Road Trippin'

We're hitting the road again!  You might remember my post about making road trips with your baby easier, but this time the little man is staying at Grandma's and we're bringing a couple of friends.  Needless to say, traveling without our toddler will be much easier...no stinky diapers, no tantrums (we hope)...but we will have other needs and that's what I'm going to talk about today.

We're traveling nearly 1200 miles in a vehicle with four adults.  So what do we need to make it a comfortable ride?  Glad you asked!

You have to assess your basic needs.  We're going to be driving straight through with as few stops as possible.  This means being prepared.  Food.  Drinks.  First aid.  Entertainment.

Food and Drinks
We're packing a cooler and a snack bag.  Variety is key.  I'm packing sodas, water, cookies, chips, and sandwiches.  Plenty of munchy stuff and nothing that will make your breath stink!  Other great options are: trail mix, fruits that 'contain themselves' (apples, oranges, bananas...all washed, of course), candy, crackers, rice cakes, veggies (like carrot sticks), cheese sticks, etc.  You want to be careful not to pack anything that will spoil or melt unless you're going to put it in a cooler with lots of ice.  We are packing a cooler, but I don't want to bring the huge cooler...hence the only cold items I'm bringing are sandwiches and drinks.  No chocolate either...messy, messy!

First Aid
I know my husband always looks at me like I'm crazy when I do my 'medical' pack.  He thinks I'm overly prepared...yeah, until he needs something.  Here's what I pack:

• Bandages
• Antibiotic ointment
• Anti-itch cream
• Pain reliever
• antihistamine
• Acid reducer (usually a pill of some kind, Tums and Gas X...hey man, it happens and I'm going to be in a car with three men...)
• Eye drops
• Sunscreen (you catch a surprising amount of sun through the windows!)
• Motion sickness strips
• Sick bags (I'm using Ziploc storage bags...they don't leak and I can seal them and throw them away)
• Pain relieving gel (for example: Icy Hot or Bengay)

Last but not least...Entertainment.

This one's a no-brainer. Books, game books (crosswords, sidoku, etc), magazines, mp3 player, portable dvd player, tablet, etc.  Whatever you like to do at home...if it's portable, take it.  I'm only bringing one book, one magazine, and my tablet.  My hubby's phone tethers to the internet, so I can use my tab to listen to music, watch Netflix and Hulu, or check my email.  On the off chance I manage to finish my new book, I can also purchase ebooks.  Really, a tablet with internet access is the perfect travel entertainment!

Other misclaneous items...

Sleep mask:  If we're driving in shifts, I should really be sleeping when I can and if that happens to be during daylight hours, the mask will help me get some sleep.

Ear plugs:  Sometimes you don't want to listen to music or conversation...sometimes you just want silence!

Coupons:  Yes, I'm bringing coupons.  I have a folder of restaurant coupons that I keep at home.  We rarely eat out at fast food places, but on a road trip you sometimes don't have other options.  It's always better to be safe than sorry and they don't take up much room in my tote bag.

Baby wipes and hand sanitizer:  These are great if you need to clean up a bit before or after eating.  And the hand sanitizer is a must for me after using public restrooms...yeah, you wash your hands before leaving, but sometimes you still have to touch the dirty door handle...yuck!

Trash bags and paper towels:  You never know when you're going to have a mess on your hands...drinks and food can spill easily and you want to be prepared!  I plan to bring a couple large (kitchen sized) trash bags (these are great to cover things if it rains and you have to make a run for it) and some small ones (grocery store bags) for most of our garbage.  

Pillow and blanket:  I actually forgot to bring these and I could have kicked myself!  Yes, our destination was a hotel with a nice, comfy bed, but the 20-ish hour drive was way too long to be uncomfortable!  I remember distinctly the moment I realized I forgot these.  I was in the back seat trying to sleep before it was my turn to drive and freezing my butt off because everyone else wanted the car cold and trying to decide if I should use my sweater as a blanket or as a pillow.

I'm sure there's more I'm forgetting, but these are the big ones!  If you have any items that you bring on road trips that have really saved the day, feel free to share them!

While I'm talking about out trip...I'd like to show you the flight of local beers we got to have while in Michigan.  I thought this was a really cool way to serve them, too!  I definitely suggest trying local brews when traveling (not when you're driving, of course).  We ended up going to a grocery store after dinner to purchase a few bottles of local beer and wine to take home and share with our friends.