Preparing for the Family Roadtrip

By Leslie Silverman

Before you pack up to head over the river and through the woods to Grandma’s, make sure you’ve taken a gander at our past post on great road trip gadgets.

Here are some more ideas to help ensure you arrive at Thanksgiving feeling relaxed and ready to enjoy the family.

1. Keep a good, heavy blanket in the trunk. Just in case…  Don’t forget these important winter safety items for your trunk, too:
1. Snow brush
2. Folding shovel
3. Jumper cables
4. Tow rope
5. Sand or kitty litter (traction if you get stuck)
6. Flares
7. A good flashlight (cold kills batteries, so take some spares)
8. Can of lock de-icer
2. Focus on the road, with a clean windshield. Fill your washer fluid reservoir, and replace wipers that annoy you by streaking or skipping, or are split or cracked. It may sound silly, but wipe any snow off your feet before you get in the car; wet floormats create moisture build-up that fogs your view. Keep fogging down by turning the air re-circulation switch to “OFF.”
3. Check your spare tire before departing. It might be flat, too! On the road, keep your gas tank at least half-full to avoid moisture problems in the fuel system.
4. Bring a spare cellphone battery. If you got stuck in a bad snowstorm, the car battery could die and you wouldn’t be able to keep your cellphone charged. (Make sure your spare is fully charged, of course!)
5. Hum right along with tunes you love. No satellite radio? No problem. Before departing, check out www.Mytraveltunes.com and print out a list of the local radio stations on your route playing your kind of music.
6. Master the road.  Remember to steer into the skid should you have one.  Also remember not to use your cruise control in below- freezing temperatures.
7. Keep kids charged up. There are power inverters available which plug into your cigarette lighter. Voila, instant plug for electronics to keep ‘em happy on the road.
8. Keep kids occupied. Check out this cool site’s word-searches, crosswords, and other games you can customize for the crew! They even have practice handwriting sheets for elementary-aged kids. Fun, and educational!
9. Baby on board? Keep a larger supply of formula, diapers and wipes on hand than you anticipate needing. You’ll know you have plenty, in case you are diverted by bad weather, etc.
10. Don’t drive drowsy, especially on the way home. It can be as dangerous as driving drunk. After a heavy Thanksgiving meal of turkey with tryptophan (an amino acid that induces sleep), make sure you’re really wide awake before hitting the road.