5 things for a #screenfree Road Trip
As you now know we drove down to Mexico from Oregon and arrived after 10 or so days on January 1st. We left exactly one month ago last Thursday and I am not sure if that feels like a long time ago, just last week or the exact right amount of time.
Either way, the road trip on its own was exciting mostly due to the fact that we had never driven that much or that far AND due to the fact that Mike had upgraded from his 1993 Volvo station wagon and bought a newer, still 18 years old, car with the intention of having it be our road trip vehicle and car down here this year.
So our excitement was mostly fun. The kinda fun where you don’t know what will go wrong but are quite literally ‘along for the ride’ so you get a front row seat to any issues.
We were sure something was going to go wrong with this new to us car. Thankfully it didn’t. The AC stopped working once we crossed the Mexican border but after we turned off the engine at a gas station for a fill up the AC kicked back in. A few days after arriving in town though a garbage truck did swipe our passenger side mirror but now the car kinda fits in with our neighborhood so I don’t really mind.
I humble bragged on IG that Momo did not use the iPad for the entire trip which is true but not my plan. A night or two before we left town Mario had his iPad privileges revoked for bad behavior and so Mike and I were stuck keeping to it on the drive. Fortunately I had already been hoarding car activities and backseat upgrades to make this long venture work for us and I am happy to report such upgrades definitely paid off for us. Sharing some of my tips & tricks today.
BOOKS Lucky for us our boy loves books and can stick his nose in one for 30-45 minutes unbothered. We got him some new books about science and national parks as well as a new book in his favorite series The Last Kids on Earth, which is also a Netflix series. He also had a coloring board thing that you wipe clean, a card game for I SPY on a road trip and A LOT of chit chat.
BACKSEAT ORGANIZER I had seen these on instagram and went ahead and ordered a pair. They attach on the back of the front seat and allow for all kinds or organization so toys, books, crayons, water, etc. are at your kids reach instead of at yours. This thing did not stay organized but it did keep most of his things in one place. At each stop along the way I would recollect discarded items and put them back in the pouches for access once we were on the road again. Find them here.
SNACKS this one is likely very obvious. But after our National Parks trip last September where I was severely underprepared in the snack dept I made sure to get some special things for the car ride: potato chips, dried mangos, rx bars (my kid likes them!?) and of course a water bottle were things we always had on hand. I had intended a big shop at Trader Joe’s before we departed but that fell off my to do list quickly but lucky enough we were emptying our cupboards at our house so much of what we had just got packed up and popped in the car with us.
MILK CRATES bizarre item right? I made a little organization system in the back of our rig where I lined up four milk crates that were easy to access once we were parked and opened up the trunk. Each crate had a theme. SNACKS, MOMO, TOILETRIES & ELECTRONICS. Each slid out from its spot easily so that when we made a stop we could grab what we needed. Only issue here was when Momo wanted a snack that was not up front with us while we were on the road he would have to wait til we stopped. Taught some patience I guess, right? I now have these in various rooms holding toys, cleaning supplies and bathroom extras and love the practicality of them even in the house. Link to milk crates we bought.
EXTRA CUPHOLDERS I had seen this also on someones Instagram. Since our car is from 2002 it has less cupholders and therefore less places to stash your phone, your chapstick, hand sanitizer etc. I bought this and DO NOT regret it. My favorite feature is the rectangular holder that is perfect for a phone or three! We have kept this in the car and it has become our default cupholders/ phone spot when driving. Like I mentioned, especially great when your car is an older model and doesn't have spots for your day old latte, giant water bottle and phone already. Also great that you can get a color to match your interior, tres chic for a hunk of plastic, no? Link here.
Alright, I am not sure if that really answers any questions you had about nearly zero screen time on the road but maybe it inspired you to get some new gear or better yet inspire a road trip!?
Also been working on the “move to mexico” post for you all. Got so many great questions from my IG question box and will weave in as many answers as poss.
Xx Ly