Ready Set Depart Podcast - Episode 7: Road Trip Tips

Episode 7:

Road Trip Tips

Listen to the episode below:

Even though we’re seeing a few snowflakes in our neck of the woods, it is spring time which means soon it will be summer! What do you do in the summer? Hide from the heat? Just me?

Summer is also the time for road trips! What do you think of road trips? Are they disastrous or stupendous?

Up until just a few years ago, I hated road trips. I get car sick easily so I can’t really do anything but stare out the window.

But, I changed my opinion of road trips when I did just a little bit of tweaking to our plans!

First though, can I share a special memory of traveling with you? In order to do it, I have to introduce you to my Grandma and my Grandpa. They were from very small mining towns in Eastern Utah so after they were married, they moved to the big city of Salt Lake. My Grandma always loved to travel and my Grandpa loved to drive so they bought a campervan.

It was gold with gold interior and it slept 6, or so they said. More like 3.

They would drive all over the place in the camper van and often take me or my cousins with them. I remember going to the Grand Canyon, Seattle, Texas and Arkansas in that camper van.

It was pretty awesome as a kid. But the best part of it was that I could lay down in the back and sleep through it all. My grandma would get so mad. She would wake me up and say, “You’re missing it Ashley!”

In true childishness, I would say, “What could I possibly be missing?”

“All of it,” she would reply.

Grandma and Grandpa have been gone for many years now and I treasure my memories of traveling with them. And I’ve often thought about what she meant by “All of it.”

I think I know now what she meant. She meant the clouds that looked so fluffy and beautiful. She meant the rolling hills of Kansas. She meant the roadside attractions. She meant the beautiful country we live in.

I was, in fact, missing all of it.

But no more! As I’ve said before, when the world was shut down and we couldn’t travel across the world, we started to take some road trips. We started out small so that I could remember that I used to love to travel the country. By this time, Trooper was bigger and it was a bit easier to travel. But what really turned the corner for us was doing a little research, finding out what others did, and figuring out what works for our family.

Maybe these suggestions will work for your family. Or maybe you have different suggestions. You can always email us at readysetdepart@gmail.com and let us know!

Road trip tip #1: Be realistic about how far you want to go in a day!

In episode 3, we talked about how to plan a trip. Ask yourself how long you have. If you only have a week off, I wouldn’t plan on driving 20 hours away. Especially with little ones, and me, it could be a bit more of a disaster than you planned.

For us, we don’t like to travel more than 9 hours each day, so that’s normally as far as we go on a week long trip. You can get to some pretty cool places in a 9 hour drive!

Road trip tip #2: Stop every 2-3 hours and get out of the car!

I always like to find a place to stop every 2 to 3 hours where we can get out of the car and relax for a bit. Sometimes that’s a Costco to get some gas. Sometimes it’s Shoshone Falls in Idaho. Sometimes it’s a rest area with a bit of grass to sit on.

But always get out, go to the bathroom, eat a snack, run around, do something other than being in a car.

Road trip tip #3: Set your GPS for the next stop, not the whole trip!

This goes along with the last tip. When you’re setting up your GPS, don’t set it for the final destination, set it for your next stop. It really helps! For some reason, seeing 2 hours on the GPS makes it seem manageable, even if my brain knows that we still have 7 hours after that.

Road trip tip #4: Audiobooks, Audiobooks, Audiobooks, and Podcasts!

I’m going to let Trooper talk more about this because Trooper LOVES audiobooks, but especially if you’re like my family and get a bit car sick, listening to something is a great way to pass the time.

We put enough audiobooks on Trooper’s tablet to make it to wherever we’re going, plug in his headphones and he’s as happy as a clam!

One thing about headphones. I did a lot of research before getting his headphones and the two most important things when choosing headphones are 1) make sure they’re big enough to go around their ears, and 2) make sure there is a separate volume control on the headphones so you can control how loud they are.

Trooper has also gone through a podcast phase. He’s loved Circle Round, Cool Facts About Animals, Brains On and Amazing Wildlife from San Diego Zoo. Brent and I have really enjoyed Futility Closet about forgotten stories from the past.

