Guest Blogger: Lex Valishvili
A road trip is an exciting word at any age or geographical location. Either it’s a drive through the evergreen mountains of Oregon, by the beach and palm trees in Florida, or through the deserts of Arizona—with just a few things aligned, I believe, it can be a memorable experience for you and your children! I ain’t an expert but these simple things helped us and might help your next adventure too!
Be Prepared Yourself
Like in building a house or a business, planning can save you a lot of headache in the future. Knowing where you are going might sound way too obvious, but learning ahead of time about long areas with no gas station or rest area can come very handy. After figuring out where you are going, it’s important to check what are you going on. Cars serve us well every day, but save yourself from experiencing a movie scene of travelers whose car breaks down in the middle of nowhere. Those characters rarely have a pleasant surprise happening to them. Find your local Firestone location and have professionals do their job. Here is a page with coupons that can be very helpful!
Prepare Kids
Our favorite traveling hack is preparing activities for kids to enjoy during the ride. I spent hours searching for advice on the Internet but what I’ve learned from experience- every kid is different and the best way is to tailor activities for each child separately. My daughter, Heaven, for example, loves to read so we let her choose books to take with her, while my oldest son, Noah, is a big fan of Legos (just like his dad) so he packs those into his backpack. Drawing, music toys, etc. – think of what your kids enjoy the most and involve them by letting to choose (or at least participate in choosing) activities for the car.
Have Fun Along the Way
Here is another road trip hack that works for us every time: games! Our all-time favorite is “I see” game. It’s easy and children can play as early as 2 years old. One person says “I see something that starts with “R” and ends with “w” while everybody else trying to guess what it is (the answer was “rainbow”, in case you were trying to figure out).
In conclusion, I wish you many fun family road trip adventures and always remember, so put all worries or fears away and go explore this beautiful earth we were gifted with! Memories are meant to be shared and they sure do the shape of kids’ thinking in the future. Plus fresh air is always a good idea.
