What do you suggest to bring/do for a fun road trip?
December 23, 2008 5:07 PM Subscribe
What do you suggest to bring/do for a fun road trip?
What do you suggest to bring/do for a fun road trip, other than music? Everyone on this road trip will be in their 20s. The trip will take several days. I'd like to hear all suggestions ranging from the obvious to the wacky.
What do you suggest to bring/do for a fun road trip, other than music? Everyone on this road trip will be in their 20s. The trip will take several days. I'd like to hear all suggestions ranging from the obvious to the wacky.
Also, i think it would be fun to have some sort of "Olympics." Stopping every X miles to get out and stretch is a good idea anyway. You could have some kind of athletic competition at each stop, with the losers having to drive/buy dinner/etc.
posted by drjimmy11 at 5:30 PM on December 23, 2008
posted by drjimmy11 at 5:30 PM on December 23, 2008
Where are you? You can probably get much better advice if you tell us where you're leaving from and going to, and when you're going. But assuming you're in the U.S., some general advice:
-Tourist traps ("The Thing From Outer Space!" "The Three-Legged Cow!") are not worth it, not even for a laugh.
-National Parks and Monuments are generally worth seeing.
-Bring a board game or two for rest stops, hotels, etc.
-Cheap no-name local motels are better than the lower-end chains like Motel 6, because they generally have better cable.
-If you're in the southwest desert, stop for gas when the tank is half empty, because gas stations are more scarce there. Most other regions of the country have plenty of services.
-Take a nice big map like the Rand McNally road atlas. If you're mainly driving on the Interstate, take detours on U.S. highways and state routes.
-If there's any chance of snow, take chains. Practice putting them on before you leave. And make sure you have gloves and a flashlight, too, because putting chains on is much less fun without them.
posted by equalpants at 5:35 PM on December 23, 2008
-Tourist traps ("The Thing From Outer Space!" "The Three-Legged Cow!") are not worth it, not even for a laugh.
-National Parks and Monuments are generally worth seeing.
-Bring a board game or two for rest stops, hotels, etc.
-Cheap no-name local motels are better than the lower-end chains like Motel 6, because they generally have better cable.
-If you're in the southwest desert, stop for gas when the tank is half empty, because gas stations are more scarce there. Most other regions of the country have plenty of services.
-Take a nice big map like the Rand McNally road atlas. If you're mainly driving on the Interstate, take detours on U.S. highways and state routes.
-If there's any chance of snow, take chains. Practice putting them on before you leave. And make sure you have gloves and a flashlight, too, because putting chains on is much less fun without them.
posted by equalpants at 5:35 PM on December 23, 2008
Lomo cameras are awesome for documenting road trips. ;)
posted by kaudio at 5:35 PM on December 23, 2008
posted by kaudio at 5:35 PM on December 23, 2008
Oh and do NOT forget your cell phone charger. It's the one mega-important thing I always forget.
posted by drjimmy11 at 5:38 PM on December 23, 2008
posted by drjimmy11 at 5:38 PM on December 23, 2008
Will you all be in one vehicle? Walkie talkies rock if you're in separate cars.
Catchphrase was a favorite spring break game for my crew. Mad Libs is fun, too.
posted by little e at 5:44 PM on December 23, 2008
Catchphrase was a favorite spring break game for my crew. Mad Libs is fun, too.
posted by little e at 5:44 PM on December 23, 2008
Pile of magazines
Carrier bags
Pillows
Camera
Alcohol
posted by fire&wings at 6:00 PM on December 23, 2008
Carrier bags
Pillows
Camera
Alcohol
posted by fire&wings at 6:00 PM on December 23, 2008
Last road trip, we brought a power inverter, FM transmitter, and an iMac.
And, of course, all sorts of DVD to watch.
posted by niles at 7:04 PM on December 23, 2008
And, of course, all sorts of DVD to watch.
posted by niles at 7:04 PM on December 23, 2008
This will only kill about 10 minutes, but it's really fun the first few times.
If you are driving through any farm land, you can play the game "Hey, Cow!". When you drive by a pasture containing a bunch of cows, roll down your window and yell "HEY COW!". You get 1 point for every cow that looks at you. The player with the highest number of points at the end of x rounds wins.
You can also play the many variations of "Hey, Cow!" called "Hey, Ducks!" or "Hey, Horsies!" or even "Hey, Chickens!".
posted by Brettus at 8:29 PM on December 23, 2008 [1 favorite]
If you are driving through any farm land, you can play the game "Hey, Cow!". When you drive by a pasture containing a bunch of cows, roll down your window and yell "HEY COW!". You get 1 point for every cow that looks at you. The player with the highest number of points at the end of x rounds wins.
