I've got a road trip planned. It'll be about 2800 mi, 4500 km. I think I'm prepared but sure I'm overlooking things. I'd love to hear your tips and recommendations; your holy grails!
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2 adults and 1 younger teen
We're going on a two week road trip that'll be fairly leisurely. Stopping by some parks and sights as we go and a few nights at our ultimate destination
I had my car recently serviced. It all checks out
I have a steam deck on the way! Any recommendations here for travel accessories? Or just in general?
We've all got devices and chargers and their respective blocks. I'm looking at a power inverter for the hungrier devices
I was debating bringing the oculus to give whomever a bit of isolation if they need; is there anything specific I'd need to do to use it where there's no internet? I haven't used it enough to be very familiar with most of its abilitiesWe adults have ps5s. Most likely won't bring one. I've seen portable monitors that people use with a local device; does anyone have experience using one for remote play for the ps5?
And making sure we've got entertainment downloaded to our devices; obviously books and offline/non electronic entertainment will be brought, as well
I'm really looking forward to this and want to make it the best experience for all involved! I look forward to hearing your tips
Edit to add: the point of the road trip is to bury my grandfather. And I'm petrified of flying in the current state of the US
Since we HAVE to make this trip we're trying to make the most of it by stopping by some state/national parks and other landmarks/pois during which we'll be present. But there's going to be LONG stretches of literally nothing exciting. Like corn fields. Many hours of corn fields. Most days are 6 - 10 hours in the car
Paper roadmaps often mark scenic roads, the ones I had marked it with a green line following the street, I always made sure to drive those roads, the recommendation never failed.
You write a Lot about Digital Entertainment, make sure to plan your route so you have plenty entertainment on the outside of your car. Don't just drive highways, they're boring and ugly and show you nothing of the place you're traveling through.
Make sure you're at least a little familiar with your vehicle, like where is the breaker box, how do I access the spare tire, while you're at it check your insurance for road assistance.
If you're planning on going to more rural areas make sure to check for gas stations, bringing a 10l fuel canister saved my ass more than once on my trips through rural eastern Europe.
If you're traveling through different countries, with different languages, write down some phrases like 'hello', 'thank you' 'gasoline/gas station'. People were more friendly and often excited when we showed an effort to learn some phrases in their native
Languages.The restaurants packed with locals are the ones you want to visit, especially when it's a lot of blue collar folk there, usually the food there is cheap and good, the locals will be there for a reason.
If you're camping check the laws and make sure you know how to start and maintain a safe fire, after a long day of traveling you'll want to unwind a little, a little music, a fire, some card games are ideal for that, you can read/watch stuff when you're in bed.
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2 adults and 1 younger teen
We're going on a two week road trip that'll be fairly leisurely. Stopping by some parks and sights as we go and a few nights at our ultimate destination
I had my car recently serviced. It all checks out
I have a steam deck on the way! Any recommendations here for travel accessories? Or just in general?
We've all got devices and chargers and their respective blocks. I'm looking at a power inverter for the hungrier devices
I was debating bringing the oculus to give whomever a bit of isolation if they need; is there anything specific I'd need to do to use it where there's no internet? I haven't used it enough to be very familiar with most of its abilitiesWe adults have ps5s. Most likely won't bring one. I've seen portable monitors that people use with a local device; does anyone have experience using one for remote play for the ps5?
And making sure we've got entertainment downloaded to our devices; obviously books and offline/non electronic entertainment will be brought, as well
I'm really looking forward to this and want to make it the best experience for all involved! I look forward to hearing your tips
Edit to add: the point of the road trip is to bury my grandfather. And I'm petrified of flying in the current state of the US
Since we HAVE to make this trip we're trying to make the most of it by stopping by some state/national parks and other landmarks/pois during which we'll be present. But there's going to be LONG stretches of literally nothing exciting. Like corn fields. Many hours of corn fields. Most days are 6 - 10 hours in the car
I have a steam deck on the way! Any recommendations here for travel accessories? Or just in general?
