So, you're leaving on a road trip.....what do YOU pack?

[maslex]

We're heading out in a couple of weeks on a road trip to N. Carolina, Tennessee and Pennsylvania from CT. We have 2 teenaged boys (16 & 17). We'll definitely have all the "electronics" (Ipods, Ipads, whatever they have LOL) They'll be equipped with downloaded movies/music for them to watch/listen to. Not sure what else they could bring to keep them occupied (they're not much into reading, especially in the car)

We'll also be packing the cooler, so we can stop and have some lunch along the way. I'm thinking sandwiches, chips, fruit, waters/sodas, cookies, etc. But it's always the same old/same old. What are some of your ideas to pack in a cooler for lunch.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

My kids play Farkle (a dice game) in the car when they tire of electronics. They're younger, but it's a fun game for adults as well. Other dice games might be fun too. We roll in a shoebox lid.

 

[happygirl]

Have a great trip

We have found a game I think it called something like Would You Rather. It's a fun game for EVERYONE makes the time go by so much quicker.

As for the cooler
Wraps
Dips and chips
lunchables
veggies
different types of salads

 

[Southernmiss]

Trail mix. We like walmarts mountain mix. Chocolate chip cookies, little Debbie snack cakes, pop tarts, gold fish crackers, cheese whiz and crackers, pretzels. We are out of town right now and those are some of the things we have.

For us, the snacks are part of the fun of a road trip.

 

[Southernmiss]

Double post

 

[HeatherC]

What a fun trip! We love road trips!

Our favorite foods are cold fried chicken...I buy the Banquet Frozen Skinless kind, cook it the day before and put in ziplocs.

We also like cold salads like tortellini salad, couscouscous saladm coleslaw, etc...whatever we haven't had in a while.

We also like Slim Jims, and candy bars...big box from BJ's or Walmart. Things they aren't usually allowed at home.

Mad Libs is also fun with teens...they make up stupid crazy things to say and find them hysterical.

I have also bought a "stupid jokes" book that was hysterical one year.

My kids also love being surprised on a road trip when we just pull into a Dunkin Donuts or Ice Cream place and get those $4 smoothies I don't usually buy for them.

Have a great time!

 

[Bojo]

Trail mix. We like walmarts mountain mix. Chocolate chip cookies, little Debbie snack cakes, pop tarts, gold fish crackers, cheese whiz and crackers, pretzels. We are out of town right now and those are some of the things we have.

For us, the snacks are part of the fun of a road trip.

Second the Trail Mix (or GORP); I make up a batch before we head out on any long, multi-day, trip.

 

[BillSears]

What do I pack...number one is a spare wheelchair. If my wheelchair breaks while I'm on the road I'm in big trouble so I pack a spare. But I suspect this doesn't help you decide what to pack.

I pack books and water. Lots of both because I never want to run out of either one.

 

[Janepod]

I pack books and water. Lots of both because I never want to run out of either one.

Same here. Books, water, magazines, Coke Zero, and more books and water.
And no matter where I'm going I pack a bathing suit. You never know.

 

[leebee]

We always pack spoon sized shredded wheat for road trips. I know it sounds silly, but I can only eat just so much sweet stuff, and the salty stuff gets to be too much after awhile. I am partial to the maple/brown sugar shreddy wheats, but we are happy with any of them. It's great to munch on! We are not big chip fans (too greasy) but pack crackers, triscuits, etc. for munching. DH's big treat is pretzels (the man knows how to live ).

In the cooler, we often have pudding, jello, yogurt, fruit cups, fruit, side salads, etc. I will pack things like the side salads (pasta, cole slaw, whatever) as individual sized servings in sandwich zip-top bags so we can just throw out the dirty bag- or leftover- without having to worry about dishes to wash or leftovers to deal with/spill. DD and I prefer a variety of bottled beverages (diet citrus tea, sobe, etc.) but DH likes to have some bottled juices along, too. As far as sandwich makings, I pack whatever the filling is (cold cuts, cheese, tuna/egg/chicken salad, etc) in bags or storage bowls and then pack lettuce, tomatoes, etc. separately. Rolls/bread are in a separate bag, and we bring along packets of mustard and mayo. We prefer to make our sandwiches "fresh" so the bread doesn't get all soggy.

We don't usually pack chocolate; it melts too easily and makes a huge mess. Fortunately we all enjoy things like swedish fish, twizzlers, good and plenty, etc., although as I said above, too much is too much when it comes to sweets.

 

[bookgirl]

We try to stick food that does not need cooling:

Squirt cheese and crackers

beef jerky

Apples/Bananas

pringles

PB/Cracker premade packages

Pretzel crisps/shoe string potatoes/chex mix

non chocolate candy (fruit slices, circus peanuts, sourpatch kids, hot tamales)

cookies

sometimes we will do cheese sticks, ham/creamcheese rollups cut to bite size to eat with crackers, deli meat/cheese, or grapes/precut fruit and these will go in the cooler if we bring them but we hate having a huge cooler so we keep cold things at a minimum

We have done sandwiches but we prefer snacks in the car and meals (even if just a sandwich) sitting in a restaurant (fast food or diner/chain).

the cooler is mostly for water/soda/milk etc.

