Speaking of lists...

[Ninedays9]

I am thinking of making my list of things to buy for our road trip soon... I was wondering if anyone has any ideas of things that are nice to have on a road trip and on vacation (things from home are good, too, since I'll be making a list for that, too). We're planning on bringing our big cooler to pack some food so we're not totally buying fast food and gas station food. Any ideas? :)

[SkippyNXC]

if you don't have a GPS, bring an up-to-date map! it's construction season which can mean detours :)

[Ninedays9]

if you don't have a GPS, bring an up-to-date map! it's construction season which can mean detours :)

We've got a GPS, which I am quite thankful for.. It'll come in handy!

[lalaland13]

We've got a GPS, which I am quite thankful for.. It'll come in handy!

And this one you won't have to lean forward and hold in the cigarette lighter as I drive around confused and nearly get us killed! :whoohoo: Ahh, memories.

I'd suggest baby wipes, because they're good for the road. I'm thinking of buying some myself for next week, since I'll be on a plane and my hand sanitizer is considered a tool of terrorism. Also good for if you stop at a bathroom without hand soap, which usually incites a moment of panic for me.

[gwenshack]

Mix CDs, sunblock (your arm gets burned sometimes on the one side that's by the window!), definitely baby wipes, windex (trust me on that one), a large jug of water for car emergencies. Fruit is always a good car snack.
I love road trips!

[Ninedays9]

Out of curiosity, what is the windex for?

[gwenshack]

Out of curiosity, what is the windex for?
I used to road trip a lot and I would always get so much crud on the windows that I couldn't get off too well with just the wipers or the gas station window stuff - so I would bring windex with me and it really helped a lot. ;)

[brendalin]

Whenever we go on long car rides or trips we bring a book that is called would you rather (there is a board game like this too). It gives you some CRAZY situations and you have to say which one you would rather do...

Example:Would you rather be trapped in an elevator with three wet dogs or three men with bad breath?

Whenever we play this we always expain why and you would be amazed what you learn about people.

Josh and I played this a lot before we got married! It is SO fun!

[Ninedays9]

Here're my lists so far (yup, I'm a little excited, haha). For the snacks, those are basically just ideas... I'm sure most of the stuff we buy will be last second decisions when we go to the store. I'm still trying to decide if we should get stuff to make sandwiches.. I'll have to see what Eddie thinks. And yes, Nine Days CD gets it own place on the list, haha. I need to find two of them that somehow got misplaced so we can gear up for the concert, :).

Anyway, does anyone have any other ideas?

Books
Game books?
Magazines
Camera, Charger, USB cord
Laptop(s)
Snacks:
Sunflower seeds?
Lunch meat?
Bread?
Candy
Water bottles
Cheezits?
Sunblock
Windex
Wet ones
Napkins or papertowels
Kleenex?
Nine Days CDs
Other CDs
Advil
Garbage bags
Razors/Shaving stuff
Shampoo/Conditioner/Bodywash/Soap
Smaller hand sanitizer
Cooler
Ice


Don't forget:
Phones
Phone chargers
Tickets
Lots of clothes (I'll have a better idea what we want when we actually start packing)
Addresses of places

[OnceABride]

Aside from what you take, remember to protect your food from spoilage that could make you sick. I know you have an ice chest, but make sure the ice is on top of food - cold falls downward. The wipes are a great idea for sanitizing. I'd recommend plastic forks you can throw away so bacteria can't collect.

Throw something over the cooler like a thick blanket to keep the direct sun off it and add insulation.

Try to take mostly foods that don't spoil easily. Be a little fanatic on this score and beleive me you'll be happy you did.

[FedererPhoto]

Blanket. My wife always wants to have her blanket when on road trips -- roll it up and it's a pillow, cover your stuff in the car when you are 'out seeing things', stay warm in emergency, etc etc...

[saltyveruca]

I like having almonds and apples to eat in the car. They will keep pretty well if it doesn't get scorching hot! I also like having a huge jug of water to refill my bottle with, but sometimes it's nice to get a fresh cold bottle from a gas station, too. If you think you'll need a little pick me up, pack some Starbucks DoubleShots or tea.

I second the baby wipes. Sometimes you just need to wipe your face off and feel refreshed, or bathrooms you have to use make you feel dirty even after you've washed your hands.

We really enjoyed having an inverter. You can buy them at car supply stores like Pep Boys. Mine was $25 a few years ago. It turns any plug into a car plug! It was great for our laptop, and we don't have car chargers for any of our phones and other devices so we used that instead. We use the heck out of it even when we're not on road trips!

Movies and TV kept us entertained. We put them on my iPod and watched them if the scenery got boring or we just needed some stimulation. Pick ones that have lots of dialog because whoever's driving can't see the action! Also, stand up comedy is really good. We watched Last Comic Standing.

A map for sure! Even if you know where you're going or you've Google Mapped it. We ended up missing a turn and didn't realize until like an hour later. A map (and advice from a helpful trucker) saved us from having to turn around and go back in the middle of the night!

Compression socks really saved me on our trip. Even if you're not pregnant and prone to bloating, they can help take some of the blah away. My legs felt so energized even though we did so much sitting and I could really tell the difference when I wasn't wearing them.

You probably already have them in your car, but make sure you have your jumper cables and drivers manual with you. We wore out my battery loading up our car on the way home (we left the doors open and the overhead light drained the battery) and needed a jump to get moving!

Speaking of roadside issues...do you have a roadside assistance program? It might be on your cell phone, insurance, or credit card, and you don't even know about it! Find out if you've got it and put their number in your phone. It gave me a lot of peace of mind knowing help was there for free if we needed it! Well, assuming we could get phone service. :unsure:

If you're not staying for an extended period of time, or you really don't need it, I'd recommend leaving your laptop at home. Really, any valuable that you can't just shove in your purse is worrisome and you won't want to leave it in your car! If you do take it, be sure to password protect what's important, and back everything up just in case it somehow walks away.

[Ninedays9]

Thanks for the advice! I will check into the stuff like roadside assistance. We've got our lovely GPS for the map, which hopefully will work well for us. We're gonna be in NY for four nights, which I think warrants bringing the laptop, haha. It's nice to have that in case we want to look stuff up, and I wanna upload pictures. That is a good idea to password protect it and back stuff up... We'll definitely do that.

[sandy03]

Definitely a power inverter and/or splitter. If you don't have one, i highly recommend the iGo charger, because you can get different tips and just change those out - that way you don't have to worry about a bunch of chargers and cords getting tangled!

Definitely a blanket. And a flashlight with extra batteries.

If you need something sweet to snack on, Paydays are great because they don't have chocolate and won't melt, plus you get a nice little shot of protein from the peanuts! I also really like the little pretzel sandwiches with cheese or peanut butter.

Even with a GPS, maps or an atlas are a really good idea. Also, make sure your GPS has been updated recently.

A pocket knife is always a great thing to have. I've gotten to where I carry one in my purse and I'm amazed at how often I use it!

[Ninedays9]

Good ideas, Sandy! I forgot I wanted to bring a blanket 'cause Eddie likes to have the AC on so it's colder than I like. I'll add the other things you mentioned, also. Thanks!