AY YOOO! LETS GOOOOO! (I also have a SteamDeck and I got excited reading that lmao)
Battery packs my friend. Have at least one extra battery capable of at least 45W charging, preferrably those 25000 mah ones. (I'd get like 2 batteries if money isn't an issue, I found ones thay are like $70 USD) There are also car chargers adapters that cinverts the cigarette lighter thing to a USB-C output (although I never went on a long enough trip to use those, so idk if those are enough to charge a SteamDeck at full 45 Watts)
Download some maps.
And, I know people will say "enjoy the moment" or whatever, but I suggest taking some photos with whatever phone you have (if you don't want a dedicated camera), because I'd personally really wished I had a photo of every place I've been to, since I kinda forgot them, the memories I do have feels so nostalgic, and I wish I had more photos to help me recall stuff. (for context: I'm a young adult, but dealing with depression and memories aren't as vivid anymore, photos would help a lot for me)
no internet
Idk about your oculus, but is this a place with no cellular signal? I bet those handheld radios would come in handy for communications (Its not like I travel to remote areas often, but like I'm just obsessed with radios so I had to mention it xD), could make your little trip feel like a you're a special agent on a secret mission lol (am I weird? Sorry I just have an obsession with the idea radios, like I mentioned). But seriously tho, lack of cell signal and being in remote areas feel kinda sketchy (IMO) without a reliable way to communicate. If in the US: FRS is license-free, but has lower range due to wattage requiements. GMRS requires bascially just one license fee that covers your entire family, but you can use those higher wattage GMRS Radios. (GMRS and FRS kinda overlap on the same frequencies btw)
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2 adults and 1 younger teen
We're going on a two week road trip that'll be fairly leisurely. Stopping by some parks and sights as we go and a few nights at our ultimate destination
I had my car recently serviced. It all checks out
I have a steam deck on the way! Any recommendations here for travel accessories? Or just in general?
We've all got devices and chargers and their respective blocks. I'm looking at a power inverter for the hungrier devices
I was debating bringing the oculus to give whomever a bit of isolation if they need; is there anything specific I'd need to do to use it where there's no internet? I haven't used it enough to be very familiar with most of its abilitiesWe adults have ps5s. Most likely won't bring one. I've seen portable monitors that people use with a local device; does anyone have experience using one for remote play for the ps5?
And making sure we've got entertainment downloaded to our devices; obviously books and offline/non electronic entertainment will be brought, as well
I'm really looking forward to this and want to make it the best experience for all involved! I look forward to hearing your tips
Edit to add: the point of the road trip is to bury my grandfather. And I'm petrified of flying in the current state of the US
Since we HAVE to make this trip we're trying to make the most of it by stopping by some state/national parks and other landmarks/pois during which we'll be present. But there's going to be LONG stretches of literally nothing exciting. Like corn fields. Many hours of corn fields. Most days are 6 - 10 hours in the car
There's literally no point in taking the trip if you're just going to play video games the whole time.
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2 adults and 1 younger teen
We're going on a two week road trip that'll be fairly leisurely. Stopping by some parks and sights as we go and a few nights at our ultimate destination
I had my car recently serviced. It all checks out
I have a steam deck on the way! Any recommendations here for travel accessories? Or just in general?
We've all got devices and chargers and their respective blocks. I'm looking at a power inverter for the hungrier devices
I was debating bringing the oculus to give whomever a bit of isolation if they need; is there anything specific I'd need to do to use it where there's no internet? I haven't used it enough to be very familiar with most of its abilitiesWe adults have ps5s. Most likely won't bring one. I've seen portable monitors that people use with a local device; does anyone have experience using one for remote play for the ps5?
And making sure we've got entertainment downloaded to our devices; obviously books and offline/non electronic entertainment will be brought, as well
I'm really looking forward to this and want to make it the best experience for all involved! I look forward to hearing your tips
Edit to add: the point of the road trip is to bury my grandfather. And I'm petrified of flying in the current state of the US
Since we HAVE to make this trip we're trying to make the most of it by stopping by some state/national parks and other landmarks/pois during which we'll be present. But there's going to be LONG stretches of literally nothing exciting. Like corn fields. Many hours of corn fields. Most days are 6 - 10 hours in the car
Take your car to your trusted mechanic, explain you're doing a road trip and ask them to look for anything that might be an issue.