However the thing we will stop and buy if we forget it are a roll of papertowels and wet wipes/wet washcloth. It never fails and they are worth avoiding an unplanned pitstop.

 

[Bungle]

For food we pack trail mix, beef jerky, drinks, sandwiches/wraps and a ziploc bag of cookies. For the kids they have their electronics but we also give each a disposable camera so they can take pictures along the way but I'm sure your teenagers have cameras on their phones. If all else fails a good game of eye spy eats up some times. What I do, and will be doing next week, is leave at 3am so I can get a good chunk of driving done while they sleep so I don't here a ton of "I"m bored" or "are we there yet". Have fun, I love road trips.

 

[Poohforyou]

On a road trip I especially want healthy snack because sitting in a car all day makes me feel like crap so I don't want to but more into my body. I go for fruit, veggies, snack size hummus, nuts and other stuff like that.

 

[kirstenb1]

I'm very un-techhie, so I pack old fashioned puzzle books, plus I treat myself to People Magazine, and all the other celebrity mags, so I can catch up on my "news". We pack those big variety packs of Frito Lay chips, so everyone can choose their favorites. The kids have a jillion electronic gadgets, and chargers, etc.

I like the idea of Trail Mix, hadn't thought of that.

 

[sasywtch]

My contribution is fun foods because sandwich stuff usually doesn't sound good when passing a pizza place.

Squirt cheese, salami, crackers

We did start packing chocolate bars but the trick is to put them in a tupperware type bowl so they don't get smushy.

I'm no help on the stuff to do as my kids are way older now and pre-movies, internet on the road days.

I second the person who said to just stop and get an ice cream. It sounds so simple but on a long road trip, it's a great time breaker.

 

[NHdisneylover]

Mine are 14 and 16 and we take 10-14 hour drives a few times a year.

In addition to electronics (iPOD for DS and laptop for DD), they tend to like:

Mad Libs

sketch pas and pencils

Logic Games (like the ones Thinkfun puts out http://www.thinkfun.com/ )

We also like to pack a Frisbee or soccer ball to pull out at rest stops--something that is fun and encourages all of us to move a little while we have the chance.

 

[momof1princess]

For food we pack trail mix, beef jerky, drinks, sandwiches/wraps and a ziploc bag of cookies. For the kids they have their electronics but we also give each a disposable camera so they can take pictures along the way but I'm sure your teenagers have cameras on their phones. If all else fails a good game of eye spy eats up some times. What I do, and will be doing next week, is leave at 3am so I can get a good chunk of driving done while they sleep so I don't here a ton of "I"m bored" or "are we there yet". Have fun, I love road trips.

We love beef jerky too! We usually take a few other snack foods-cheez its, gummy bears, pretzel crackers, apples and grapes. Thankfully, we only do a road trip about once per year.

We learned a hard lesson a few weeks ago when our car broke down on the way to WDW...take something you can eat for breakfast! We were stuck at an auto repair shop for over 7 1/2 hours with just our road trip food (beef jerky, cheez-its, and gummy bears). Never again!

 

[*JoGo*]

Trail mix. I get a big bag at Sam's then put it in snack sized baggies.
Water, couple diet cokes for me. Juice boxes and Gatorade for kids.
Boiled eggs
Junk food I don't usually let them get
Cookies, again, I put 4 in a snack sized bag.


For them to do.. They take their tablets and HEADPHOnES!!! No headphones = no sound. I'm mean.
Batteries.
Travel pillow. Instead of a blanket, they use a beach towel- we're usually taking a beach towel anyway so it's pulling double duty.

Then I bribe my younger son with red box movies. They can be returned to any red box and are easy to find anywhere.

We just did a 24 hr one way car trip.... It wasn't as awful as I imagined. Still, never again (I said that before...).

Have fun!

 

[tcufrog]

I really like audio books for long road trips. There are some great options these days that the whole family can enjoy. A friend of mine's family worked her way through the Harry Potter books on audio during a cross country road trip. I've heard that the World War Z audio book is great and would be suitable for teens. Another friend of mine has lots of kids. They like to read plays out loud during road trips. Everyone except for the driver gets a part or two.

For younger kids I recommend travel journals, the license plate game, activity books and Mad Libs. For kids who can't read yet magnet sets are a fun option.

For food I recommend reusable snack bags. You put snacks such as crackers and trail mix in large ziplocs and then dole them out into the snack bags at rest stops. Kids usually better at closing the velcro on a snack bag properly then closing a ziploc. I also recommend saving disposable grocery bags before a road to use as car trash bags. They're the prefect size and you can close them by tying their handles shut.

 

[mom2boys]

Sounds like a great trip. I love road trips. DS17 and I just returned from college orientation trip-1500 miles each way. We try to stop at a.n attraction each day. Sopped at a motorcycle museum, Lewis & Clark interpretation center, cowboy bar and grill, rock city and various local diners. DS protested the entire way to Rock City. Once he discovered that he could climb on the rocks, he was thrilled. A day later he spontaneously commented that the rocks were "kinda cool".


This might sound obvious but make you you have actual maps of the areas you will be traveling. GPS is not always reliable. My brother drives a tow truck anytime anyone mentions the GPS told me to go that way, he says "throw the GPS out the window and get a map".