You can also play the many variations of "Hey, Cow!" called "Hey, Ducks!" or "Hey, Horsies!" or even "Hey, Chickens!".
posted by Brettus at 8:29 PM on December 23, 2008 [1 favorite]
-Crossword puzzles, which can be fun in a group
-n-thing walkie talkies if you're in different cars
-A friend who did a similar trip with her friends, they adopted "road trip names", which they went exclusively by on that trip.
-The people in the backseat can read aloud as a team. Plays work well like this. It's like a book on tape, but different.
posted by knile at 10:27 PM on December 23, 2008
-n-thing walkie talkies if you're in different cars
-A friend who did a similar trip with her friends, they adopted "road trip names", which they went exclusively by on that trip.
-The people in the backseat can read aloud as a team. Plays work well like this. It's like a book on tape, but different.
posted by knile at 10:27 PM on December 23, 2008
I once spent almost six hours in a van playing a game my friend was calling "The Name Game", although there are several games with that name I think. This game was very similar to 20 questions but with an added layer of guessing.
1. The first person thinks of the name of someone well-known. They tell the the group the first letter of either the last or first name of their person. Ex: I think of Abraham Lincoln, I tell the group "This person's name starts with A" (or "L", my choice.)
2. The rest of the group take turns trying to stump me by giving a clue about another "A" named person. Ex: Someone says, "This person was married to one of the founding fathers." The answer is Abigail Adams. Only give one clue, must be reasonable but can definitely be creative.
3. If I am stumped, that person gets to ask me a yes or no question about my secret person. If I guess Abigail Adams, play continues and someone else from the group thinks of another "A" name and gives a clue. Keep going until someone in the group can guess Abraham Lincoln.
Special rules: If the letter is A, the group can stump me with people whose first OR last name start with A. Adam Smith or Steve Allen.
If the group stumps me with someone who has two A names, like Abigail Adams, they get to ask TWO questions. Same for 3 "A" names, and so on.
posted by dahliachewswell at 11:10 PM on December 23, 2008
1. The first person thinks of the name of someone well-known. They tell the the group the first letter of either the last or first name of their person. Ex: I think of Abraham Lincoln, I tell the group "This person's name starts with A" (or "L", my choice.)
2. The rest of the group take turns trying to stump me by giving a clue about another "A" named person. Ex: Someone says, "This person was married to one of the founding fathers." The answer is Abigail Adams. Only give one clue, must be reasonable but can definitely be creative.
3. If I am stumped, that person gets to ask me a yes or no question about my secret person. If I guess Abigail Adams, play continues and someone else from the group thinks of another "A" name and gives a clue. Keep going until someone in the group can guess Abraham Lincoln.
Special rules: If the letter is A, the group can stump me with people whose first OR last name start with A. Adam Smith or Steve Allen.
If the group stumps me with someone who has two A names, like Abigail Adams, they get to ask TWO questions. Same for 3 "A" names, and so on.
posted by dahliachewswell at 11:10 PM on December 23, 2008
doing it hunter s. thompson style is an option...
also have everyone make a "top 10" cd mix of their own - discuss and debate
posted by mrmarley at 5:25 AM on December 24, 2008
also have everyone make a "top 10" cd mix of their own - discuss and debate
posted by mrmarley at 5:25 AM on December 24, 2008
Non-game things
Water
Hard candy
Trail mix, granola bars, cheese, hard fruit (apples, pears), meat sticks/jerky, i.e. good snackage, in a little cooler (my dad has one that fits neatly on the hump between the seats in the back of his Corolla)
Cell phones, cameras, ipods, etc.
Extra batteries and chargers for phones, cameras, ipods etc.
Blanket(s)
Plastic bags (grocery bags work good) for garbage and/or storage of neat but messy things found (like a neat rock covered in moss) or created (like muddy shoes or wet socks); you can store them in another bag
Moist towelettes
Pocket knife
Kleenex &/or a roll of paper towel for impromptu side of the road picnics
posted by sandraregina at 8:10 AM on December 24, 2008
Water
Hard candy
Trail mix, granola bars, cheese, hard fruit (apples, pears), meat sticks/jerky, i.e. good snackage, in a little cooler (my dad has one that fits neatly on the hump between the seats in the back of his Corolla)
Cell phones, cameras, ipods, etc.
