Alright, so we're realizing that this trip home is going to cost us a big giant chunk of money, and I'm looking for ideas. We have a 15-hour drive ahead of us with two kids and two dogs. I am welcoming anyone's ideas for:
- Car food. We really don't want to spend the money on fast food the whole way home (which is how we usually do it), so what food can we prepare ahead of time for us and the kids to save money (and time) by not stopping?
- Car games. We aren't much for the whole "family games" thing, but we are going to need to entertain our children for a very long time in the car... so we might get desperate enough to humiliate ourselves with car games. If we knew any.
- Music. Steve and I have very different taste in music, so I'm opening it up to a public brainstorm. Leave a comment with music you like so I can hurry and download new music for our iPods along the way! The drive is absolutely unbearable without good music to listen to, and even worse than unbearable when we're fighting about what to listen to.
- How to stay awake while driving! I am the WORST when it comes to driving, I fall asleep even on short drives in the middle of the day. Do you have any tips on how we can keep ourselves/each other awake instead of stopping at a hotel?
5 comments:
Cheap food on the go . . . go to Costco. There should be several of them along your way. Usually they are located near the freeway. Large hot dog or polish dog and a medium drink = $1.65.
Full size pizza = $10.00.
Medium drink with a refill = $.55
Sit there in the store to eat the first half of the pizza . . . eat the rest along the way. Wrap a piece in tin foil - set it on the engine for a few miles . . . toasty!
Don't try to both stay awake. One sleeps the other drives. When I was a kid our family drove from Salt Lake to Jacksonville Florida in two days (each way). We only stopped for gas, potty breaks, and food. Dad drove - mom slept . . . mom drove . . . dad slept. I still have a clear memory of sitting up through the night with my mom as she drove from Arizona through New Mexico and into West Texas. Dad did 75% of the driving.
Rolling down the windows helps to stay awake. Keep coats available for everyone else in the car, in case they need to stay warm while the driver's window is down. The driver doesn't get a coat. :)
Trade off driving duties OFTEN. Don't drive until you're really tired.
Whoever is driving gets to choose the music and the volume level if you're listening to the car radio. If you both have iPod's you can each listen to your own music with earphones.
Drive safely!
Dad
Get a cooler and pack some sandwiches..turkey, bologna, whatver u guys like. put soda or juice or whatever in there too ( with ice, lol)
As far as music goes...im probably not much help. i like evertything from kelly clarkson to alan jackson.
hmm...the car ride is a good one. when we travled from WA to Fl, the kids were pretty entertained with just looking out the window or reading a book. Im lucky..both of mine are AMAZING car travelers, so Ive never really had to worry. If you had a bit of xtra $ you could always but a car dvd player and bring their fav. dvds along....thats always a good distraction. eventually, they will get bored and tired from sitting and will just sleep.lol.
We would sometimes count how many liscense plates we could find from a cetain state b4 we crossed a state line.(it didnt have to be the same state we were in...it could be anywhere) i know they are kinda young for that so you could try saying" lets see how many red(or blue or white) cars we can count till we get to....(the next state)
As for the driving thing. Keep the windows down even if its freezing( with the heat on) and bring some pepper...thats right. take a quick sniff and besides making you sneeze temporarily, it should help...or you could just make steve drive all the time lol!!
good luck chick!!! hope that helped a bit.
I think I can help! Justin and I were talking this morning about your trip. Do you have a portable DVD player? GPS? I could ship ours to you to use if you want. Let me know. It takes about 4-5 days UPS I think.
My parents always would pack a cooler with sandwich fixings, (bread or pitas, meat, cheese, pickles, lettuce). My mom would also buy those big Malt-O-Meal bags of cereal and plastic cups and we'd eat our cereal out of a cup. I don't know that I would recommend milk in said cup but dry cereal is better than nothing.
I think a cooler is a necessity so that you don't have to buy expensive, unhealthy food along the way!
A cooler is an absolute necessity, even if it's just a cheapo styrofoam one from Walmart. I think they're about $2. Or try a thrift store for a used one. Only drinks in there with ice or ice packs. Don't waste the coldness on foods that will get soggy or old or whatever. I know you are a picky eater and food in the cooler for a couple days isn't likely to appeal to you.
Do most of your shopping in non-refrigerated aisles. Beef jerky, chips, breads, cereal, granola/bars, fruits, etc are all great. Try to mix up the healthy and not-so-healthy so you don't make yourself sick. Also remember that some foods are "loosening" and others are "constipating". You don't want either extreme on a road trip so mix it up and LOTS OF WATER. Soda is not water. Juice is not water.
Did you know that a hangover is just extreme dehydration? You can give yourself a hangover on a trip like this without hydrating, even if you don't drink alcohol.
Subway is in more small towns than big ones. Get the daily special to save money and that can be enough fresh food to keep you from getting sick at the thought of another slim jim.
Enjoy!
- Jon
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