Another weekend away from home, traveling to MN to see the fam-damily! This time it was just me, myself, and I on the road, which I have also come to enjoy as I get to listen to anything I want on the radio, can stop (or not stop) as many times as I want to, and I don’t have my creepy-ish dog staring at me the whole time (I love the little guy, but man can he be creepy at times!).
Back in July I posted about what to pack for a weekend getaway (see the post HERE) and I thought this time around I would write about some of my road trip essentials for the actual traveling time.
ENTERTAINMENT:
There is something about the open road ahead of you (and the extremely boring landscape between Valley City, ND and St. Cloud MN) that makes me want to jam out (sometimes). I love music apps, such as Pandora or Spotify (no, I am not endorsing either- I just happen to like them).
Spotify: it is super easy to create a custom playlist for all the jams you are dying to listen to (or the ones you are too embarrassed to listen to in front of anyone else, so a “me only road trip” is the perfect place to indulge yourself with a little Brittany Spears or Backstreet Boys- whatever tickles your fancy) OR you can always opt for the “radio version” of any band you are in to at the moment and Spotify will play artists that are similar- this is a great way to find new bands, too!
Pandora: this app is great for just setting a band that you like and letting them do the rest!You can add different variety to the stations you create, so you there is always something playing that you want to listen to.
If you’re feeling scholarly on your trip- or your brain just needs a little engaging, I recommend listening to an audio book. I use the Audible app- through Amazon- and I love it.They have great variety of books, though I tend to stick with the autobiographies.I love hearing about people’s lives- especially when the author is doing the narrating! Here are a few of my top picks in audio books:
Anything Chelsea Handler (who is not for the faint of heart) is H-I-L-A-R-I-O-U-S! When I am in need of a good laugh, she is my go to gal.
Lies that Chelsea Handler Told Me
Uganda Be Kidding Me
Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang
Mother, Can you Not? by Kate Segal was also amazingly hilarious- the author wrote about the crazy conversations between her and her Jewish mom.
White Girl Problems, Psycho, and American Babe, all by Babe Walker, are also A-M-A-Z-I-N-G (sensing a trend here?)
Most recently I am listening to Belle Weather by Celia Rivenbark and it is so good that I just purchased another book by her titled You Can't Drink All Day If You Don't Start in the Morning (which I will probably get to start on my trip home 😀).
SNACKS:
Now that your entertainment is taken care of, it is time to move on to food. As you know, when driving by yourself, it can be difficult to feed yourself (especially if you leave your cooler bag on the backseat and you are CRAVING the peanut butter balls that you know are neatly packed inside), so obviously it is important that you have your food on the passenger seat next you, but it is also important to be mindful of what you are packing.
Skippy. Peanut. Butter. Balls. I recently discovered these delightful little morsels, which are a little high in sugar, but have quite a bit of protein packed in. They come in a convenient little travel container that fits nicely into the cup holder 😉.
Granola bars are always a good travel snack. I enjoy KIND bars, as they are gluten-free and come in a wide variety of flavors.
String Cheese is another easy and mess-free snack.
For those with a sweet tooth, Twizzlers are a good- fat-free, too!)
It is also important to travel with water (especially if you are a water snob like I am- seriously though, Valley City, ND’s water is the BEST), but it can be difficult to find a good balance between drinking enough water and having to stop to pee every half hour.
I also need my caffeine, so if it is a morning trip that means getting in my 2.5 cups of coffee, otherwise I opt for Mountain Dew Kickstart. The only problem with caffeine is that it makes you have to go…every 30 minutes…
So now you should be set to hit the open road, destination unknown (or a last get yourself through a 4-hour car ride on the flat terrain of Eastern North Dakota/Western MN) 😊
Safe Travels!
