Roadtrip Essentials: Keeping Kids Happy in the Car

Planning the trip

I planned a surprise vacation to Virginia for my husband’s birthday. I didn’t tell him where we were going or how long the car ride would be…which MAY have created some unnecessary anxiety. The morning of, I caved and told him we were taking a roadtrip to Colonial Beach, VA, about 3 hours north of Virginia Beach. I wanted to plan a low key vacation without tourist spots and large crowds. Colonial Beach is a quiet town where most restaurants are owned by locals, so it was exactly what I was looking for. I knew keeping the kids happy on the road was going to be challenging, so I packed up the Jeep with their favorite roadtrip essentials and away we went.

Unexpected challenges

Our 8 hour “adventure” turned into an 11 hour car ride with 6 plus stops. My oldest taught her sister how to say ‘are we there yet?’ which lasted at least a half hour. My downfall was that I didn’t plan our stops. I didn’t realize that other states didn’t have rest stops along the thru-way like NY does. One of our exits had nothing but a bar and a run down gas station where the kids practically clung to me, staring every stranger down.

Despite our troubles, the car ride was tolerable once the kids got used to the idea that they were stuck. Our girls are NOT the type to occupy themselves in the car for more than 4 minutes at a time haha. The roadtrip essentials I packed made all the difference!