snacks that I would otherwise not buy. New snacks are novel and serve as great bargaining chips when the going gets rough plus if you get what you like too it's something to look forward to when the road gets long. For the driver, I recommend the small 5-hour energy drinks and expensive chocolate!
4. PLAN: Plan ahead: use google maps and plan to avoid traffic or other potential delays if possible, spend a little time brainstorming up topics of conversation between you and kids or you and other adult so that whoever is driving can be sufficiently engaged to stay awake. Plan on restroom breaks and plan on diversions from the plan.
5. COMFORT: Make the car as comfortable as possible with some of the conveniences of home: tissues, wipes, hand cleaner, hand towels, travel pillows, blankies, dolls, books, other novelty items to entertain little hands.
For the hotel/place of rest:
1. SCENT: Febreeze/air spray to help promote the scent and feel of home. We use Febreeze and a lavender pillow spray at home so mini sized ones are what we bring with us. Depending on where we've chosen to stay, I bring along a small can of Lysol too (!)
2. MONEY: A well thought out budget. On our most recent road trip, we budgeted to dine out our first night in town. The kids had a different idea and were a little tapped out by dinner time. Since we knew precisely what we budgeted for food, we could opt to get room service and dine in to everyone's relief and comfort and not break the bank.
3. CONSIDERATION: A nice tip for the cleaning staff. Our kids are messy and between dirty diapers, carpet crumbs and pillow fights, the cleaning staff deserve a little extra for what they will be asked to do upon our check out.
4. PERKS: Ask if there are any perks for kids. Our most recent hotel stay had a scavenger hunt for kids that might have been necessary had we not planned enough to entertain the little rascals.
5. COMFORT: Again with the conveniences of home: wipes, hand cleaner, lotion, safety pins, nail clipper, nail file, floss, blankies, etc.
For out & about:
1. HANDS: Wipes are so handy after dining out, ice cream, the beach, petting puppies, anywhere the quality of little (or big) hands might get compromised. Hand sanitizer is also a must.
2. BUBBLES: Bubbles are perfect in times of boredom brinking on disaster. You can buy mini containers at party stores.
3. PENS: and paper are handy to have to jot a note to yourself or to save your sanity by letting the kids get their draw on.
The road trip out east was longer and punctuated by multiple stops and starts than the road trip to the west but these were some of the nuggets that we know we'll continue to find useful for future excursions. Happy Trails!
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