Hello again, dear reader.
Since our recent conversations have been all about adventure and exploring the world and broadening your horizons. And since we've covered building a fire and cooking as well as the 10 essentials, everyone should have in their adventure pack. I thought we would discuss a very important part of the adventure that often gets overlooked. And that is the road trip that is required to get to your intended destination dear reader. This of course is going to be more important, if you are taking a family road trip and have small children or grandchildren in the backseat. However, if you don't have small children are traveling with a group of friends from college for a reunion or a work retreat. There is no reason that these suggestions cannot be applied to your specific travel group dear reader. I should also clarify this point that I do, not as of yet have a family of my own although I have survived many, many, many family road trips and felt that I should pass on my knowledge of road trip survival skills to future generations. So in that spirit of the modern family road trip, here are a few tips and tricks for keeping everyone entertained...
Two words: car karaoke.
You can thank James Corden for this one. If the First Lady can jam out to “Get Your Freak On,” everyone in the vehicle can certainly kill a good 45 minutes or so belting out the hits. Let everyone take a turn selecting the song — that way you get an acceptable mix of Meghan Trainor and Meat Loaf.
Let them watch their favorite shows.
This may seem counterintuitive, but an hours-long jaunt to Yellowstone isn’t the time to enact those ambitious 10-minute screen time rules you’ve talked about. This option of course will work best if you have a 4G WiFi hotspot available. Either one that has been built into your car or truck or a portable hotspot generator, as this will allow everyone to have a wide selection of shows to watch through services like Netflix, however, a few do not have a WiFi hotspot available. Then you can always download a selection of shows to your laptop or tablet if you do, then everyone will be all set. Ergo, you’ll be all set.
Happily hand over your phone.
Bring along a prop box full of giant sunglasses, bright feather boas, and ridiculous mustaches, and turn the backseat of the car into an impromptu selfie photo booth. Bonus points if you get an early Christmas card out of it.
Catch up with Grandma and Grandpa.
Use Bluetooth so everyone can join in the conversation. They’ll answer the phone thinking it’s you, then be thrilled to hear a chorus of “Hi Grandma, hi Grandpa!” coming through the line. Plus, if it’s them you’re going to visit, you can find out what’s for dinner. I know you were wondering.
And then, when you’re close to your destination…
Encourage a bit of quiet time.
That way they’ll all be well-rested for when the real adventuring begins. First, get everyone nice and settled. Maybe turn up the A/C a bit. Then, put on your family’s favorite podcast (volume level: medium-low).
Hey, dreams count as entertainment, right?
As
always, dear reader, thanks for listing, and there will be more to come soon.
These are all such fun ideas! Keeping everyone, especially children, engaged and happy during a long car trip makes life so much easier. I like listening to audio books when I go on long trips. I choose something that doesn't require too much of my attention, maybe a "beach" book or something light.
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