Extra batteries and chargers for phones, cameras, ipods etc.
Blanket(s)
Plastic bags (grocery bags work good) for garbage and/or storage of neat but messy things found (like a neat rock covered in moss) or created (like muddy shoes or wet socks); you can store them in another bag
Moist towelettes
Pocket knife
Kleenex &/or a roll of paper towel for impromptu side of the road picnics
posted by sandraregina at 8:10 AM on December 24, 2008
We have a 16 y/o daughter and a 12 y/o son. When we went to the Smokies and also Disney world, we brought our CRANIUM TRIVIA CARDS and that made the time fly. Iffin no little ones are present... Raw Dog "uncensored" comedy channel on Sirius Sattelite Radio works well.
posted by winks007 at 9:31 AM on December 24, 2008
posted by winks007 at 9:31 AM on December 24, 2008
I love road trips, and I'm gonna quote & expand on an answer I posted on AskMeFi a while back- actually that whole thread might be interesting to you.
When I road-trip, we usually avoid large, interstate-type highways. Interstates are boring- empty of scenery and full of crappy road food. Instead, we drive on smaller roads- usually 2-lane highways- through interesting scenery- farms, small towns.
Likewise, we avoid capital/major cities unless there's some pressing reason to hit one, because of all the traffic and empty suburbia around big cities. Smaller cities have cheaper hotel rooms and more concentrated "downtown" areas, so you can see all the cool stuff there is to see in one pass through the area. In a large city, your drive through town will be so congested and even then you'll miss most of the cool stuff- the interesting parts are so diffused throughout the land area that that it's not worth it to travel through them unless you're gonna stay there for a whole day or two.
A couple suggestions:
Bring your laptop to the front desk when scoping a hotel room. If you can't get a wifi signal from the front desk, forget it- it's only gonna be weaker in your room.
Go for a little run every morning before you hit the road- even just a few blocks makes a difference. Good way to see the local scenery, and it will alleviate back pain from sitting in a car all day.
Get a big fat road atlas.
Keep post-it notes & pen on hand. Once you pick a route & decide on the next few exits you'll take, make a note of it on a post-it or two and stick it on the dash. Then you don't have to sit there with a big fat road atlas on your lap all day just to remember what the next exit will be.
Download stand-up comedy albums to listen to during whatever time you habitually hit your daily slump- for us, that was around 3-5pm. Comedy (especially fairly high-energy, narrative comedy recorded in front of a live studio audience) is better for keeping you awake than music or podcasts. We listened to Eddie Murphy, Bill Cosby, and Richard Pryor. David Cross & Dane Cook would be good, too. Mitch Hedburgh, although we love him, made us sleepy on the road (quiet voice, non-narrative / non-sequiturs).
In the early morning, before you're all wide awake, NPR and David Sedaris podcasts & recordings are great to listen to. Keeps the chatty morning people from irritating the grumpy night owls!
Get one of those gadgets that plugs into the cigarette lighter and has regular AC plugs on it- so you can keep iPods, laptops, cameras, and celphones charged on the trip.
Other useful stuff to keep in the car: a fleece blanket or sarong for naps. Sunscreen (the sun can totally fry you through the windows! Snacks (I like trail mix with a pack of Smarties mixed in, Coke, and beef jerky). Granola bars and water so you don't have to stop every single time someone's thirsty or peckish. Unscented baby wipes for spills & freshening up. A chatty guidebook for the region you're travelling through is fun- it's nice to learn tidbits along the way.
As for what to do, each of you should pick a personal quest to conquer during the trip.
My companion's quest was to photograph funny church signs. We'd see a church and get all excited as we approached, straining our eyes to read if it was a good sign, and if it was, we'd be thrilled to make a dramatic U-turn, double back, pile out of the car, and get a good angle on the pic. "What on Earth are you doing for Heaven's sake?" "Satan divides and subtracts. God multiplies." etc. It's nice to have an unpredictable reason to stop, it gives you energy. And now my friend has an awesome flickr set of weird church signs from all over the American South.
My quests were all food-related. I wanted to eat real southern cornbread, real Texas BBQ, authentic pralines and a po'boy sandwich in Louisiana, etc etc. This influenced all our food choices- we went to restaurants that looked like they might have real cornbread & therefore avoided chain restaurants. And my goodness, we had a few insanely good meals!