I do this before ever road trip and it has saved me a few times. The last thing you want is for problems to spring up during the trip.
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2 adults and 1 younger teen
We're going on a two week road trip that'll be fairly leisurely. Stopping by some parks and sights as we go and a few nights at our ultimate destination
I had my car recently serviced. It all checks out
I have a steam deck on the way! Any recommendations here for travel accessories? Or just in general?
We've all got devices and chargers and their respective blocks. I'm looking at a power inverter for the hungrier devices
I was debating bringing the oculus to give whomever a bit of isolation if they need; is there anything specific I'd need to do to use it where there's no internet? I haven't used it enough to be very familiar with most of its abilitiesWe adults have ps5s. Most likely won't bring one. I've seen portable monitors that people use with a local device; does anyone have experience using one for remote play for the ps5?
And making sure we've got entertainment downloaded to our devices; obviously books and offline/non electronic entertainment will be brought, as well
I'm really looking forward to this and want to make it the best experience for all involved! I look forward to hearing your tips
Edit to add: the point of the road trip is to bury my grandfather. And I'm petrified of flying in the current state of the US
Since we HAVE to make this trip we're trying to make the most of it by stopping by some state/national parks and other landmarks/pois during which we'll be present. But there's going to be LONG stretches of literally nothing exciting. Like corn fields. Many hours of corn fields. Most days are 6 - 10 hours in the car
Prepare for failure and you'll do okay.
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2 adults and 1 younger teen
We're going on a two week road trip that'll be fairly leisurely. Stopping by some parks and sights as we go and a few nights at our ultimate destination
I had my car recently serviced. It all checks out
I have a steam deck on the way! Any recommendations here for travel accessories? Or just in general?
We've all got devices and chargers and their respective blocks. I'm looking at a power inverter for the hungrier devices
I was debating bringing the oculus to give whomever a bit of isolation if they need; is there anything specific I'd need to do to use it where there's no internet? I haven't used it enough to be very familiar with most of its abilitiesWe adults have ps5s. Most likely won't bring one. I've seen portable monitors that people use with a local device; does anyone have experience using one for remote play for the ps5?
And making sure we've got entertainment downloaded to our devices; obviously books and offline/non electronic entertainment will be brought, as well
I'm really looking forward to this and want to make it the best experience for all involved! I look forward to hearing your tips
Edit to add: the point of the road trip is to bury my grandfather. And I'm petrified of flying in the current state of the US
Since we HAVE to make this trip we're trying to make the most of it by stopping by some state/national parks and other landmarks/pois during which we'll be present. But there's going to be LONG stretches of literally nothing exciting. Like corn fields. Many hours of corn fields. Most days are 6 - 10 hours in the car
Never been on a roadtrip before, but I imagine it could be awesome to have some gear with you in case you want to pull off the road and hike through some especially beautiful landscape or the parks you mentioned.
In this case make sure you have comfortable shoes to hike in, that give you some support. Trainers work for hills with well maintained paths, but I'd recommend proper hiking boots for actual mountain trails. Also, if you do go hiking: backpacks for water bottles and food, raincoats and clothes that allow easy movement and are breathable. Sweating on hikes can't always be avoided, but it sucks, especially on longer ones.
And for the car ride: pillows that allow for some comfort, if you just want to get a nap in.
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There's literally no point in taking the trip if you're just going to play video games the whole time.
wrote last edited by [email protected]Too much of one thing is just not entertaining.
And you can't lump everyone into the same type of behaviour.
And some children don't get any value from driving around. Never heard or spoke the words "Are we there yet?!" ??? -
2 adults and 1 younger teen
We're going on a two week road trip that'll be fairly leisurely. Stopping by some parks and sights as we go and a few nights at our ultimate destination
I had my car recently serviced. It all checks out
I have a steam deck on the way! Any recommendations here for travel accessories? Or just in general?
