Since I’m about to embark on another road trip in a couple of weeks, I’ve been doing a lot of internet searching on things to keep my friend and myself from getting bored on the drive. I’m still relatively new to this road tripping thing, so I definitely needed a bit of inspiration. Especially since, when we did this when I was a kid, I’d sit in the back with my cassette Walkman (dating myself here) and a book. But you can’t really do that when you’re the one driving.
So, how do we keep ourselves entertained?
The first thing my traveling partner suggested was an audiobook. We’ve done this before, and it worked out really well. We’re planning on a John Scalzi novel for this trip because he’s one of our favorites and his books are always lighthearted and a lot of fun.
The next thing she suggested were Mad Libs. I am so excited that she did, too, because I haven’t done these things since my girls were in elementary school. Found two different ones at Barnes and Noble and can’t wait to see what kind of ridiculousness we can come up with.
In a similar vein, since she and I are both writers, we have been known to randomly plot stories while we’re driving or otherwise preoccupied. I’m hoping we can get some of that in during this trip, even if the stories never get written.
Something fun I saw online was to bring a notebook along and write down the interesting or crazy things you see on your trip. Or funny things you and your travel partner say. I love this idea because I want to make a travel junk journal once I’m back home, and these little observations and memories will be great to have for later. Plus, it might remind me to keep all the silly little things you usually throw away on a trip.
Another idea I found online was to find the weirdest roadside attractions and stop at them. This made me laugh because we came really close to doing something like this last year. We’ll have more time and will be on the road more this trip, so I think we’ll have to factor this one in for sure. And driving through the desert southwest, there’s bound to be some strange and odd things to stop and see along the way. Maybe we’ll even spot a jackelope?
One I’d never have thought of on my own was to bring a project. My travel partner is bringing her knitting, which I think is fantastic. She can get caught up on her projects while I drive. Since she has offered to take some of the driving duties off my hands, I ought to find something I can do while riding as well. I’m open to suggestions as well.
Plus, I’m sure we’ll talk each other’s ears off whenever we have a bit of downtime, but I think that’s half the fun of a girl’s trip.
What kind of things do you do to keep yourself entertained on a long drive?
I hope you have a fantastic trip!
When I’m on a trip, I like to leave extra time for exploring places I didn’t know about in advance. For example, if we drive into a town for lunch and I notice a small cemetery on the outskirts of town, I’ll try to visit it for a little while and pay my respects to those strangers after we eat.
My parents offered my siblings and me $100 each if we happened to see a giraffe while they were driving. We did not live in a part of the world where giraffes can be found anywhere other than the zoo, but looking for them kept us busy for long stretches of time. But this could be expanded to all sorts of creatures, from the common to cryptic creatures like Bigfoot. I’d make a bingo board or something. Ha!
You could also make a road trip playlist to listen to if you have the time before you leave!
Thank you!
Funny that you mention that because in plotting our route, we found several places we hadn’t planned on visiting.
Okay, that’s hilarious. Great way to keep kids busy for sure. As a kid, I remember seeing jackalopes mounted like deer and it always made me laugh. So, I wonder what cryptids are in the desert southwest?
Oh, a bingo card would be a riot.
My traveling partner is on this one! It came out of nowhere yesterday, so definitely a great idea.
A pillow and eye mask. I love sleeping in the car on long trips. It doesn’t make for good company but I love waking up and being in a new world. I also love to snack during car rides. I’ll pack special treats like M&M’s. I love to play games on my phone, watch Tik Tok and look at PInterest. Before I know it we are at our destination. I don’t like being cramped in a car so these things help me pass the time. Good Luck on your trip. Oh and I love stopping at Busy Bee and Buccees. They always have fun snacks.
Great ideas, thank you! I’ve never been to a Busy Bee or a Buccees, not sure if we’ll run into any on our route, but I will have my eyes peeled. And snacks are always a must! (You should see my bottom desk drawer at work hahaha.)
Growing up we played a lot of games… harder to do some of them when you are driving, but I will still play The Alphabet Game sometimes when I’m driving by myself (finding the letters, in order, on billboards and other signs).
Guessing games… 20 questions, etc.
Have an awesome trip!
This reminded me that my grandmother used to love to play the license plate game – finding one from every state.
Great ideas, thank you!
I know we will, thank you. 🙂
Since we are getting older (well maybe are older) we don’t go on such long trips. It seems we are much better at planning stops along the way. Plus I am a PICNIC person, will make our own any time you’ll take me. So we always have a few of those planned.
A picnic would have been a fantastic idea! I’ll have to remember that for our next trip. And I hear you – I’m not sure I’m cut out for long road trips, even if they are fun.