Be really friendly and strike up conversations with local people. I loved hearing all the different accents and outlooks as I road-tripped across different regions. We made a point of stopping a little more than we needed to- especially in really "colourful" areas, where there were mom&pop restaurants or small convenience stores instead of big chain gas stations- and spending 5 minutes or so in each location chatting up the locals. Some of the conversations I had in tiny gas stations, or with the servers in weird little shack restaurants, or while asking hotel clerks to use their washrooms- were the funnest, most memorable parts of the trip!
As for food, always ask locals working well-paid jobs where to get a good home-cookin' style meal in the neighbourhood: they'll have the best advice to help you avoid boring chain restaurants. Don't ask hotel clerks for food recommendations, though- they'll be sort of obligated to recommend the hotel restaurant, or may even have a secret arrangement to send guests to specific restaurants in the area, which may not be the most interesting restaurants. Bank tellers are much more likely to give you good food recommendations.
Have fun!
posted by pseudostrabismus at 1:45 PM on December 24, 2008
When I road-trip, we usually avoid large, interstate-type highways. Interstates are boring- empty of scenery and full of crappy road food. Instead, we drive on smaller roads- usually 2-lane highways- through interesting scenery- farms, small towns.
Likewise, we avoid capital/major cities unless there's some pressing reason to hit one, because of all the traffic and empty suburbia around big cities. Smaller cities have cheaper hotel rooms and more concentrated "downtown" areas, so you can see all the cool stuff there is to see in one pass through the area. In a large city, your drive through town will be so congested and even then you'll miss most of the cool stuff- the interesting parts are so diffused throughout the land area that that it's not worth it to travel through them unless you're gonna stay there for a whole day or two.
A couple suggestions:
Bring your laptop to the front desk when scoping a hotel room. If you can't get a wifi signal from the front desk, forget it- it's only gonna be weaker in your room.
Go for a little run every morning before you hit the road- even just a few blocks makes a difference. Good way to see the local scenery, and it will alleviate back pain from sitting in a car all day.
Get a big fat road atlas.
Keep post-it notes & pen on hand. Once you pick a route & decide on the next few exits you'll take, make a note of it on a post-it or two and stick it on the dash. Then you don't have to sit there with a big fat road atlas on your lap all day just to remember what the next exit will be.
Download stand-up comedy albums to listen to during whatever time you habitually hit your daily slump- for us, that was around 3-5pm. Comedy (especially fairly high-energy, narrative comedy recorded in front of a live studio audience) is better for keeping you awake than music or podcasts. We listened to Eddie Murphy, Bill Cosby, and Richard Pryor. David Cross & Dane Cook would be good, too. Mitch Hedburgh, although we love him, made us sleepy on the road (quiet voice, non-narrative / non-sequiturs).
In the early morning, before you're all wide awake, NPR and David Sedaris podcasts & recordings are great to listen to. Keeps the chatty morning people from irritating the grumpy night owls!
Get one of those gadgets that plugs into the cigarette lighter and has regular AC plugs on it- so you can keep iPods, laptops, cameras, and celphones charged on the trip.
Other useful stuff to keep in the car: a fleece blanket or sarong for naps. Sunscreen (the sun can totally fry you through the windows! Snacks (I like trail mix with a pack of Smarties mixed in, Coke, and beef jerky). Granola bars and water so you don't have to stop every single time someone's thirsty or peckish. Unscented baby wipes for spills & freshening up. A chatty guidebook for the region you're travelling through is fun- it's nice to learn tidbits along the way.
As for what to do, each of you should pick a personal quest to conquer during the trip.
My companion's quest was to photograph funny church signs. We'd see a church and get all excited as we approached, straining our eyes to read if it was a good sign, and if it was, we'd be thrilled to make a dramatic U-turn, double back, pile out of the car, and get a good angle on the pic. "What on Earth are you doing for Heaven's sake?" "Satan divides and subtracts. God multiplies." etc. It's nice to have an unpredictable reason to stop, it gives you energy. And now my friend has an awesome flickr set of weird church signs from all over the American South.
My quests were all food-related. I wanted to eat real southern cornbread, real Texas BBQ, authentic pralines and a po'boy sandwich in Louisiana, etc etc. This influenced all our food choices- we went to restaurants that looked like they might have real cornbread & therefore avoided chain restaurants. And my goodness, we had a few insanely good meals!
