Growing up, I didn't know anyone who took airplane trips. We were car people. And despite the cramped quarters, brothers elbowing our ribs, and even car sickness, many of us remember those family trips fondly. We laugh about them. We write movies about them. They line our nostalgic landscape.
Now that you're a parent, add some old-fashioned fun to your everyday common sense, and give your kids precious road trip memories of their own.
As I see it, aside from the food, there's the car and there's the journey.
The Car
- Start with a clean car, inside and out. It's like sleeping on new sheets.
- Inflate the tires, kick your spare, check fluid levels.
- Make sure that your driver's license, registration, and insurance are current. Discovering 500 miles from home that your documents have expired can take all the fun out of being pulled over.
- Bring a working fire extinguisher. Maybe you've never experienced a car fire, but how many have you passed on the road?
- Bring a car charger for your cell phone. If you break down in the middle of the tumbleweeds, that AC charger won't do any good.
- You know those sun shades that people use for babies in the back seat? Bring a few of them. Trust me.
The Journey
Sometimes on road trips, as in life, this is the forgotten element: If we fixate on the destination, we can miss the beauty of the trip. So here are a few tips to make going there as sweet as being there.
- Turn off the technology. Sure, pods and Game Boys are winning the war on whining, but a child transfixed by the controls misses the apple orchards, the billboards, the mountains, the cacti, the rivers, the road signs. Encourage kids to stare out the windows and daydream.
- Turn the technology back on. Everybody loves a good story. Bring a book on CD. Choose your title carefully, and you might have a car full of kids begging to find out what happens next.
- Teach your children. A road trip can turn your car into a traveling classroom. When you're mapping your course, mark points of historical and geographical interest. You can discuss the significance of these places and enjoy the anticipation. "Get ready, kids. In ten miles we'll pass the site of the first chocolate-chip cookie." That ought to get 'em.
- Play a few old-fashioned car games:
- Twenty Cars. Count the cars coming from the opposite direction. Number twenty is your prize.
- The Alphabet Game: Watch for words or objects whose names begin with the letters of the alphabet, in order. Good luck on q, x and z!
- Either/Or: Would you rather be a bird or a dolphin? Would you like to have the power to be invisible or to read people's minds? A great game for creative thinking and discussion.
- List mania: Take turns naming things alphabetically—animals, cities, celebrities.
- License Plate Game: Write silly sentences. Start each word with a letter from the license plate on the car ahead.
- Car Bingo: Remember those little bingo cards, with the sliding red windows? You got to close the red window if you were the first to see the silo, cow, haystack. Invest in a set.
Remember, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single trash bag. Or is it a single granola bar? A single magnetic chess board? Anyway, it's about being prepared. Make the journey as much fun as the destination, and you may be spared that timeless cry: "Are we there yet?"
