As a child my family never flew anywhere. With three children in tow, I suppose my parents realized it was much more cost effective to travel by car. So travel by car we did… as far as Maine. Coming from Florida we spent about 48 hours on the road during that specific trip.  I do remember moments of sheer hallucination and restlessness. My sisters and I were all in our teen years, so 24 hours (one way) on the road included some giggles, shoves, yelling and eventually delirious roaring laughter. My youngest sister and I would get so bored that we would play pranks on one another just for laughs. This usually resulted in dad threatening to pull the car over, and a few times, he did.

 

After those long and (what felt like) torturous moments stuck in a car, I promised myself that I’d never be put in that situation again. I would always fly for all of my traveling needs. So here I am at 27, married with two nephews in tow. We just completed a total of 28 hours on the road driving from Delaware to Florida. How did this happen? Well, it seems that there is something quite cost effective after all, about taking a group of 4 to Florida in a car versus an airplane. Also… something a little more nostalgic too. I suppose that looking back now, I realize every child should have a good road trip memory. It’s those long hours where you’re all sitting together and the delirium starts to take over, that you realize you’re making memories.

 

I suppose you could say that I am now somewhat of a road tripping pro. So I decided to share some of our “travel hacks” for those planning their own trip this summer. There’s a solid month or more until school starts up, so if you’re packing your bags for one last summer fling, here are some tips on how to make the journey a little more fun!

 

1)   Pack a Road Trip Basket – My sister-in-laws were extremely thoughtful and made us a gift basket with fun goodies to enjoy while on the road. There were coloring books, markers, magazines and candy that we would pull out at various moments during the drive and pass out. It gave an air of excitement to the experience each time we’d dig into the bag.

2)   Books on CD – I often feel bad for the driver on road trips. It seems that while the whole car can skim their cell phones or watch a movie on their iPads, the driver is left out and quite bored. Listening to a book on CD includes everyone and can prove quite entertaining! We prefer radio theater discs, as they’re a little more dramatic than actual books being narrated. We’ve listened to classis such as Oliver Twist and the Narnia series.

3)   Traditional Games – Sure it takes a little more effort, but playing silly games make the time go by! Try the “Alphabet Game,” where each member of the car must find every letter of the alphabet either on a sign or car tag. You’d be surprised at how much fun you’ll start having.

4)   Reading Time – We live in such a chaotic world, that reading so many times gets replaced with Facebook postings, Pokemon hunting and movie watching. Encourage your kiddos to bring a book with them and take an hour every few hours to have reading time.

5)   Set a Clear Timeline – We noticed that if you have specific times set for lunch, driving breaks, dinner and then arrival, it eases everyone’s mind. It keeps you from feeling like the trip will never end if you have a potty and snack break planned at 12:30pm versus just whenever… And it’ll keep your children from constantly asking if you’re there yet!

 

Do you have a road trip hack that you’d like to share? Send them to shenae@donwilliamsgroup.com to be featured on our next blog! We love hearing from our readers and clients. At the Don Williams Group we always put our clients needs first. If there is ever anything you might desire from us, please do not hesitate to call (302)545-6859 to speak to one of our agents. We are a group of skilled professionals that love the Delaware real estate market and enjoy putting great people into great homes. For all of your realty needs including buying a home or selling real estate, give us a call today!