I’ll be spending Easter weekend at my parents’ house. They live in a tiny town in north central Oklahoma, about a four hour drive. My daughter is working this weekend, so I’ll be traveling solo. I’ve pull together some guidelines on how to make a short road trip more fun.
The Car
After you’ve checked the fluids and tire pressure, empty the interior of all trash and put up a brand new air freshener. I also like to give the dashboard a good wipe down. You are going to be in here for awhile, do whatever you can to make it a pleasant space.
Gassing Up
I like to stop at bigger gas stations. They have a better selection of snacks and food, and some like Love’s or Buccee’s have the quirkiest souvenirs and other amusing items.
Speaking of food, I found a list on Drive.Safely.net of the most dangerous foods and beverages to have while driving. Click on the link above to find out how they created their list. Some of these I found pretty surprising, but after reading the article, it makes sense.
- Coffee
- Hot Soup
- Tacos
- Chili
- Juicy Hamburger
- Any barbeque food
- Fried chicken
- Jelly, cream or powdered doughnuts
- Soft drinks
- Chocolate
When Nature Calls
I head to a rest area. The restrooms seem to be cleaner and they usually have a nice place to stretch your legs.
Entertainment While in the Car
Music selection is a priority. I’ve created a playlist in my Spotify account specifically for a road trip. It’s full of songs that I love to sing. Since no one is in the car with me to be judgemental, I’m going to be screeching at the top of my lungs!
If I get tired of singing, I’ve also picked out a small collection of CDs that I can pop in and allow someone else to continue the concert.
Timeout.com had a list of the 50 Best Road Trip Songs of All Time. Take a look and see if you agree.
Entertainment Outside of the Car
Be spontaneous. Look for signs like “The Largest Ball of Twine” or places giving out free samples of bull testicles. Something out of the ordinary. Even if it turns out to be a bust, it makes for good conversation when you get to your destination.
I’ve, of course, driven this route before and I’ve discovered a fried pie shop, a cute town square in a small town, and a quirky boutique that I had read about in a magazine. Maybe this time I’ll stop by the Action Figure Museum.
If you need inspiration, there are a couple of websites you can check out before your trip:
Bored?
I usually have enough on my mind to keep myself preoccupied the entire time, but if I ever get extremely bored I can play the ABC game. You have to find all the letters of the alphabet in order from signs on the side of the road, and you can only use one letter from each sign. I tend to get stuck the most on the letter “J”.
Taking off on Friday. I’m hoping to stop by the boutique I mentioned earlier, they have some of the BEST stuff. I’ll post some pictures on the Tea With Traci Facebook page.
What about you? Share any tips you have or your variation of the ABC game in the comments below.
Ready to hit the road,
Traci
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