The article below will be published in the summer edition of Mamatoga Magazine online this summer.
“People don’t take trips, trips take people.” -John Steinbeck
When I was in sixth grade, my best friend’s family drove in a minivan ALL THE WAY to Florida. I say it in all caps because to me this was amazing. To traverse the entire eastern seaboard with a family of seven? How? How long? What did you do? How often did you stop? So many questions.
I was raised mostly as an only child, the one child in a “his, mine and ours” family. My siblings never really vacationed with me except when I was a baby. Once I got to prime family vacation age, everyone was grown up. No minivan, no big trips to the beach or the lake. It was mostly just trips to my backyard pool or to family members’ homes.
So, as a parent, I was not built for the family road trip. I knew no cooler packed with Hi-C and sandwiches, no fun road games with brothers and sisters, no songs that we sang as we made our way to the next stop. I was untrained, unexposed, unwise to the ways of the road tripping family.
But somehow, I picked it right up.
As all things in childhood, my hunger for something I didn’t have as a girl became a larger than life desire as an adult. “We will camp!” “We will road trip!” “We will buy an RV and travel the country!” All things sounded a little bit crazy but sometimes the craziest ideas end up being the most rewarding.
When you road trip as a family, you compromise the bliss of an all inclusive resort with drinks with umbrellas for sandwiches packed in a cooler at an interstate rest stop. You don’t have a cabana with your own waiter but a plastic bracelet that gets you into the pool, the water park and a free freeze pop afterwards.
There are trips in life that are transformative for us as people. The backpacking trip in Europe, the mission trip to South America, the volunteer trip to Brazil— these types of trips can really make gentle imprints on who we become, the hunger we develop for travel and our affection for other places.
But the trips we take with our families are cut from a different cloth. They have a rawness and purity that say, “this is a memory, this is part of their childhood.”
No pressure, right?
We plan vacations because we need a break. We plan road trips because we need an adventure. Sometimes we need both and that happens too. No matter which way you cut it, time away with your family is: Time. Well. Spent.
This summer, as you tick off the items on your summer trip pack list: a multi-pack of sunscreen, big-as-your-head box of goldfish and 800 juice boxes (check!), use what I call the Seven Tips for a Good Summer Road Trip listed below.
- SPF OMG
I have a redhead. Everywhere we go, I get the, “I hope he’s wearing sunscreen!” comment. (This is semi-annoying but sometimes a helpful reminder) Since the sun is like, always there even on a cloudy day (not just in a song) I always overload my car, my hubby’s car, my bag, my purse, the kids bags and even leave a couple bottles by the door for those “Mommy, can we just play outside?” days.
If your kids are like mine and resist the sunscreen process as if you are spreading poison on their skin, the front door/car glove compartment/ purse sunscreen is your friend. A rub or a spread or a spray before you rush out the door can ease your peace of mind for outdoor play all day long.
- Dirty Devils
Baby wipes are not just for babies. They are an equal opportunity cleaning agent. Don’t leave on a road trip with anything less than one package per person. Trust me.
- Because: Thirst.
On our cross country trip last year, we would keep a freezer full of water bottles and a fridge full of water bottles. This was great because we always had something to throw in a cooler for a picnic or place on boo boos. It helped in keeping us cool in the hottest places but also helped to keep us not dying of thirst in the middle of Utah.
- In Every Crevice (How do sand/dirt/crumbs get EVERYwhere?)
Baby powder is your friend. It eases sand, dirt and even a little stink off your little person. Baby powder is a post bath and post beach staple in our house. It’s magic pixie dust. And who can say no to that smell? Delicious.
- Fun Last Minute Bag
Bathing suits, extra underwear and everything listed for numbers #1,2,3 and 4 should go in your last minute bag. This is great to have in the car just-in-case you make an unplanned stop to see the National Potato Museum in Idaho (True story).
Sometimes you just need a good list to keep you focused day to day. I read an article recently that said kids need to be bored in order to learn to play on their own. They need more time rather than more toys. They need adventure rather than screen time. Although k think I fail at this during the school year, I do try to be more attentive to it in the summer.
A summer bucket list is the perfect antidote to your little one’s whine, “I’m boooored.” It presents clear goals and “to dos” ( like any Mom, I like a good list I can just go after), makes for a great way of finding out what sounds like fun to your little people and helps you to guide your next (OMG it’s raining for the fourth day in a row) panic. I like to put all of my favorites on there but make sure the kids have some ownership too.
I have an annoying habit (I try to keep it quiet because other Moms will shoot daggers if they know you do this) of doing my Christmas card pictures in the summer. It’s been the best thing I’ve done and simplifies the holiday rush so much. Reasons this works are below:
- Weather always cooperates.
- There’s no pressure if the photos are terrible, you just take some more another time.
- Everyone looks better with a tan!
- You can order cards before prices go up (I do mine in early October).
- You can incorporate the scenery from a trip or vacation which make the picture more original and not too “posey.”
Cheers to your summer getaway be it a road trip, a beach house, a camping trip or an island getaway. You deserve it, Mama, all of it.
The Gallivanting Gallaghers 