My daughter and I hit the road during fall break for a mini-family reunion in Los Angeles. We’ve done this drive before, but this was the first time I’ve felt this prepared.
Here’s what I knew: We planned to get to LA a day before everyone else so we could pick them up at LAX . It’s about a 7-hour drive to our favorite LA-area hotel (the Springhill Suites in Lancaster, where the elevator sounds like Darth Vader!). I wanted to save most of our traveling money for the actual fun days (Universal Studios and Disneyland).
Here’s what we did:
- Packed lunches: We packed lunches for the road so we only had to stop for snacks and gas, which included bathroom breaks. That way, I didn’t have to spend an extra $10-15 for lunch along the highway.
- Packed dinner: I knew from experience that we would be getting into the hotel about dinner time. We would be tired and hungry and the hotel doesn’t have a restaurant, just a snack-filled market (which we have enjoyed on occasion). So the night before our trip, I made a batch of an easy Tomato-Basil Soup and bought a loaf of French bread to go with it. I put that and a can of Chicken Noodle Soup (in case my daughter was feeling picky) into our teeny-tiny cooler. When we got to the hotel that night, we heated up the soup and the bread and had a lovely meal with homemade cupcakes for dessert. We got to curl up in our room and watch the Disney Channel after a long day’s drive. Amazing that a bowl of soup while sitting on a bed someone else made can feel luxurious!
- Brought tunes: My daughter downloaded some of our favorite songs onto her tablet, so when the radio disappeared in the Sierra, we plugged in the tablet and sang away. My daughter even held the phone on the dashboard while we sang to “Call Me Maybe.” We rocked our own “carpool karaoke” on the freeway (keeping a careful eye on the road, of course). My sister joined us on the drive home and we discovered she also rocks some awesome “carpool karaoke” moves. Where’s the dashcam?!
We consider this one of our most successful road trips yet. We laughed and were silly together, creating ever more memories that will help carry us together through life. The fact that I saved some money on the way just makes it that much better.
Kidsized Travel 