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Road trips are such a fun way to travel, spend time with family, and see our beautiful country!
Our family went on an epic 1800 mile road trip spaced out over 7 days from Atlanta to Northern Wisconsin last summer. I learned a few tricks that might help you on your next road trip:
- Pack plenty of snacks. If we stopped every time JB needed a snack, we probably wouldn’t have made it out of Atlanta. I’m a fan of individually packaged snacks to avoid the risk of a Costco sized bag of pretzels emptying in the backseat. Snacks that travel well: dried fruit, Pringle’s, popcorn, granola bars, clementines, nuts, beef jerky, pretzels, and applesauce pouches. Tip- keep snacks in a basket so they are easily accessible and able to be seen.
- Bring drinks and a hard sided cooler. We brought a few twelve packs of our favorite drinks. Each morning, we’d add drinks to the cooler and ice it down. It saved lots of money (vs buying individually at gas stations) and they were always available whenever needed. Tip- most hotels have ice machines available to hotel guests free of charge.
- Check DVDs or audio books out from a local library. Our library system has an excellent selection of children’s DVDs. They can be checked out for a week and available for up to 3 renewals. The best part is they are free! Tip- DeKalb County libraries have no fines through the end of August for children’s books and DVDs!
- Keep blankies and special stuffed animals close by. If your child still naps, don’t pack up napping snuggles in the suitcase. Keep them in the backseat close to your kiddo in case a nap is needed.
- Have a few car games on hand or in mind. Our family likes to play car Bingo, categories, and make up stories on our long car rides. Some of my favorites as a child included counting cows and looking for different state license plates.
Final Tips:
- Make sure everyone has a set of headphones close by in case you need some solitude at any point!
- Check your GPS software to make sure you don’t have “avoid toll roads” checked. If so, expect your travel times to be MUCH longer. And yes, this happened to me and I drove more hours than I should have.
- Consider packing/bringing a twin blow up mattress (with linens) in order to avoid a rollaway bed fee at many hotels!
Happy road trip trails and tales to your family!
xoxo, brooke
brooke's brain 
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