There’s nothing better than packing up the car, loading the kids in the back and heading out of town.
Sure, there’s the fighting – over the radio, over who “called” the coveted way-back seat first and the fighting over the fighting.
And the smells. Good lord, the smells. Feet. The wad of wet bathing suits cooking in a plastic shopping bag somewhere in the back. The ghosts of gas station burritos that have come back to haunt us.
But these trips are always awesome, and they build family memories that will last a lifetime.
Durangoans Mary Jill DeBelina, and her husband, Steve, are no strangers to road-tripping. With her parents in California, and his in Chicago, the two began forsaking flying and hitting the open road long before they had their kids, Natalie, 13, and Ben, 15.
They found it was a good way to be able to bring their pets along with them and streamline logistics.
“We’ve always had dogs, that’s the reason we’d drive rather than fly,” Mary Jill said, “And we’ve had a vehicle wherever we went.”
And having children didn’t keep them off the road for long: Ben took his first trip to Albuquerque at 1 month old, and Natalie started logging miles when she hit the road to California at 3 months.
Fellow Durangoans Lauren Thompson, her husband, Ben, and their kids, Pace, 6, Gillian, 3, and Fira, 19 months, are also fans of packing ’em up and movin’ ’em out, having traveled to Tucson and California.
With thousands of miles and countless hours of road time under their belts, and with spring break on the horizon, these families offer up a few of their tried and true tips for keeping the peace as you cruise America’s highways with your kids.
The DeBelinas and Thompsons agree that it’s important to have a well-stocked car.
“We always have a variety of healthy snacks,” Mary Jill said. “A lot of times, the kids are hungry because they’re bored.”
And water. “Try to stay hydrated ... but not too much!” Mary Jill said.
Along with having plenty of water to keep thirst at bay, the Thompsons say packing food and drinks can help keep stops to a minimum.
Packing games and activities is also essential for occupying kids during long hours in the car and for keeping the peace.
“We did vacations every summer, and they generally involved drives. ... So my grandmother would actually send along with my parents – we never knew about them until the day of the trip – car-ride surprises,” Lauren said. “Every hour, every other hour, we had these wrapped little gifts we would open up. They helped us pass the time ... crossword puzzles, a coloring book.”
This tradition is something the Thompsons have carried over to their road trips. Lauren will spend the weeks leading up to a trip scouring the thrift store for little toys and other things she can use to surprise the kids on the road.
“I’ll keep them in the front seat with me, and I’ll just divide the amount of time we have until our destination by a certain number of gifts,” she said. “It really helps.”
And it’s a good way to reduce misbehaving.
“The cool thing about it is no matter what the kids have, they’re going to get bored with it within 30 minutes, even if it’s the most awesome thing,” Ben said. “So you work it so that ‘All right, in another hour, there’s going to be another one, as long as you’re all cool.’ You can sort of use it as leverage. It doesn’t even matter what it is. They’re entertained.
“That’s our number one tip,” he added.
And while it sounds like the little ones accumulate a lot of “stuff” during a trip, they only keep a few of the things – the rest are donated back to the thrift store.
Even under the best circumstances, tempers can flare when cooped up in a car for extended periods of time. Keeping kids engaged and entertained can help the hours pass relatively drama-free.
“We’ll use where we’re going to dinner or stop for the night as a reward,” Mary Jill said, “and books on tape have been awesome. The ‘Harry Potter’ books win the award most definitely.”
The Thompsons agree about the books on tape and add that good old-fashioned books are their entertainment of choice.
“We don’t have any videos. That is not an option for us,” Lauren said. Loading up on books from the Durango Public Library goes a long way in keeping Pace, Gillian and Fira busy.
But sometimes, a change of scenery within the car itself can help keep up morale.
“One that’s worked well for us is ‘musical chairs,’” Ben said. “We have the station wagon that has two front seats, and three in the back, we also have this hidden one in the trunk. So we mix it up. We’ll move the luggage out of the back and put it in the front seat and Lauren can sit in the back with the kids and one kid can sit in the ‘adventure seat.’”
Despite all intentions of making it 500 miles without a stop, things happen – usually in the form of a bathroom break or cooped-up kids with energy levels so high they’re practically vibrating.
The DeBelinas try to stop every five to six hours and split what has to be done for maximum efficiency.
“Steve would drop me off to take the kids to use the bathroom and run around,” Mary Jill said. “And he would walk the dogs and fill up the car with gas.”
And while gas and bathroom stops are an inevitable fact of road-trip life, the Thompsons have also dialed in planned stops at the halfway point to their destination, not only to give the kids a chance to get out of the car, but to also to give them something to look forward to as the miles wear on.
“Between here and LA and here and Tucson, we picked ‘honorary playgrounds’ that are almost about halfway for each direction, and the kids can look for that,” Ben said.
Lauren said that these little breaks don’t have to take a huge chunk of out of their travel time.
“It might be really short – like 20 minutes,” she said. “For these little kids, it’s to get the energy out.”
And don’t forget: Your kids aren’t just passengers in your car; they have a vested interest in the family trip.
Mary Jill said that if the kids are old enough, talking about the trip and including them in the planning can be a good way to help things run smoothly.
“There’s a difference between a trip and a drive,” she said.
katie@durangoherald.com
Help is here
Planning on hitting the road with the family? These apps and websites can help you road-trip like a boss.
Apps
GasBuddy. Find the cheapest gas prices wherever you go. Also available online at www.gasbuddy.com.
Hotel Tonight. Weren’t planning to stop for the night but you have a mutiny on your hands and everybody needs a car break? This app helps you find a last-minute place to lay your weary heads.
Poynt. Find places to eat, check out the weather, etc.
Roadtrippers – Maps Built for Travelers. The name says it all. Dial in everything from your quickest trip to those of the more epic variety.
On the Net
www.roadtripwise.com. Everything you need.
www.travelmath.com. Online trip calculator.
