I am not a fan of sitting still in a car for a long period of time when I know there are faster options like planes! However, since the beginning of this semester my view on long car rides has had to change. I am part of a sorority which has many advantages; one of them being making some amazing friends, but another part is being able to participate in fun conferences where other chapters from all over the U.S. are able to network, work on our leadership, and just try to improve our chapter the best that we can. This year the conference was held in Rochester, New York. It’s about a six hour drive but can take even longer depending on if you accidentally set your GPS to avoid toll booths and take scenic routes like my car did (I’m sure the view would have been nice if we weren’t driving at night where all you saw was black).
After doing that long drive and other smaller road trips to Toledo, Ontario to visit my sorority Little over the summer and for Thanksgiving break, I feel adequate enough to share some helpful tips for making a road trip fun for everyone in the car.
These can be divided into two parts: before leaving on the trip, and advice for during the trip. The first two are geared towards before the trip, while the last two are bits of advice for the duration of the trip.
- Snacks
-
No matter how long the drive may be snacks are an essential part of any road trip. Restaurant stops may be part of your adventure, especially if you find a chain restaurant that isn’t easily available back home (shoutout to IHOP and SONIC). But between those stops, having something to snack on helps pass the time as well as makes sure the overall mood in the car is a good one. While the go-to thought is junk food, it does not always have to be the case, especially if you know your trip is going to be packed with unhealthy food in the first place.
I always make sure to have a variety in my snack order when going on a trip. This can include a salty snack, a sweet snack and one chocolate (because yes, they are different) The variety also applies to drinks. Water is a must because juice or coffee may seem like the fun choice at first but all the salt and dehydrating drinks will just make you want you to have water even more. This is also a good way to help with the unhealthy food you may be eating throughout the long car ride.
The snacks also do not need to add to you budget for your vacation; homemade snacks are always welcome and sometimes encouraged. As I mentioned before, sometimes by the end of the trip, or at least on the way home, those sugary unhealthy snacks might be the most unappealing things in the world and all you will crave is some good fruits and veggies. It should also be noted that it is the job of the back passenger to distribute the snacks so the front of the car does not get over crowded. It is also the job of the co-pilot to hand and aid the driver in eating their snacks so they can focus on the road. This may include opening a bag of chips or passing them crackers.
- Tunes
-
Every great adventure has a good soundtrack. Some may believe that it is up to the driver to control the music of the trip but I think that is completely false. The role goes to the co-pilot. The driver’s main focus and job is making sure that you are able to get to the destination safely and to keep track of the gas intake. While music may seem like an easy role to take on, it is more complicated. The mood of the car is always changing from moments of relaxing silence, to excitement and to times when the chatter is non stop, the playlist should reflect this. Sticking to one genre may get repetitive after a while, and not really fit any of the previously mentioned moods. It is always a good idea to have multiple playlists ready at any moment and if you’re old school, or the car doesn’t have an AUX port, CD’s are always a good option.
- Attitude
-
When dealing with a road trip, it is important to keep in mind that you will be stuck in a car for a while. Even if you make a stop to shop or go to the restroom, you will still end up back in the car with the same people and minimal brain stimuli (unless you have one of those cars with the TVs, then you should be golden, provided you actually still own DVDs).
It is important for everyone in the car to keep in mind their attitude and stay positive throughout the trip and recognize when you might need a nap or a snack to improve your mood. This involves doing self check-ins and, when you are feeling irritable or annoyed, ask yourself if it is because of the people in the car or if you just need to stretch our legs and eat a Snickers.
- Conversation
-
This is my favourite part of any road trip. I have had the pleasure of having all my road trip adventures with girls I already consider to be my very close friends. In reality we have only really known each other for about two years, so there is still so much more to learn about one another. Having good conversations can lead you to discovering some amazing thought your friends have about subjects that normally may not come up in your everyday conversation. But since you are stuck in a car, why not bring them up now?
You end up talking about the most random things, like which celebrity you think would make amazing parents, to more serious topics such as insecurities about school. The car ends up feeling like a safe zone without judgement or prejudice. It is also one of the only activities that can make the time go by quickly without realizing.
Of course there are probably many more tips I could give but these were the four that I found really made my trip even better. Plus I would probably need more road trip exposure to make a longer list so if anyone wants to drive about 3 hours for some pancakes, don’t be afraid to hit me up. My answer will always be yes!