My family has a house in northern coastal Maine. We live in Baltimore, making the trip a solid 12 hours (it usually ends up a little longer). We do the trip all the time because we go back and forth a lot. I have got very good at surviving a long car ride. I have also driven it—but that is an entirely different story.
This type of a ride is not a “road trip” where one stops and sees things along the way. This is “get from point A to point B as fast as humanly possible.”
Maybe, like me, you have to do this a lot. Maybe you just have had to endure it one time. Whatever your situation is, here are a few tips to help you survive.
- Prepare ahead of time. I have provided a checklist at the bottom, of items that I think are necessary for a long car ride. The absolute last thing that you want to do is to make a lot of unnecessary stops. The more stops you make, the longer it is going to take for you to reach your destination.
- Sleep. This is the best way to pass the time. If you get carsick, as I do, take a Dramamine, but take the original formula. It’ll make you drowsy and will help you rest in addition to helping your motion sickness. I have created a playlist on my iPhone called “Sleep” and the only time I listen to it is on long car rides when I want to sleep.
- Bring entertainment. Make sure that you bring your phone, iPad and even your laptop (all fully charged) to keep you occupied for the time that you aren’t sleeping. In my family, we love to bring packs of Trivial Pursuit cards and someone reads them and we all shout out answers. Find something that works for all of you, because interacting with each other makes the time go by, too. At certain points, even after listening to music on our headphones for hours, we will play music out loud over the speakers and we will all sing out loud. Anything that passes the time and gets us somewhat active.
- Leave at night. This is something to discuss with your driver. The driver goes to sleep at a chosen time (say 5 p.m.) and then wakes up a solid eight hours later and you start out on your trip in the middle of the night. Depending on where you live and where you are going, this can be very helpful in regards to traffic, but it also helps the riders because it is easier to sleep for more of the ride when it is nighttime.
- Avoid looking at the clock. Avoid it like the plague. It is only going to make you more miserable. I tend to look at it in fractions. “We are 2/8 of the way there!” It makes the chunks seem less daunting. Counting states is a good option, too. Just avoid staring down the minutes.
Here is my list of items to bring with you on a long car ride:
- Dramamine—Even if you don’t get carsick, I recommend this because a lot of people start to feel sick after hours of being in the car.
- Phone
- iPad/Laptop
- Car chargers
- Snacks
- Something sweet and easy, like candy. Beware of chocolate if you are travelling to a hot area because it might start to melt if you leave it in the car.
- Something salty and crunchy, like popcorn. Not a lot of calories, which makes it a good “busy” snack.
- Trivia Cards
- Any games that would be easy to play in the car
- Pillow
- Blanket
- Gum and hard candies (instead of a lot of drinks, to avoid a lot of bathroom stops)
- Comfy clothes and socks
Ready? Set? Survive a car ride!
