Road Trip!

We did a little road trippin' this weekend.  All the way to South Dakota!  Every time I tell someone this, they get all excited and ask if we went to Mt. Rushmore.  We did not.  We were on the opposite side of the state. 

 

Waaa Waaa.

 

Drew and I are pretty good road trippers.  We enjoy long car rides together, which is good.  Because if I'm going to drag him all over the dang country to watch me run marathons, we'd better enjoy some time in the car. 

 

In order to make a road trip more enjoyable, I've come up with a list of essential items for car ride success.  Note: most of these are food.  A hungry Jamie is a grumpy Jamie.  So snacks make up the majority of this list. 

 

1.  GPS.  Duh.  How did people get by when they had to use maps?  Can you imagine consulting an atlas?  That would not go over well in our car.

 

2.  Audio Books.  Okay, if you think I'm crazy and audio books are boring, then you obviously haven't listened to an audio book lately.  They are awesome!  It's like a movie, but the picture is in your head!  The reader is more of an actor, not just some monotone boring dude reading.

 

For this trip we chose Silver Linings Playbook and it was a sensation!  We were so entertained the whole way.  Unfortunately it wasn't long enough to get us home and we were stuck having to actually talk to each other.  Blech. 

 

Seriously, listening to a book is a great way to pass the time... and keep you from actually having to converse with your spouse.

3.  Wet Wipes.  Hi, remember when we talked about me being slightly OCD about hand washing?  There is absolutely no way I could make it through a long car trip (or any car trip) without my wet wipes.

4.  WATER!  Okay, this might be more important if you are road tripping to a race and very concerned about hydration, but I happen to think bringing your own water is always a smart idea.  I buy the large bottles of water at the grocery store before leaving and refill my Camel Bac along the way.  Drew does not like it when I do it while we're driving.

5.  Coffee.  Coffee + Car Ride = Bliss. 

Plus, how else would you stay awake to share all your feelings with your husband?

6.  Stuff TO GO.  I love travel size anything, but these peanut butters are my fave!  Before we left I sliced up an apple and as soon as my tummy started rumbling, I dug into my favorite snack without having to dig into a huge jar of peanut butter.  I love these little guys!

7. Lunch.  The lunching choices along the highway are abysmal.  And not the good kind of abysmal like Monica's soup.  You've usually got your choice of a Sub Way every 10 miles or a McDonald's, Wendy's, or BK at every other exit.  Eating out, especially fast food makes me feel gross.  So I at least like to pack one homemade meal.  A veggie wrap & fruit always beats a Big Mac & fries.  But even a quick pb&j would do the trick.

8.  Crunchy Snacks.  Having something salty and crunchy is always nice when you're snacking out of boredom.  These BBQ potato poppers from TJ's were delish.  We ate the entire bag in like 10 minutes.  And then washed our hands with Wet Wipes.

9.  Bars.  Bringing an assortment of bars is essential.  They make a quick easy snack in between restaurant meals when you are traveling.  They can also serve as a breakfast replacement if you don't want to stop somewhere and shell out the money for even more fast food.  We love Lara Bars, Cliff Bars, and KIND bars.  Yum yum yum.

 

  

10.  A good travel buddy.  Seriously, the reason our road trips tend to be so much fun is because Drew is not only an excellent planner, but also a whole lot of fun to be around.  He has a great sense of humor and is laid back enough to brush it off when things don't go as planned.  Dumb stuff happens to us a lot.  Rather than getting worked up about a missed exit, botched food order, or case of shared bronchitis, we just laugh it off and add it to our stock of ridiculous stories.  I'm so grateful to have for that guy and all he does for me.  I'm quite a lucky gal.

 

And can you believe I'm so freakin' vain that I didn't take one picture of him over the weekend?  Not one.  He took like 50 of me.  I'm such a jerk.