Night Elf Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 What do you like to do during super long car rides? This summer I'll have a 15 hour drive. Last year was the first year the Dramamine really worked and allowed me to read in the car. There will be 5 of us all doing our own things. I don't know if the van has a DVD player. The one last year did but we couldn't figure it out. We wanted to play a movie for those in back but leave music on for those in front. So basically I plan to sleep and read, and hopefully not mindlessly eat. I also promised DH I"d help drive this year. I hate driving though, so it will be in small spurts. He'll definitely do the bulk of driving. I'm going to be so bored! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilma Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 We love the audio books! I far prefer them to actually reading in the car - it's fun that we're all involved I the same story. An engaging series might be just the ticket, maybe something along the lines of the Hunger Games? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinder Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 Audiobooks, knitting, crochet, sudoku and word search puzzles, read a magazine (I don't usually buy magazines except for trips), occasionally I'll read a book. I also take mindless-staring-out-of-window breaks. Enjoy your trip! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 Sleeping makes the time pass for me. We don't do movies or audiobooks-- Our most recent trip involved an 8 hour drive with two of the 3 kids and our elderly neighbor/friend (going to our middle son's wedding). She entertained us heartily by telling stories of her life and times as a psychiatric nurse. You don't happen to have an elderly friend you can take along, do you? Highly recommended. :laugh: 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithManor Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 I normally read aloud to the family. They love it. When they were little we knocked out the Children's Homer, Bunnicula series, Hobbit, Mr. Popper's Penguins, lots of books of myths, ... now that they are older, for our next road trip in two weeks we have Story of Science by SWB, Don't Turn Your Back on the Barn, Real Ponies Don't Go Oink, and Beowulf the Tolkein translation on the list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan in TN Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 I knit simple dishcloths (which reminds me that I need more dishcloths and we are on a road trip in a couple of weeks!). I have tried reading aloud, but my voice doesn't carry well in a 12 passenger van - it is a loud vehicle. We do have some standard books on CD that we like - our favorite is "The Composer is Dead" by Lemony Snicket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 Dh and I just talk and talk....plan our retirement, talk about the past, current events, music...I love long car rides because we can talk for hours. Our kids either read or listen to music. Once they were teens, they slept a lot on trips, much like babies in carseats do. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 If you want to do an audio book or read a book, I love The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. It's a children's book written by Kate Dicamillo. It's very deep and even sad in places, but I love it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unsinkable Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 What do you like to do during super long car rides? This summer I'll have a 15 hour drive. Last year was the first year the Dramamine really worked and allowed me to read in the car. There will be 5 of us all doing our own things. I don't know if the van has a DVD player. The one last year did but we couldn't figure it out. We wanted to play a movie for those in back but leave music on for those in front. So basically I plan to sleep and read, and hopefully not mindlessly eat. I also promised DH I"d help drive this year. I hate driving though, so it will be in small spurts. He'll definitely do the bulk of driving. I'm going to be so bored! Daydream, reminisce, make plans, make lists, enjoy the white noise and vibration of the vehicle... I love long car drives. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathryn Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 We just returned from a thousand mile each way trip. The kids played with action figures or their DSes. DH and I talked or read on our phones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wabi Sabi Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 Audiobooks all the way. I choose books that everyone would be interested in hearing and we drive for hours with everyone being silent and listening intently lest they miss something. It's the best part of a road trip, IMO! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 We love audio books, too. We prefer action like Louis L'Amour westerns or Star Wars stories. I specifically look for ones that have several voices reading the parts. More like an audio play, then. My sons used to love Hank the Cowdog... I love to read (books, magazines), but one of my sons get car sick looking at anything printed. A movie or two for a long trip is good. We also like having a Sirius radio subscription just for the trip. We often rent cars for long trips and adding the radio package is a worthwhile charge for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 When the kids were younger, we listened to lots of audiobooks together. Later, TC lectures. Also good a portable DVD player. We have one with two screens; the kids can watch the same movie or different ones. When DH and I drove recently (1,500 miles), I crocheted a lot on the flat boring stretches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyJoy Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 Once they were teens, they slept a lot on trips, much like babies in carseats do. Haha so true! Babies and teens catch up on sleep in the car. My sister always slept on trips as a teen and my dad would wake her way too often by saying, "Look, horses!" She was always annoyed and sleepy and incoherent couldn't convince him she'd stopped caring at about age 10 :). It's now a family joke to point out the horses to each other excitedly even though we're in our 30s now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocassie Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 Audio books that will appeal to all of us or depending on the length each kid gets to pick one. I usually will take a knit or crochet project with me too. The kids have their own drawing tablets and puzzle books they can read. DH and I do a lot of talking too. As the kids get older I expect there will be a lot of headphones on in the car, but for now they are learning the fine art of compromise. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 Have you listened to the Serial podcast yet? I started it on a road trip (with headphones—it's not necessarily family friendly but YMMV) and became so engrossed in the story I didn't want to turn it off when we stopped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outdoorsy Type Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 I went to Target and got several IQ type puzzles for my boys to work on while we sat. And sat. For 5,000 miles. Those were a huge hit! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueenCat Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 Chat with dh, sleep, read books, drive a bit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali in OR Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 For me, audiobooks, especially when it's my driving shift. If I'm not the driver, I can nap or do light reading. Dh will nap or work on his computer when he's not driving. I don't think he cares much about what he listens to when he drives--music, news, audiobook. The girls are good at entertaining themselves. They like to draw while listening to an audiobook. They always have little bags packed with diversions--books, an animal or two, a doll or two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeaganS Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 I take my girls on trips of 18+ hours one way several times a year, usually without dh since he has to work. We have a DVD player in the car and mostly I keep a movie constantly going for the kids with sound only coming out the speakers in the back. In April we went on a trip 18 hours one way and I think the girls picked Big Hero 6 no fewer than 5 times. In the front, I usually listen to audiobooks and podcasts the whole time on my phone speaker. I've come to enjoy car trips a lot and my girls travel well. I actually prefer car trips without dh because when he's there I can't just listen to an audiobook (he doesn't like them) and he needs me to help him stay alert, so I can't just read or check out. But yeah, my kindle, phone, audiobooks/podcasts, and movies are my solutions for car trips. Oh, and Jolly Ranchers. Right now I'm trying to figure out if I'm crazy enough to do a North Carolina to Utah trip (and back) next year by myself with my 3 girls and the baby that will be about 6 months old. It is 31 hours one way. We'll see how I feel then. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 Audiobooks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzie in Ma Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 Kids and I all have our ereaders and phones we use for audiobooks, games and music. We often play games for some of a trip, just silly things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 Right now I'm trying to figure out if I'm crazy enough to do a North Carolina to Utah trip (and back) next year by myself with my 3 girls and the baby that will be about 6 months old. It is 31 hours one way. We'll see how I feel then. The fact that you're even contemplating that makes me bow down in awe of you. We car traveled a lot when our kids were little but now that they're grown I feel like I'm out of my 'traveling with kids' groove. Next week I'll be helping dd drive here- 14 hours- with her four kids, ranging from 6 months to 8 years. I break out into a cold sweat when I think about it too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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