We've all got devices and chargers and their respective blocks. I'm looking at a power inverter for the hungrier devices
I was debating bringing the oculus to give whomever a bit of isolation if they need; is there anything specific I'd need to do to use it where there's no internet? I haven't used it enough to be very familiar with most of its abilitiesWe adults have ps5s. Most likely won't bring one. I've seen portable monitors that people use with a local device; does anyone have experience using one for remote play for the ps5?
And making sure we've got entertainment downloaded to our devices; obviously books and offline/non electronic entertainment will be brought, as well
I'm really looking forward to this and want to make it the best experience for all involved! I look forward to hearing your tips
Edit to add: the point of the road trip is to bury my grandfather. And I'm petrified of flying in the current state of the US
Since we HAVE to make this trip we're trying to make the most of it by stopping by some state/national parks and other landmarks/pois during which we'll be present. But there's going to be LONG stretches of literally nothing exciting. Like corn fields. Many hours of corn fields. Most days are 6 - 10 hours in the car
To paraphrase Pirsig, aim for quality time with an emphasis on the word "quality". Speed and distance don't matter, so don't try to maximize them. If anything, maximizing them will take away from enjoyment of the journey.
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There's literally no point in taking the trip if you're just going to play video games the whole time.
Even worse, long car rides are the worst part of a vacation ... and people choose that as the main activity?
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2 adults and 1 younger teen
We're going on a two week road trip that'll be fairly leisurely. Stopping by some parks and sights as we go and a few nights at our ultimate destination
I had my car recently serviced. It all checks out
I have a steam deck on the way! Any recommendations here for travel accessories? Or just in general?
We've all got devices and chargers and their respective blocks. I'm looking at a power inverter for the hungrier devices
I was debating bringing the oculus to give whomever a bit of isolation if they need; is there anything specific I'd need to do to use it where there's no internet? I haven't used it enough to be very familiar with most of its abilitiesWe adults have ps5s. Most likely won't bring one. I've seen portable monitors that people use with a local device; does anyone have experience using one for remote play for the ps5?
And making sure we've got entertainment downloaded to our devices; obviously books and offline/non electronic entertainment will be brought, as well
I'm really looking forward to this and want to make it the best experience for all involved! I look forward to hearing your tips
Edit to add: the point of the road trip is to bury my grandfather. And I'm petrified of flying in the current state of the US
Since we HAVE to make this trip we're trying to make the most of it by stopping by some state/national parks and other landmarks/pois during which we'll be present. But there's going to be LONG stretches of literally nothing exciting. Like corn fields. Many hours of corn fields. Most days are 6 - 10 hours in the car
Don’t be afraid to make detours. My wife & I have done a few such trips, and on one of them we passed a sign for a memorial & museum of the Tuskegee Airmen. We took a detour to check it out and thoroughly enjoyed it.
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Even worse, long car rides are the worst part of a vacation ... and people choose that as the main activity?
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2 adults and 1 younger teen
We're going on a two week road trip that'll be fairly leisurely. Stopping by some parks and sights as we go and a few nights at our ultimate destination
I had my car recently serviced. It all checks out
I have a steam deck on the way! Any recommendations here for travel accessories? Or just in general?
We've all got devices and chargers and their respective blocks. I'm looking at a power inverter for the hungrier devices
I was debating bringing the oculus to give whomever a bit of isolation if they need; is there anything specific I'd need to do to use it where there's no internet? I haven't used it enough to be very familiar with most of its abilitiesWe adults have ps5s. Most likely won't bring one. I've seen portable monitors that people use with a local device; does anyone have experience using one for remote play for the ps5?
And making sure we've got entertainment downloaded to our devices; obviously books and offline/non electronic entertainment will be brought, as well
I'm really looking forward to this and want to make it the best experience for all involved! I look forward to hearing your tips
Edit to add: the point of the road trip is to bury my grandfather. And I'm petrified of flying in the current state of the US
Since we HAVE to make this trip we're trying to make the most of it by stopping by some state/national parks and other landmarks/pois during which we'll be present. But there's going to be LONG stretches of literally nothing exciting. Like corn fields. Many hours of corn fields. Most days are 6 - 10 hours in the car
I also don't recommend bringing all that technology. The best of road trips I've done were from interacting with the other people. You can play elden ring at home. It shouldn't be a priority.