Be really friendly and strike up conversations with local people. I loved hearing all the different accents and outlooks as I road-tripped across different regions. We made a point of stopping a little more than we needed to- especially in really "colourful" areas, where there were mom&pop restaurants or small convenience stores instead of big chain gas stations- and spending 5 minutes or so in each location chatting up the locals. Some of the conversations I had in tiny gas stations, or with the servers in weird little shack restaurants, or while asking hotel clerks to use their washrooms- were the funnest, most memorable parts of the trip!
As for food, always ask locals working well-paid jobs where to get a good home-cookin' style meal in the neighbourhood: they'll have the best advice to help you avoid boring chain restaurants. Don't ask hotel clerks for food recommendations, though- they'll be sort of obligated to recommend the hotel restaurant, or may even have a secret arrangement to send guests to specific restaurants in the area, which may not be the most interesting restaurants. Bank tellers are much more likely to give you good food recommendations.
Have fun!
posted by pseudostrabismus at 1:45 PM on December 24, 2008
We also play a really fun road-trip game called "Hey Cos!"
It was invented by a bunch of smart, funny improvisers I know. It's ridiculously fun, plus you get to talk like Bill Cosby. Here's how it goes:
YOU: Hey Cos?
ANY OTHER PERSON, IN BILL COSBY VOICE: Yesm? zub zub zub this is the best elevator music i've ever heard pudding pops Roody! (etc)
The first person then gives clues so Bill Cosby will say a sentence containing three rhyming words. For instance:
YOU: Do you remember the time.... I had the ability to tell an animal story in the dining room?
Then everyone thinks about it. They might need to think for like an hour, and conversations can resume as usual in the meantime. Eventually someone figures it out- it can be anyone in the car, doesn't have to be the person who's already been Bill Cosby. That person becomes Bill Cosby and supplies the answer in a Bill Cosby voice.
BILL COSBY: Theo, do you mean.... the time I was ABLE to tell a FABLE while seated at the TABLE? with the hippin and the hoppin and the bippin and the boppin, i brought you into this world i can take you out of it! (etc)
It's so fun! The brainteaser aspect is great, and the Cosby impersonations are the cherry on top.
Just in case that wasn't clear, here are a few more guess/answer combos:
Do you remember the time we put legumes on our pants at the home of a dead movie star?
You mean the time we put BEANS on our JEANS at JIMMY DEAN'S?
Do you remember the time you got all romantic because the cat ate your gloves?
You mean the time I was SMITTEN by the KITTEN who swallowed my MITTEN? (or Smitten by the Kitten who had Bitten my Mitten = bonus point for a 4-part answer!)
etc. SO FUN.
zub zub zub.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 2:00 PM on December 24, 2008
It was invented by a bunch of smart, funny improvisers I know. It's ridiculously fun, plus you get to talk like Bill Cosby. Here's how it goes:
YOU: Hey Cos?
ANY OTHER PERSON, IN BILL COSBY VOICE: Yesm? zub zub zub this is the best elevator music i've ever heard pudding pops Roody! (etc)
The first person then gives clues so Bill Cosby will say a sentence containing three rhyming words. For instance:
YOU: Do you remember the time.... I had the ability to tell an animal story in the dining room?
Then everyone thinks about it. They might need to think for like an hour, and conversations can resume as usual in the meantime. Eventually someone figures it out- it can be anyone in the car, doesn't have to be the person who's already been Bill Cosby. That person becomes Bill Cosby and supplies the answer in a Bill Cosby voice.
BILL COSBY: Theo, do you mean.... the time I was ABLE to tell a FABLE while seated at the TABLE? with the hippin and the hoppin and the bippin and the boppin, i brought you into this world i can take you out of it! (etc)
It's so fun! The brainteaser aspect is great, and the Cosby impersonations are the cherry on top.
Just in case that wasn't clear, here are a few more guess/answer combos:
Do you remember the time we put legumes on our pants at the home of a dead movie star?
You mean the time we put BEANS on our JEANS at JIMMY DEAN'S?
Do you remember the time you got all romantic because the cat ate your gloves?
You mean the time I was SMITTEN by the KITTEN who swallowed my MITTEN? (or Smitten by the Kitten who had Bitten my Mitten = bonus point for a 4-part answer!)
etc. SO FUN.
zub zub zub.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 2:00 PM on December 24, 2008
This thread is closed to new comments.
Karaoke CDs (or MP3s) with printed lyric sheets. Whoever (requests a potty stop) (burps or has other emissions) (asks anything about time/distance) (etc) has to sing.
posted by Fuzzy Skinner at 5:20 PM on December 23, 2008