Road tripping

Being in a car for extended periods of time is not always fun... add in young children and no other adults and it can be hell. BUT it can also be a great experience if you do it right. I'll admit that I don't always love to drive around with my kids, but I don't dread it either. In fact, not even 24 hours after getting out of the car from our last 1100 mile trip (which was AWESOME, by the way, details to come), I started mapping out an even further one for next summer. I might be completely crazy, but there's a method to my madness and my girls have become pretty good travellers.

What I have learned in all my insanity...

1. Ice cream pails are necessities, especially if you have a child prone to motion sickness. Even if you don't... it's good to be prepared. We have two in the car, one that I use for trash and another on standby. Baby wipes, toilet paper or tissues, and an extra bottle of water (for cleaning) also come in very handy.
2. Books on CD are one of technologies greatest gifts. Of course, not all audiobooks are created equal. Long, slow-paced, or intricately detailed stories are not great with young kids (or to keep the adult who is driving awake - the Secret Garden for one.) Also, depending on the age of the kids, some stories may be too mature (like the later Harry Potter books). Dr. Seuss books are good on CD but, at least in my opinion, are far better when accompanied by the pictures so they are not my favorites. Still, there are some great books out there. This last trip we listened to The Tale of Desperaux (a bit on the slow side but good), Because of Winn-Dixie (perfect), Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle (funny - a big bonus), and Ivy & Bean (short, engaging, and funny). A tip - take a look at the running time. An 8 hour story is unlikely to keep anyone's attention straight through... unless you know it's a favorite, stick to the shorter stories or break it up into sections.
3. MP3 players rock. A long car ride is the perfect time to bust out some music you might not normally pick. For example, a short playlist of "dance party USA teeny-bopper type-o-shit" (name that movie!) can be a great way to break up the monotony and get everyone grooving from within their seats. Zydeco, Reggae, and 50s-60s oldies are fun and Mariachi music is perfect for maneuvering in traffic and going around and around various exits and cloverleafs. As a rule, I do not play kid music (especially not on long car rides when my sanity may already be in jeopardy) but I WILL play the Hairspray soundtrack and other kid-friendly music that I also happen to enjoy.
4. In-car DVD players may rock, but if you have a motion-sickness prone child, these are not so hot. Also, they do not rock so much if they do not also have headphones and you as the parent do not want to listen to Happy Scrappy Hero Pups (name THAT movie!) over and over and over. Plan accordingly.
5. Pick good in-car toys, and pick them yourself. I have learned the hard way that when my kids pick out their own toys we end up with a random smattering of things - like a doll shirt but no doll - with which they do not actually play in the car. I have found that the BEST toys are ones that allow them to use their imaginations in many different ways, are very washable, do not require adult help, and are small. Although we are an Adult-Barbie free house, I love the little Kelly dolls and they are great to bring along - just without their shoes which inevitably get lost anyway and require adult help. Also, the Littlest Pet Shop, Puppy In My Pocket, and similar small toys are good. Puppets are fun and simple dress up items like little tiaras, gloves, and sunglasses are good. Silly Putty is fun for slightly older kids but is a pain in the butt, no pun intended, when it is sat on and smooshed into the car seat and the child's clothes. If you see Vivi out in a pink dress with a big green stain on the side, this is why. I avoid any books other than board books since paper pages are easily ruined by spills and being tossed around and are also not good for the motion sickness.
6. Plan for stops. Lots of them. For every 2 hours of drive time that Google Maps tells you, I add at least 15 minutes. It is best to be proactive about stopping - stopping BEFORE you're all of a sudden 40 miles from the nearest toilet and someone has to pee NOW (leading you to teach said child how to squat on the side of the road) or BEFORE everyone's nerves are totally fried and no time on the playground will make you happy. Parks are easiest to find in small cities, and in my experience tend to be located near bodies of water - if there's a lake, drive around it and you stand a good chance of hitting a park at some point. This is also a place where Roadside America comes in... my kids love to stop and see wacky stuff and it gives me something to look at while they run around. If the weather is crappy there are always McDonald's playplaces, but even just wandering the aisles of a Target can be a good chance to stretch your legs, use the bathroom, and pick up anything you suddenly realized you forgot. (Wal-Mart works too and their parking lots are also apparently good places to cause traffic accidents, but that's another story.)
7. Plan your route. Especially if you are the only adult in the car, figure out where you're going and what roads you'll take before you start driving. This is also a good time to plan out some possible stops given the info in #6. I like to give myself a rough time line as well so I know how far we are on or off schedule and thus how long we can afford to stop.
8. Kids' Thermoses are fantastic. A water bottle with a good spout that keeps the drink cool is so great to have and easy to refill from a larger jug or with water/juice picked up at the gas station (which would otherwise be major spill-hazards if left in their original bottles.)
9. Snacks are a must. I hate using a lot of disposable packaging, but I love to divvy up large quantities of snacks into little plastic bags or containers. It is so much easier to hand back a bag of pretzels than to hand back 3 pretzels every 35 seconds. Our favorite car snacks are: pretzels, cheesy crackers, trail mix, apple slices, grapes, strawberries, bananas, orange slices, cucumbers, baby carrots, cookies, granola bars, peanut butter sandwiches, cheese sticks, and yogurt. Obviously, a small cooler is important to keep the perishables cold.
10. RELAX! Remember that "getting there is half the fun" and just go with the flow.

Here's how I stock my car for road trips alone with the kids...

• In the center console area: sunglasses, phone, MP3 player, wallet, chapstick, camera, and my water bottle
• In the passenger seat: a small cooler and a box full of individually packaged snacks, as well as a notebook with my directions and maps inside
• On the floor of the passenger seat: a jug of water for refilling water bottles, my backpack with my purse/umbrella/sweater inside, a library bag with books on CD
• On the floor of the backseat: a pair of flip-flops for each kid in addition to the shoes on their feet (they often take shoes off and can't find them in a hurry to go in to the store), the garbage bucket
• In between the two carseats in the backseat: the extra bucket, the tote of toys.
• In the pocket of the two front seats: a small pillow and blanket for each child
• In the trunk: everything else!

This is what works for me. :)