Road Trip Essentials

Sorry I've not posted in a while. Right now, it's Friday after Thanksgiving and I'm at my parents' house in VA. I've been road tripping the holidays since I was in college, and though I do get tired of the driving sometimes, I think I've come close to perfecting the art of the road trip. There are certain things I always do when preparing for a road trip (which I probably get from my dad).

First, it's always a good idea to start a road trip with a clean vehicle. I didn't wash the van, but we did clean EVERYTHING out and vacuum it really well. We also vacuumed the car while we were at it.

Second, you have to be sure to pack all the right things. Aside from clothes, toiletries, etc., we have to be sure pack food, snacks, and different forms of entertainment for the boys. We like to limit the amount of TV the boys watch everyday, but when it comes to road trips, we're a little more lenient. After all, it's nice to be able to drive at lease 3 hours at a time before stopping.

Here's a picture of Isaiah, seemingly in a trance from watching a couple of hours worth of Winnie the Pooh.

Third, when driving with small children the food may get eaten, the videos may get old, and the trip is not over yet so other forms of entertainment must be discovered in order to survive the last leg of trip. The other day, Ezra decided to nap 20 minutes before our scheduled stop, so we kept on driving. Corrie was driving, so I moved to the back of the van to prepare our lunch, but also to help keep Isaiah occupied. This is where I recommend having an iPhone. Isaiah and I watched some videos of our recent trip to the zoo, looked at pictures of silly things we had done at home, and also took a couple of silly pictures ourselves.

Finally, no road trip is complete without a flat tire. This happens to be my first flat tire in all the miles I've driven over the years, and thankfully, the tire went flat in the driveway overnight after we arrived.

And there we have my quick guide to road trip essentials. Happy Thanksgiving!