How to Survive a Long Road Trip

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #FueltheLove #CollectiveBias Create a Variety of Playlists
Music during a road trip is a given, but you may want to consider changing it up a bit.  If you’re a music lover and don’t mind a variety of genres, this will make the trip more entertaining.  Sometimes songs in the same genre can start to sound the same and you begin to filter out the music and focus on how much longer you have until you can get out the car.  Changing up your music can make things more interesting.  For me, I like to create throwback playlists, think 90s and high school favorites.  You can easily kill hours on the road with a good blast from the past jam session.

Give Yourself Something to Look Forward To
Small milestones are more exciting than counting down the never ending hours or miles on your GPS. Plan a few fun stops along the way so you can have something (much sooner) to look forward to rather than just counting down to your end destination the entire trip.Stock Up on Snacks
You’ll eventually get bored or hungry and having snacks packed will save time and a few stops along the way.  The more you stop, the longer it takes to get there, so you might as well pack all the chips, drinks, and candy ahead of time.

Travel with a Friend
Whatever you do, don’t go on a long road trip alone.  When we moved across the country, Chris and I had no choice but to each travel alone to get our cars there.  It made the trip seem twice as long.  If you can’t travel with another human, at least put your pet in the front seat, it’s basically the same thing!Stream Audiobooks and Movies
Survive a long road trip by streaming movies you’re familiar with. This can help keep you awake.  Movies like Billy Madison work best for me.  I can pretty much imagine whatever scene it’s on just by the dialogue.  Whatever you do, please don’t watch the movie while driving!

Book a Hotel Ahead, or Don’t
I have mixed feelings about this.  For one, you don’t want to get stuck in a situation where you don’t have a place to stay overnight when splitting your trip across a few days.  But then you don’t want to make reservations too far away that you could get stuck with.  If you’re going to book ahead, make sure you book your stay at a realistic destination.  If you know you can’t make a 12 hour drive, don’t book your hotel that’s 12 hours away from where you start.  You never know when your body will start to shut down on you.

Make Sure Your Car is Ready
Last but not least, make sure your car is prepared to survive a long road trip.  The last thing you want is to be stranded on the side of the road and helpless.  Routine car maintenance along with a thorough check before your trip can give you an ease of mind and a safer, more reliable way of getting to your destination.  Routine maintenance like oil changes need to occur often and can easily be forgotten.  I’m totally guilty of this, but with the convenience of dropping my car off at Walmart for an oil change while I shop and run errands, I’m less likely to forget.My car is my baby and the thought of putting hundreds of miles on it from road trips makes me cringe, but that’s what cars are made to do, so it is what it is.  We’ll be taking a road trip to Louisiana (because hello, free dog sitters- hi, Mom!) before leaving for St. Croix, and the last thing I want to do is get stranded on the side of nowhere Louisiana and miss my flight to the Caribbean.  To keep it running like new, I use Pennzoil oil since it allows cars to get an extra 550 miles per year and cleans out the sludge other oils leave behind.  From 6/10-9/9, Pennzoil oil changes will be on Rollback at Walmart.  You can get a high mileage oil change for $35.88 or a Platinum Full Synthetic for $45.88 all while you shop for your road trip snacks!

What keeps you going on a long road trip?