I had a game boy on several road trips I did with my parents, and I barely remember the trips. I had nothing but a flip phone with one I did with friends, and had a lot more fun with them. Maybe because I was older and they were my friends, though.
Bring some low tech entertainment. Cards. Small board games. Dice. There are light weight pen and paper rpgs and word games you could do on the go (eg: Fate).
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2 adults and 1 younger teen
We're going on a two week road trip that'll be fairly leisurely. Stopping by some parks and sights as we go and a few nights at our ultimate destination
I had my car recently serviced. It all checks out
I have a steam deck on the way! Any recommendations here for travel accessories? Or just in general?
We've all got devices and chargers and their respective blocks. I'm looking at a power inverter for the hungrier devices
I was debating bringing the oculus to give whomever a bit of isolation if they need; is there anything specific I'd need to do to use it where there's no internet? I haven't used it enough to be very familiar with most of its abilitiesWe adults have ps5s. Most likely won't bring one. I've seen portable monitors that people use with a local device; does anyone have experience using one for remote play for the ps5?
And making sure we've got entertainment downloaded to our devices; obviously books and offline/non electronic entertainment will be brought, as well
I'm really looking forward to this and want to make it the best experience for all involved! I look forward to hearing your tips
Edit to add: the point of the road trip is to bury my grandfather. And I'm petrified of flying in the current state of the US
Since we HAVE to make this trip we're trying to make the most of it by stopping by some state/national parks and other landmarks/pois during which we'll be present. But there's going to be LONG stretches of literally nothing exciting. Like corn fields. Many hours of corn fields. Most days are 6 - 10 hours in the car
Take lots of pictures! Future you will appreciate it.
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2 adults and 1 younger teen
We're going on a two week road trip that'll be fairly leisurely. Stopping by some parks and sights as we go and a few nights at our ultimate destination
I had my car recently serviced. It all checks out
I have a steam deck on the way! Any recommendations here for travel accessories? Or just in general?
We've all got devices and chargers and their respective blocks. I'm looking at a power inverter for the hungrier devices
I was debating bringing the oculus to give whomever a bit of isolation if they need; is there anything specific I'd need to do to use it where there's no internet? I haven't used it enough to be very familiar with most of its abilitiesWe adults have ps5s. Most likely won't bring one. I've seen portable monitors that people use with a local device; does anyone have experience using one for remote play for the ps5?
And making sure we've got entertainment downloaded to our devices; obviously books and offline/non electronic entertainment will be brought, as well
I'm really looking forward to this and want to make it the best experience for all involved! I look forward to hearing your tips
Edit to add: the point of the road trip is to bury my grandfather. And I'm petrified of flying in the current state of the US
Since we HAVE to make this trip we're trying to make the most of it by stopping by some state/national parks and other landmarks/pois during which we'll be present. But there's going to be LONG stretches of literally nothing exciting. Like corn fields. Many hours of corn fields. Most days are 6 - 10 hours in the car
I've driven cross-country in the US to visit various national and state parks numerous times, but always alone. So, this may not apply, but two things helped me tremendously:
- Pack plenty of water, apples and beef jerky. Saves on human refuelling stops.
- Don't be afraid to stop, turn around and backtrack if you saw something interesting.
Bonus: Little or no technology. I did my trips when all we had was a road atlas and music tapes. Still ended up listening to the lical talk radios along the way. Would do the same even now.
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2 adults and 1 younger teen
We're going on a two week road trip that'll be fairly leisurely. Stopping by some parks and sights as we go and a few nights at our ultimate destination
I had my car recently serviced. It all checks out
I have a steam deck on the way! Any recommendations here for travel accessories? Or just in general?
We've all got devices and chargers and their respective blocks. I'm looking at a power inverter for the hungrier devices
I was debating bringing the oculus to give whomever a bit of isolation if they need; is there anything specific I'd need to do to use it where there's no internet? I haven't used it enough to be very familiar with most of its abilitiesWe adults have ps5s. Most likely won't bring one. I've seen portable monitors that people use with a local device; does anyone have experience using one for remote play for the ps5?
