It‘s officially summer, and many are deciding to kick off the hot months with spur of the moment road trips and vacations. In fact, right now I’m on my way to Panama City Beach! From Tennessee to Florida is an eight hour drive, which is A LOT more than it seems when you have a 3 year old brother, trust me. Last night we drove half of the way, four hours if you can’t do math like me, and stopped at our cousin’s house in Georgia. My best friend and cousin lives there, and she‘s going to the beach with us, so I am super excited. We stayed up so late last night, probably until 1:00. Then this morning we woke up at 5:30, so yes, I am so tired. Along with the fact that I’m sleep deprived, my phone is almost dead, and my kindle actually IS dead, so you can probably catch me napping after this. If you’re like me, and you’re technology is either dead or at home, then keep reading, because today I’m going to share with you some of my favorite road trip books and activities.
Often times parents would rather their kids not have technology on a long car ride or road trip. So instead of staring out the window for hours on end, why don’t we play some fun games, or read a good ol’ book? If you need some help getting inspiration, then this post is for you! Today I’m going to be talking about all my favorite games and books to read and play in the car. But if you’ve been reading my blog, you probably know by now that I love reading. Its probably my favorite road trip activity, so I’m definitely going to include some recommendations. So let’s get on with my favorite road trip books.
7 ROAD TRIP BOOKS FOR LONG HOURS IN THE CAR:
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants- If you haven‘t read my chicklit recommendation post, go check that out for more intel on this book. If not, the gist is this book is about four best friends, Lena, Carmen, Bridget, and Tibby, who have been inseparable since they were born. In the first book, they must spend the summer apart for the first time ever, with Lena going to Greece to stay with her grandparents, Carmen going to Alabama to visit her divorced dad, Bridget going to soccer camp in Baja, and Tibby staying home. You will feel personally connected to each girl as you travel with them on their summer of a lifetime.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul- Its sort of my own personal tradition to read this book on every road trip. I love this series, and this book is no exception. In fact, it might be my favorite. It’s about Greg Heffley, and when his mom surprises his family with a road trip, lets just say Greg isn’t thrilled. Normal families have fun on road trips, but not the Heffley’s. In fact, they do the exact opposite. Read this book to read all about Greg’s adventures. It is a very funny book, and makes me laugh out loud every time I read it, which is a lot.
The Wonder of Us- Riya and Abby are best friends living in different countries. They thought they could handle the distance, but now they are currently fighting. So Riya propose a solution: two weeks, six countries, unimaginable fun.
Love and Gelato- You would think a summer in Italy would be any girls dream. But not Lina. She’s only there because it was her mother’s dying wish for Lina to get to know her father. But what kind of father isn’t around for 16 years? But then she gets a job that her mom had when she lived in Italy. Soon she’s uncovering a world of secret romances, art, bakeries, and biggest of all, family secrets.
And We’re Off- 17 year old Nora Holmes is an artist, her talent inherited from her grandfather, Robert. She and Robert have always been close, but Nora is still shocked when he offers her an all expenses paid summer trip to Europe to immerse herself in her art and study famous artist’s works. However, her mother isn’t as excited as Nora is. She‘s worries about Nora’s future, and her opinions haven’t gone unnoticed. Seconds after saying goodbye to her mom at the airport, Nora hears: “Wait! Stop! I’m coming with you!”
The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise- This is probably the best road trip book out there. For five years, Coyote and her father Rodeo have lived on the road in an old school bus. It’s also how long Coyote and her father have lived without her mother and two sisters after the crash. When Coyote realizes the park in her old neighborhood is being demolished, she devised a plan to get her dad to drive back to Washington State in four days... without him realizing it.
Hope you guys liked those recommendations, if you want, continue reading for some activities and game selections for all ages.
Not a reader? That’s okay, it’s not for everyone. You might be more interested in a game instead because let’s face it, it gets boring sometimes in the car. You can play these games with your family while blasting some old tunes and driving on an endless stretch of road.
ACTIVITIES & GAMES FOR ALL AGES:
License Plate Game- You’ve probably heard of the timeless license plate game by now. If not, this game is really fun to play with siblings (especially if you’re as competitive as me) To play this game all you need to do is look out the window. Look for different states on people’s cars and license plates. Whoever gets the most states wins!
Mad Libs- Mad Libs are so fun. For this you’ll need a Mad Lib book (you can find funny ones at Walmart) and a pencil or other writing utensil. To play this you ask your family or friends for random adjectives, nouns, etc. You write them in the blanks of your mad libs book and then when you’ve filled in all the blanks you read the paragraph. Depending on the words you used, you can get pretty funny paragraphs that will make the whole family laugh.
Make a friendship bracelet!- I’ve been making so many friendship bracelets lately. My mom had the idea after we made mala bracelets about a week ago (go check out that post!) All you need for friendship bracelets is string or embroidery floss, scissors, and (optional) a clipboard. I’m currently making a friendship bracelet for my sister because I’m still in the car. 15 more minutes! 🏖 Anyway, here is the link to my favorite friendship bracelet site to get you guys started. Trust me guys these are so cute. https://kaijumaddy.com/2019/07/21/friendship-bracelet-patterns/
20 Questions- Okay, so to play this someone needs to think of a word. Then, using only yes or no questions, your group will try to guess the word.
Waving Game- This game is so funny! So basically you just need to wave at other cars. If someone waves back, then you get a point. Whoever has the most points wins!
Sleeping Beauty- For this game someone needs to fall asleep. If one of your friends or family does happen to fall asleep on the ride, create an elaborate story while they’re snoozing. Then when they wake up, tell them the story! The first member to break character or give away that the story wasn’t real loses.
Hope you guys liked this post! I’m literally so close to the beach I was worried I wouldn’t be able to finish this! I can almost smell the salt water... Anyways, stay tuned for beach posts later this week! I hope you found this post helpful, and I’ll see you guys later!