A new year means 365 fresh days that can be used for road trips. As someone currently on a road trip right now, (well, at the time of writing this article), I’ve had to improvise some things to do during the ride that could get us through the dark nights, the two-hour traffic jams, and the big open interstates.

1. Scan Radio Stations

Especially when traveling across many states. This helps find just the right tune (or increasing amount of static) for the drive ahead.

2. Riddles and Brain Teasers

This helps especially when you hit those rough traffic spots. Who knew that the red house was on the left, the blue house was on the right, but no matter what the white house was in Washington DC.

3. Put on a Personal Concert for the Driver

Refer to number one for the perfect station (Spotify and YouTube are acceptable alternatives). It makes the monotonous road signs for the driver more bearable when you sing hit songs word for word with corresponding actions.

4. Have a Jam Out

As you can see, a radio or aux cord makes any trip more tolerable. If you find a song that all passengers love, then turn it up and jam out.

5. Catch up with Friends

In my case, it was my mom. I hadn’t really had the opportunity to catch up with my mom on life, and this trip together allowed for this to happen.

6. Find Things to Laugh About

Personally, we found that we got the most laughter out of the designs on 18-wheeler trucks. For example, the side of the truck said “Pioneer Trucking,” but the beyond obscure font used made it look like “Pioneer Twerking.” I’ll let you guess how long my mom and I laughed about that…

7. Judge Other’s Poor Driving Skills

This will certainly pass the time, as seemingly rude this sounds. But you can’t help but get frustrated and irritated at those drivers who weave between people or drive like they’re super tipsy. You know EXACTLY what kind of driving I’m talking about.

8. Draft Articles for the Odyssey

See what I did there? Put your computer in airplane mode to conserve battery and just slap out some drafts into a word document. There’s nothing more inspiring than the open road in the gorgeous mountains.

9. Sightsee

There’s so much of God’s great creation that you can see just by driving the roads connecting it. Traffic jams can be good in this aspect because it allows you to absorb beautiful skylines… or bountiful road signs.

There you have it, nine ways to make a multiple-hour road trip seem over in a pinch. If you have any other cool ideas, share them with the world. I’d love to know the ways you personalize your road trips. Above all, be safe out there. You never know what may happen!