How to road trip like a BOSS

My husband is from Southern California. I am from Southeast Michigan. We live in Virginia.  We literally have family spread all across this country, and the only way to see them is to travel to them.

Road trip summer 2016

We have always enjoyed travelling together, ever since our first trip from Michigan to California via the Greyhound bus. Now a days we do our travelling mostly via our own personal car. Through the years we have realized some things just don't work for us. Like driving straight through to anywhere.  We have to plan stops, and places to get out and explore. Otherwise I think we all get overtired and cranky.

open road

Tip #1: Set a time limit. If you cant stand being in the car longer than 4 hours, then make it a point to preplan a stop someplace every 4 hours.  Whether it be to just get out and stretch your legs for 15 minutes at a rest stop.

rest stop in Arkansas

Tip #2: Decide how long you will drive total each day.  Driving coast to coast is a several day drive, no matter how you plan the trip.  We set limits to staying in the car no longer than 12 hours every day, total.  Which usually means 10 hours of driving time, and 2 hours worth of breaks, to eat, for rest stops, and for and adventure.

Foamhenge

During our trip last summer we planned one roadside attraction every day. Usually we would stop halfway through the day and spend an hour just exploring, and seeing new things.  In Virginia we visited Foamhenge. In Tennessee we stopped and saw The Statue of Liberation. Oklahoma we stopped at Pops 66 Soda Ranch and had lunch. Of course we couldn't leave without buying a few cases of unusual soda. Texas, we saw the inspiration for Ramones Auto body shop in Disney's Cars movie.  The building is an old Conoco gas station, but now serves as Shamrocks Chamber of Commerce. We also stopped at the Cadillac Ranch and left our mark on Amarillo.

Tip #3 bring healthy snacks, and a few non-healthy ones too.  After being in the car for 4 days, there is nothing I crave more than REAL FOOD. Especially the way we used to travel. We would bring chips and soda and crackers and junkfood.  You need to bring a cooler with some nutrition.  If your anything like me, car rides make me swell up like a balloon.  Its painful and can be dangerous.  Make sure you keep your cooler filled with fresh veggies, and hummus, or bread and fillings for sandwiches.  It saves you a ton of money, by not stopping at fast food joints.  It also makes the trip more enjoyable. I am not saying not to bring chips, but make sure you get some good food in there too.  It will make everyone happier. My favorites are cheese, and crackers, carrots and hummus, or premade sandwich wraps or burritos.

Tip #4 bring things for your kids to do.  Music, tablets, coloring books and crayons, blank paper so they can play games like tic tac toe. My daughter likes to bring a journal so she can draw, and so she can log all the fun stuff we did along the way, or meals she really enjoyed. What can i say shes a foodie. They are not going to look out the window and enjoy the scenery the same way you will. So let them keep themselves busy any way they can.  But please limit their phone use.  We brought our nieces on a trip to Smoky mountains this year, and I took her phone away completely.  She has a habit of nonstop texting. While I appreciate that she loves her friends (shes 13) this really is a time for family togetherness.  And if they always have their minds on whats going on back home, they arent really truly bonding with you.  And they aren't creating memories of grand adventures, because their minds are back home.

Tip #4  Take time to visit some natural wonders.  We made a plan to visit some of our nations National Parks.  We bought the annual pass, to save a little money.  We knew we would be visiting several parks, and some of the fees are pretty high. For example the fee for the Grand Canyon is $25 a day. So we figured if we spend $80 on the year pass, we can visit as many of the parks as we want over the next year. The pass has already paid for itself. During this trip we visted Grand Canyon in Arizon, Painted Desert and Petrified Forest, Arizona, Sequoia and Kings in California, and Seguaro in New Mexico. It was like traveling to completely different distant lands, and some times it felt like we were on another planet altogether. Spending time in nature is a priceless experience.  Its good for the soul, and the brain.  There is so much you can learn by visiting our National Parks.  Your kids, and you, will learn things they don't teach in school.  And I can tell you, there is no experiance that compares to touching a giant Sequoia tree, or getting poked by a Saguaro Cactus, that only grow in a very small area in the Sonoran Desert.

The Grand Canyon

Painted Desert

Seguaro National Park

The best tip I can give you to road trip like a boss is this, Sit back and enjoy the adventure.  Stop the rushing to get to your destination. Enjoy the sites, enjoy your family, soak it all in.

Sequoia and Kings National park