At this stage in the pregnancy game, I’m pretttttty much relegated to short drive vacays with my little family of three (soon to be FOUR!!) and we’ve become quite the road-trip junkies. We love going all over our beautiful home state of North Carolina, and we’re in really close proximity to other wonderful locales as well. Virginia, South Carolina, and a handful of others are on the road trip wish list for this year after baby boy has made his way into the world!! Like with any other endeavor, you can’t leave the house without being prepared and having a game plan, so I made sure this Friday Finds would check every box in each category of things you could possibly need while going on a family road trip!

—one—two—three—four—five—six—seven—eight—nine—ten—eleven—twelve—thirteen—fourteen—fifteen—sixteen—seventeen—eighteen—nineteen—twenty—

1. Road Trip Games: This is such a sweet game for the big kids to play and enjoy, and it’s another great option to keep the tablet tucked away in favor of family bonding time sometimes.
2. Drink Tumblers: Fill it up with your drink of choice prior to leaving the house (like protein iced coffee or a super smoothie) and give the kiddos some water/juice mix and you’re all set for the ride with deliciously cool drinks in hand. It’s like vacation gets a head start!!
3. Toddler Snacks: Again, we get tons of our road trip snacks from Thrive Market, but these are the easiest things to add to an Amazon order and keep on hand for rides!
4. An Audiobook: I might be a little biased, but Taking Aim on audiobook is a no-brainer for road trips!  If you happen to be riding solo OR just with someone who hasn’t heard this book yet, you’re gonna want to snag it ASAP…if I do say so myself!
5. MTNOPS Ignite Trail Packs: The best drink mix EVER, and this combined with a bottle of water into your tumbler means you’re going to stay hydrated and alert for the ride.
6. Sunglasses for Her: I loooooove this pair of sunglasses! It’s so nice to be driving on the open road and not having to squint or get a headache from looking into the bright sunlight for too long.
7. Snack Tote: Again, this might just be me but I find myself enjoying everything sooooo much more (as in, the journey AND the destination!) on road trips if I know things have a place and that our car isn’t just a giant trashcan on wheels.
8. Kid’s Tablet: Like I said–this is great for those longer rides and NOT my default mode (though to each their own!!) for road trips, but the tablet has proven to be a sanity-saver for us all on more than one occasion…
9. Travel Potty: Now that we’re alllll done with potty training, I want to make sure a vacation won’t undo that hard-won progress!! I keep this in the trunk of my car and it’s perfect for when we have long car rides, or if the public bathrooms are dissssguuuusting.
10. Cooler: Bringing your own drinks and perishable snacks in a cooler is SO much better (and more cost and time efficient) than stopping at gas stations or for fast food, so bringing a cooler is a no-brainer!
11. Car Charger: My favorite car charger because the chord is coiled so you don’t have long chords all over the vehicle! OCD Mom Hacks 101.
12. Beef Jerky: I get all of my road trip snacks online from Thrive Market because they have the best prices and the best healthy snacks. I’ve talked about them a TON in my stories because they’re seriously amazing for any dietary restrictions, variety, quality, and price!!
13. Magnetic Phone Mount: I have this and LOVE it for handsfree driving–it’s also perfect for setting up your GPS and not having to look down at your phone!
14. Backseat Organizer: Because a road trip just feels better and smoother when the car isn’t a hot mess, right?! I discovered this bad boy once Leni was in that phase of being able to touch, pull, and re-arrange stuff to her liking…and not to mine usually, ha!
15. First Aid Kit: Because anything can happen, and it’s always better to be safe than sorry!!
16. Sunglasses for Him: These are GREAT sunglasses that I got for Tim and he loves them!
17. Tablet Holder: I try not to give Leni a tablet when we’re traveling but sometimes you just have to turn on a movie on for the long rides. This is perfect so she can’t reach the buttons or drop the tablet while I’m driving.
18. Kids Travel Desk: It’s so nice to have this little travel desk for longer road trips (like 3+ hours or so) to help keep our girl occupied and happy!
19. Car Trash Bin: I know most of this post has been talking about keeping your car organized and keeping your sanity on a road trip, but when you DO need to toss some trash and don’t feel like stopping, this designated bin is my favorite!
20. Storage Bins: I keep a couple of these bins in the car at all times. One goes under Leni’s feet with all the toddler-things (change of clothes, wipes, her snacks, juice boxes etc) and I keep one in the trunk that keeps everything organized and holds whatever I may need like spare clothes, running shoes, etc!

I can’t WAIT for this little boy to be here, but we might try to sneak in another road trip before he’s here and we hunker down for awhile. Where is your favorite road trip destination?! What do you have planned for the summer? Let me know in the comments below, and see you back here soon for lots more!

-Eva

 

Keep everyone in the loop by sharing this post: