Road Trip Essentials

Hello there friends!  It's been a while, but all thanks to Katrina from Chic Little House for motivating me over the weekend to get back to blogging!  As you may know, the Haven Conference was this past weekend in Atlanta.  Though I didn't attend, I had the pleasure of finally meeting Katrina after being blog buddies for a few years.  It was one of the best days ever and I'm so happy to have met such a kind, wonderful, genuine person.  Now I have someone to visit on the west coast :)

With that being said, I have some exciting home projects lined up that I'm looking forward to starting (and sharing), but first Simon and I will be going on vacation soon and it will be a road trip.  I wanted to share a few of my road trip essentials...i.e. things that keep me sane in a car for hours at a time.  I'm not a fan of being in a car for more than four hours, so I get a little stir crazy after then.  I'm usually a passenger for the majority of the trip because Simon enjoys driving.  To keep myself calm and entertained, here are a few things that I bring with me-

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1. My phone (obviously)- Yes it's great for talking and texting on the road (and playing Candy Crush), but I have loads of music and can also listen to Pandora or Sirius XM Satellite Radio for a wide variety of music options.

2. Phone Charger- Don't want the battery to die two hours into the trip.

3. Motion sickness pills-  I get an awful headache when I try to read, write or draw in a moving vehicle.  In order for me to do any of these, I take these pills.  They tend to make me drowsy which is fine and leads me to...

4.  My pillow from home- An absolute necessity.  Trying to sleep comfortably in a car in an upright position is nearly impossible without a pillow to take the strain off of my neck.  Also, if for some reason the hotel pillows aren't as comfortable, I have my own pillow to fall back on.

5.  Reading materials- A magazine or book is great after waking up from my motion sickness pill nap.  Simon and I purchased a book of questions a few years back, so I read the questions and we answer them.  It's interesting what you learn about your partner that you may not have known from these kinds of books.

6.  Snacks and drinks- A HUGE must.  We usually pack our cooler with water bottles (of course a few sparkling ones are thrown in there), a flavored beverage whether it's Jones Soda or San Pellegrino Limonata, sandwich ingredients (usually some kind of deli meat from the deli counter and a gourmet cheese to make the sandwiches a little more special) and fruit.  As far as dry snacks, we usually pack Kettle chips, nuts, and some kind of healthier option of a dessert.

7.  Comfortable clothes-  Since we're in the car for hours at a time, I always wear comfortable clothing.  This usually consists of loose shorts, a tank top, flip flops and sunnies.  I still want to look cute since I like taking pictures along the way...

8.  My camera- It's a way to flex my creative muscles in a moving vehicle (a design challenge for sure!).  I also love state welcome signs and try to get a picture of them each time we enter a new state.  I take pictures with my cell phone as well so that I can post to my Instagram for you fine people :)

9.  Gum-  After those naps I want to freshen my breath if we're not near a rest stop.

10.  CDs-  Even though I have music on my phone, there are still a few CDs that we like to listen to along the way (Radiohead, Thom Yorke and Outkast to name a few).


So there it is, the things that keep me sane on a road trip.  What about you all?  What are your road trip necessities?  I would love some more ideas!