Little has two days of school left. Yes, days. Come the end of the week, three of us will be on summer break. (Big, I’m afraid, has two more weeks.) So we’ve been busy talking about summer and planning our fun around here.
Honestly, the only thing the kids want to do is go on road trips. Since our good friends moved a couple hours away, they’ve been counting down to summer so we can go visit them. The boys are also eager to hit the beach, visit my grandma, and see their San Diego family. (The fact that there’s a pool or ocean at each of these end points certainly doesn’t hurt.)
I actually don’t mind being in the driver’s seat, but I know it takes prep. There’s the packing, which I’ve got down to a science. The snacking. The tank filling. The entertainment.
I asked the kids what their favorite road trip snack is, and Little shouted, “Trail mix with candy!” Ever since Big checked out a cookbook at the school library, they’ve been anxious to make their own mix. Somehow I don’t recall M&Ms and gummy bears being mentioned as ideal ingredients, but that hasn’t stopped them from getting creative with their shopping list. I promised I’d take them to Safeway before our trips so they can do the shopping (yes, I do remember how that usually goes…) The very cool thing about shopping there is that my Rewards Points earn me a discount on gas at Chevron — perfect for road trip season. Last time I was at the pump I saved $.20 per gallon. (Just think of all the candy healthy goodies we can get with that extra change!)
As for entertainment, we’re pretty good at the Alphabet Game — spotting letters on signs along the way. And of course the DVD player gets a bit of love. But music is the one thing we can all agree on. I always make a road trip mix CD with our favorite dance songs. (Whoever says you can’t move when you’re strapped in hasn’t hit the road with our family.) This summer’s CD is likely to include Hall of Fame (by The Script), Ho Hey (we love the Nashville soundtrack version), 22 (by Taylor Swift), some Radio Disney favorites, and, if Pink has any say, Party in the USA (by Miley Cyrus).
No doubt our adventures will be captured here along the way, so stay tuned. I didn’t say all this prep would make for smooth sailing. Just sailing.
What are your road trip musts? Share in the comments (by Thursday, June 6th at 11:59pm PT) and be entered to win a $50 Safeway Gift Card so you can experience the rewards of the new Chevron partnership as well. The winner must live in Northern California near a Safeway to qualify, and will be chosen at random.
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Safeway, but all opinions are my own. For more details on the partnership, click here.
Photo credit: morgueFile.com
Books on tape! It saved us one year as we were listening to one of the Harry Potter books on tape that my “Big” had already read. Otherwise with the LA traffic after getting a late start in San Diego, someone would have jumped out of the car!
Great idea, Melinda. Thanks! We’ll hit the library before our trips too.
We live in Berkeley and my family lives in Southern California. We take road trips about every 3 months… Our go to tricks- SNACKS!! Books, Coloring books, dolls, a lot of pop music and singing and when that’s all done with and everyone is bored we break down and play a movie in our mini van (which I’m still trying to get used to owning!)
I’m right there with you, Rebecca! Embrace the minivan!
Our little one is about to turn 1. In her first few months, she absolutely hated the car and cried every moment the car was in motion. At some point around 6 months on a vacation in Hawaii, where we drove all over the place, she finally seemed to like it and get used to it.
Fast forward several months later and we have begun to drive around less with her and she has fallen back to her ways of crying all the time when she is in the car.
So now we have two things we make sure we bring to help distract her: toys and snacks. The snacks are especially helpful. Her favorites now are Cheerios and raisins. Because a baby that is chewing is one that isn’t crying!
How is she almost one?! Wow, that’s amazing. And I agree…a full mouth is usually a happy one.
We always bring books, water bottles, snack and first aid kit when we go on the road trip
Great must-have list!
We have young children so our musts are rather a lot! Snacks, books, batteries, water bottles, sun tan lotion, first aid kit, bug spray, diapers, Lysol wipes, change of clothes. Oh its exhausting even thinking about it 🙂
Batteries! Yes…brilliant point. Happy travels!
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We get on the road by 5 a.m. to make the drive from Davis to south Orange County. That way the first couple of hours are mellow and most kids fall asleep for the beginning of the journey. Then we are sure to have snacks, water and a change of clothes since we put the kids in the car in their pajamas. And when the drive gets a little too long, we put on a movie.
Funny, we do the opposite when we drive to San Diego. We leave around 4pm or 5pm, so the kids sleep the last half of the trip. It works well!