The summer is upon us and that means travel in the car. But how do you go about it? Well, I’m here to help. I've made the long trip from Indian to Pennsylvania on many occasions. Plus, it’s in my blood. My Dad once made it from Pennsylvania to Arizona in 46 hours.
Taking a page out of the Cracked playbook I’m going to do this list style. Here are my best tips for making those long road trips
Get Lots of Sleep the night before.
There is nothing worse than hitting hour 5 of a 12 hour trip and you start dozing off. You can avoid this by making sure you get to bed early the night before. Also, a little extra coffee and soda can help you on the day of the trip. But don’t overdo it on the stimulants! Too much soda and coffee will lead to dramatic loss in energy once the caffeine wears off. You’ll just end up worse than before. Finally, if you’re just too tired pull over and take a nap. Or ask your wing man to drive . . .
Bring a wing man.
Sometimes it’s your wife or just a friend but try to bring someone along with you. Having a travel partner is great! Now you have someone to check the map, keep you awake, drive when you’re too tired, etc. Driving alone just isn’t as fun; but I know that it is sometimes unavoidable. So, maybe it’s time to bring your girlfriend
home to meet the family.
home to meet the family.
Bring your own meals
Bringing your own meals saves you time AND money. I suggest sandwiches, sodas, something sweet, and a snack. But anything that you can easily eat with your hands is good to. I once made the 12 hour trip from Indiana to Pennsylvania on nothing but Slim-Jim’s and Pop Tarts.
Combine Stops.
You’ll have to stop for gas. Sorry, it’s just the way cars work. But make good time by combining bathroom breaks and gas stops. Also, be sure to limit the number of bathroom breaks by limiting your coffee and soda intake (see above.)
Audio Books are your new best friend.
Whether you have wing man or not get a couple of audio books for your trip. Usually these book come on CD. And sure you could pop them into your CD player disc by disc but I suggest that you load them onto an MP3 player the night before. If you’re willing to drop about 50 bucks I suggest that you get and FM transmitter. I like this one. I got one for Christmas and I use it ALL THE TIME. That being said, audio books are great because they keep you focused and awake. Plus, you get to catch up on the “reading” you’ve always wanted to do.
Got some tips of your own? Leave them in the comments section.
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