My mom taught me about proper road trips. I took a lot as a kid. Dad was in charge of packing the suitcases in the back end (and later the rooftop carrier), Mom was in charge of packing the coolers and the kids. Each kid was allowed a small box/bag of personal items. Like a carry-on for the car. I remember bringing books. Karen and Kevin had their walkmen. Later we had candy. Gum was normally outlawed on trips but there may have been a black market going on for it (we also got per diem at the beginning of the trip so we didn't beg for souvenirs the whole time, some people used it to buy stock for their "store"). I can tell you lots of stories about road trips, but tonight I'm tired (from a mini roadtrip of my own) so you get a list of the random travel necessities my mom taught me to never leave behind:
1. Paper towels.
2. Maps. Never fully trust a gps unit, bring some paper maps.
3. Music and/or books on tape. Although books on tape for a carful of adults can get confusing. We kept losing track of where we were in the story last time we tried this. As kids they worked awesomely.
4. A wet washrag in a plastic baggie for spills.
5. Plastic bags for trash.
6. Enough snacks to not have to stop every thirty minutes (carrots, granola bars, trail mix, grapes, etc).
7. A cooler of pop with a bunch of sandwiches premade and cut, put back into the loaf bag.
8. Car blanket (why is it so cold with the ac on and so humid with the ac off? so frustrating!)
I've also discovered, probably through trial and error, that a straw in my water bottle saves me from a lot of spills.
(addendum and funny story!)
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