Family Road Trip Tips

We are back to school today, but I'm still living off the Summer travel high.  We had some really great trips this Summer.  Kevin plans the details of our trips and I work on packing and organizing us along the way.

If you need an INSTANT mood booster, stop at a nice gas station and let everyone pick out a snack or two of their choice.  I don't police this process much other than to remind them it's a great time to get things that they love.

Pay attention to the restaurant signs along the way and if you want something, say something.  I love a good iced coffee.  Kevin prefers the gas station taht has coffee bean grinders to make each individual cup.  So we scouted out the food and drinks we enjoy.

Kevin saw that there was a Wally's gas station just a little out of the way when we were headed to Wisconsin.  He planned for us to surprise the kids with a late night snack (popcorn of all kinds) at Wallys, a hotel nearby and then breakfast at Wally's before getting on the road.  Wally's is the Midwest version of Buc-ees.  It's so nice and clean.  Delicious brisket all day.  Gourmet popcorn and some really fun food, drinks and shopping.

Favorite snacks in our hotel room.

I don't plan as many road trip surprise gifts for the kids anymore.  Now that they are older, they prefer to pick out whatever sounds best to them.  So we plan our trips and keep an eye out for fun places to stop.

Some trips I do a post it note countdown on one of the back windows.  We did this for our road trip to Miami.  Although seeing a count down of 18 hours to get to Miami may not have been encouraging to anyone :)

We also empty any trash out of the van every single time we stop.  That keeps the van clean and mom happy.  It also helps make sure everyone has the space they need.

Make sure everyone packs the correct charging cords and/or has their portable chargers fully charged.

Bring a little car blanket for everyone in case they want to nap.  I use turkish towels and they work perfectly.  Each kid packs one in their backpack and uses it for a pillow or blanket or towel as needed.

Now it's back to school season and the traveling will have to wait a bit :)