Raising Stick-to-it Kids: California Dreamin' Travel Tips: Part 2

Part of a successful road trip is providing enjoyable things for the children to do while enduring the hot, long car ride. Some of our favorites include audio books, good music, snacks and food, prizes, games, and story telling.

Random Tips:

Don't allow a snack and food free-for-all. Everything will be eaten within the first couple of hours and then there won't be anything to look forward to. Pass out a snack every hour or so and tell them to eat it SLOWLY to make it last.

Have a surprise every few hours which could include a sack of brown bags filled with fun little activities or prizes. Let the children take turns picking a bag to open. Ideas include card games, paper and pens, activity book, stickers, silly putty, music CD, mad libs, band aids, small toys (avoid things with little pieces), etc.

Switch seats around often. There is nothing worse than getting stuck in the back seat of an SUV for a six hour car ride, or next to the crying baby in the car seat.

Start a story tree. Mom starts the beginning of the story. At a climax, pass it to the next person to finish. Continue to pass the story to the next person until everyone gets a turn with the last member of the family concluding. We have had many laughs with this type of story telling.

Play, "What do you see?" Little children love this game. It's not an I Spy game because it doesn't work well in a moving car. You simply take turns telling each other what you see out the window. I see a tractor, I see a truck full of cattle, I see the waterslides (or not- sorry, inside joke), I see a church, I see a cemetery, etc, etc.

Of course, there are all the typical car ride games - the ABC game or the license plate game. Those keep kids occupied for a short time, but they typically end up with someone mad because, "it wasn't fair or so and so cheated."

Provide a learning notebook for each child. When you make your stops, have them record their thoughts or draw pictures about what they see.

Have a karaoke contest in the car. Turn on some good tunes and let the kids take turns being the lead singer. Dad can be the judge. Use a water bottle or a marker as your microphone.

Let each child have a turn to listen to something that interests them.

For the sanity of everyone, have a quiet time in the car. This may sound silly, but it encourages the kids to do something quiet, allowing for a nap time or just some peace and quiet. Mom and Dad don't have to be the sole entertainers. It's OK to have some down time in the car.

"If you fight, you'll hold hands and sing."

Make a Mummy - Bring LOTS of baby wipes for the "Make a Mummy" game. Pass out a few wipes to each child. Have them tear them in strips. Place the strips all around the face, avoiding the eyes and leaving the nostrils free. This is a great cool-down activity when going through the hot, Nevada desert - plus they get pretty creative. Don't forget to take pictures. The best part....stare out the window at the cars passing by. You'll get a few double-takes! This idea stems from my childhood trips from California to Utah.

Have a camera handy for the children to take pictures at passing scenery. We have Mom's camera and the kid's camera. Let them go to town with the kid's camera taking pictures of rainbows, cactus, barns, billboards (but not in Las Vegas), trees, lakes - whatever. Warn them of taking pictures of passing cars...we don't want any road-rage.

If your children do have their own electronic devices, hook it to the car stereo so everyone can enjoy the music together.

Limit the liquid intake on road-trips or you'll be stopping every 45 minutes.

We've never had a portable DVD player. But if all else fails, whip it out. However, use it as your last resort. We live in a non-stop media world. Allow for some alternative entertainment...some good, old-fashioned fun.

We did take the iPad which provided some breaks from the monotony. However, we had to set the timer so everyone got a fair deal. I also used this as a distraction when our youngest had to go to the bathroom after stopping just 30 minutes earlier. It worked! We were able to get another 90 miles before we really had to stop.

I didn't take my own advice - the camera was not handy during the car so we don't have any fun car-shots to post from this last trip, but here are some of the activities we enjoyed:

1. Surrey Riding at Lake Balboa - This was sooooo fun! We rented three surreys and had a blast racing each other, passing each other, teasing each other and working off those extra vacation calories, too. Thought: search on the Internet for good deals near the places you're visiting. We found this surrey rental half-off at Groupon.com.

They were in the lead most of the time!

We enjoyed the back seat - but still had to peddle!

Someone was NOT happy at the start 'cause he wasn't the first driver. TOUGH!

We won't mention almost falling off the curb...

Just a little excited to pass his sister...

2. 4th of July Festivities - Happy Birthday, Dad!

One of our family's traditions is to go somewhere new and different for each Independence Day. Since this is Sam's birthday, he wants to travel the world, which usually consists of somewhere in Idaho or Utah. But hey, we made it to California this time! Sam's old neighborhood had a parade and party that morning. What a fun tradition!

Such a good sport...

They decorated the bike for the parade...

Cute Cousins!

Again - a good sport; he's even wearing her necklace!

After the parade with their treats

Happy Birthday, Babe!

Love Daddy Pictures!!!

Crazy Girls - Taking a spin

3. Santa Barbara on the 4th - We spent the afternoon in downtown Santa Barbara, walking the streets. Sam wanted to go to Mac's for authentic Fish & Chips. The kids opted for Subway.

MAC's!

Posing with the cool military helicopter

I can't tell if they liked it or not?!?

BFFs

4. Ventura Pier on the 4th - This is a favorite stop! The kids like to see what the local fisherman catch, as well as enjoy the ocean experience without getting wet and sandy!