And making sure we've got entertainment downloaded to our devices; obviously books and offline/non electronic entertainment will be brought, as well
I'm really looking forward to this and want to make it the best experience for all involved! I look forward to hearing your tips
Edit to add: the point of the road trip is to bury my grandfather. And I'm petrified of flying in the current state of the US
Since we HAVE to make this trip we're trying to make the most of it by stopping by some state/national parks and other landmarks/pois during which we'll be present. But there's going to be LONG stretches of literally nothing exciting. Like corn fields. Many hours of corn fields. Most days are 6 - 10 hours in the car
Don't know where you are driving, but prepare for heat.
- Wide brimmed hats
- Cooling neck wraps
Some small/easy card games, possibly:
- Skull
- Loveletter
- Flip7
- Scout
The best driving song I've found:
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2 adults and 1 younger teen
We're going on a two week road trip that'll be fairly leisurely. Stopping by some parks and sights as we go and a few nights at our ultimate destination
I had my car recently serviced. It all checks out
I have a steam deck on the way! Any recommendations here for travel accessories? Or just in general?
We've all got devices and chargers and their respective blocks. I'm looking at a power inverter for the hungrier devices
I was debating bringing the oculus to give whomever a bit of isolation if they need; is there anything specific I'd need to do to use it where there's no internet? I haven't used it enough to be very familiar with most of its abilitiesWe adults have ps5s. Most likely won't bring one. I've seen portable monitors that people use with a local device; does anyone have experience using one for remote play for the ps5?
And making sure we've got entertainment downloaded to our devices; obviously books and offline/non electronic entertainment will be brought, as well
I'm really looking forward to this and want to make it the best experience for all involved! I look forward to hearing your tips
Edit to add: the point of the road trip is to bury my grandfather. And I'm petrified of flying in the current state of the US
Since we HAVE to make this trip we're trying to make the most of it by stopping by some state/national parks and other landmarks/pois during which we'll be present. But there's going to be LONG stretches of literally nothing exciting. Like corn fields. Many hours of corn fields. Most days are 6 - 10 hours in the car
Get AAA. It's super cheap and can save your bacon if your car breaks down.
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2 adults and 1 younger teen
We're going on a two week road trip that'll be fairly leisurely. Stopping by some parks and sights as we go and a few nights at our ultimate destination
I had my car recently serviced. It all checks out
I have a steam deck on the way! Any recommendations here for travel accessories? Or just in general?
We've all got devices and chargers and their respective blocks. I'm looking at a power inverter for the hungrier devices
I was debating bringing the oculus to give whomever a bit of isolation if they need; is there anything specific I'd need to do to use it where there's no internet? I haven't used it enough to be very familiar with most of its abilitiesWe adults have ps5s. Most likely won't bring one. I've seen portable monitors that people use with a local device; does anyone have experience using one for remote play for the ps5?
And making sure we've got entertainment downloaded to our devices; obviously books and offline/non electronic entertainment will be brought, as well
I'm really looking forward to this and want to make it the best experience for all involved! I look forward to hearing your tips
Edit to add: the point of the road trip is to bury my grandfather. And I'm petrified of flying in the current state of the US
Since we HAVE to make this trip we're trying to make the most of it by stopping by some state/national parks and other landmarks/pois during which we'll be present. But there's going to be LONG stretches of literally nothing exciting. Like corn fields. Many hours of corn fields. Most days are 6 - 10 hours in the car
Stop and get out of the car more often than you think you need to. It’ll make the trip so much more pleasant.
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Too much of one thing is just not entertaining.
And you can't lump everyone into the same type of behaviour.
And some children don't get any value from driving around. Never heard or spoke the words "Are we there yet?!" ???Then there's no point in the trip.
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Then there's no point in the trip.
Do you even know the goal of the trip?
Maybe only the destination is of importance -
Get AAA. It's super cheap and can save your bacon if your car breaks down.
Excellent idea. I have AAA and it’s saved me a number of times over the years, from jumping dead batteries to helping with flat tires, to a 100 mile tow after my transmission failed…
