TC and I absolutely love traveling; we even love the road
trip part. Most likely it’s because they’ve become second nature to us.
From the time we started dating in 2008 (we met in 2006)
until now (3 years into our marriage), we’ve traveled over 30,000 miles – and that’s
just the trips we can remember with both of us in the car (not counting our
individual trips or flights). This happens when your families live 13 hours apart, you
meet in a city that’s over 5 hours from back home and your friends are from all over the country. We’ve road tripped with
friends and traveled to see their families from Washington, Vermont, Alabama
and Ohio to Florida, you definitely cover some ground.
After traveling 34,314 miles, you learn to entertain yourself in the car.
For example, last year we caravanned to Nashville with my family. Because we
were all going our separate ways on Christmas day, we could not share a
vehicle. I tried to get creative on how we could still stay connected
with each other. I decided I would work on the props for our Christmas Eve photo booth and
entertain the family as we rode. Hilarious. Conversation and fun for me, TC
and our travel buddies.
Our next road trip is in a week….
We’ve played all kind of car games. Asking “brick or wood”, “soccer
or football”, “blue or yellow” is now the radio tune when things start to get too
quiet. We’ve dreamed on car rides. We’ve reminisced on car rides. We’ve shared thoughts,
feelings, fears and hopes on car rides. We’ve taken scenic detours (what’s a 30
minutes or 10 more miles in the grand scheme of things?). We’ve laughed, cried,
prayed, and sat in silence.
We typically don’t fight about driving. In fact, I’ve never
met a better travel buddy. We don’t stress out if we take the wrong turn. That’s
because Trent drives. I navigate. And if we get off course, we know we will eventually
get back on track and maybe see something unexpected on the way.
Typically road trips mean it's vacation. So we count the
driving part as a break too. We’ve collected quite a few tips for making our
trips fun, so we thought we’d share with you...
· Pick.
Are you the driver, navigator, activity planner?
· Locate.
Find markers that you can look forward to in order to help determine travel time remaining. It always
helps us gauge our travel.
· Stop.
See what fun stops are along the way. We recently stopped at Noccalula Falls
on a trip to Tennessee last week because it’s less than five minutes from the interstate. We stretched our
legs, read some history and took pictures for the memory books. Try it…
· Read.
Find a book you both are interested in (somebody will have to read out loud or
listen to a book on tape), and make it a conversation starter (TC doesn’t LOVE
to read….but he LOVES reading, cue me)
· Research.
With smart phones around these days, the road trip can be more than its even
been- Research! The passenger(s) research NOT the driver. When we are headed through a
city or traveling to a city, we will research what significant historical
events occurred locally, find major landmarks, and research what
they are known for.
· Play.
Name that tune, Going on a Picnic, Find the Alphabet…create your own game.
These pass a lot of time.
· Eat.
We usually don’t take snack if we can afford it in our budget because it
give us a great excuse to wake-up. However, don’t get caught hungry…hungry
equals grumpy and road trips are 10x better if everyone is happy.
· Stay.
If you have to stay overnight en route, find a local place for dinner or
breakfast- might as well make the most of it. Don’t pressure yourself to make
the trip in one day if conditions are not conducive.
· Pack.
A camera, a phone charger, a GPS (smart phone, map, GPS), layers or blankets in case your
travel buddy is colder or hotter than you, snacks if you need them and a great
attitude. I promise you - whatever attitude you pack will make or break a trip. I've been broken down on the side of the road on a trip more times that I have fingers. I've always made it to my destination and met pretty great people in the process. Make the breakdowns adventures too; though I highly recommend getting roadside assistance. Side note: I don’t take a
pillow for the trip because I try to make it my goal to help the driver stay
awake…the older I get, it’s a little harder to stay awake, but I imagine it is
for TC too).
· Enjoy!
Have fun! These can be the moments that make life an adventure.
Every couple has their areas of tension…so if yours is
traveling, hopefully this can help. P.S. I realize there are no kids in our current travel...without a doubt it makes a difference, though I'd like to think this is still entirely possible. Perhaps more patience on the road will be needed once we have children?
Our next road trip is in a week….
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