There are also a lot of story podcasts that are like the old fashion radio programs. I’m just waiting for Trooper to get back into podcasts to start listening to these, but I’ve heard good things about Grimm, Grimmer, Grimmest and The Alien Adventures of Finn Caspian.

Road trip tip #5: Snacks!

When I was little and touring the country with my grandparents, my grandma always had carrots cut up and put in a bucket of water. She told us it was good for two reasons. One, you had carrots, and two you had water - though it did taste a lot like carrots!

Since this wouldn’t be something Trooper would find as good as I did, we tend to give him what we call “one bite” snacks because crumbs are not our friends! He likes berries, grapes, cheese, one bite crackers like goldfish crackers, etc, etc.

Our family is also a fan of tootsie rolls on road trips. The wrappers can be a pain but they at least they don’t melt.

Road trip tip #6: Be prepared for car sickness!

I hardly want to touch on this one, but I do, unfortunately, have a lot of experience with car sickness. Whether it’s me or Trooper, we know what to do. Here’s what I keep in the car, always, because Trooper likes to make us think he’s grown out of the car sickness and then BAM, it’s back.

Large garbage bags: These are especially nice to have if the stomach contents (is that even better?) get on clothes or stuffed animals.

Disposable vomit bags: These are just like you get in the hospital if you’re feeling woosey. You can order them from Amazon and they are the best thing for older kids. (The big garbage bag works better for little kids.)

Clorox wipes: Because…ew

Disposable Gloves: Because…ew

Dramamine/Ginger/Peppermint: Peppermint normally helps me but Trooper still needs a bit more to help him feel good in the car so we alway have dramamine. (He also says it tastes horrible so if you stuff it in a tootsie roll, he’s much less complainey about it!)

Patience: Sometimes the only thing that’s going to help is sitting on the side of the road and breathing cool air. So definitely pack your patience!

Road trip tip #7: Know where you’re going, just in case!

I don’t know about you but I have become pretty lazy when it comes to planning our route for road trips. Your phone GPS is really great to have - most of the time. But every time we get into the mountains or out in the desert and don’t have cell coverage, I wish I would have at least taken a screenshot of our route. So learn from my mistakes. Take a screenshot of your route…just in case.

Road trip tip #8: Stay in a hotel with a pool at the end of the day to get rid of some energy!

If you’re driving for more than one day, staying in a hotel with a pool is a great way to let your kids get some energy out without driving you crazy! As an adult, sitting all day makes me tired, but that’s just not true for kids. It will make your next day of driving even better.

Road trip tip #9: Get your car serviced before you go!

You know that weird sound you’ve been noticing? Now is the time to get it checked out so you’re not stuck somewhere with no cell coverage!

Road trip tip #10: Packing the car

When packing up your car, don’t forget the blankets for those who are cold when the others are hot. We also like to use laundry baskets for clothes rather than suitcases - though we do have a suitcase with clothes for one night if we’re stopping at a hotel. And don’t forget the cooler for cold water and snacks! All those tetras games you played in your youth can also help!

And now for a

BONUS TRAVEL TIP

I haven’t done this yet but I have seen something called snackle boxes. You get a tackle box, wash it really well, and then put different one bite snacks in each of the compartments. This sounds like a fun way to have snacks. What do you think?

Road trips used to be a disaster for us - we drove for 2 hours with a screaming, done being in the car seat baby, but that was before we figured out our tricks!

So, let us know, what do you think about road trips? Amazing or disastrous?

And now it’s time for Troopers Tips for Kids:

TROOPERS TIPS FOR KIDS:

Hey guys! I really like going on road trips now that we’ve figured out how much I like audiobooks. It’s like someone’s reading to you the whole time! It’s so fun. Some of my favorite books I’ve listened to are Frindle, Harry Potter, Land of Stories, and Wingfeather. There are also some short books for younger kids. My mom checks them out from the library app called Libby. You should really try out an audiobook sometime! They are the best!

And one more tip is you only have 21 days to listen to the book.

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