To finish out our summer, my boyfriend and I are going on a road trip next month. We’ve been really excited about this for quite some time, and in that excitement, we’ve done some serious planning. So buckle up friends, it’s time to road trip.
Pack early.
My main goal (always) is to pack early. I am a serial over packer, and the way I’ve learned to get around that is to pack multiple times, and remove at least one item each time. Since we’re road tripping, this is less important (no bags to check here) but I still want the car to not be full of stuff going each way (especially since we know I need to bring home more mugs). So I’ve already started working on what I’ll be wearing each day. If I have my outfits planned, I can toss them in a duffel bag and we can get out of here! Packing early is really helpful when going on any vacation; flying with only carry-ons is much easier and cheaper than checking bags.
Have a killer road-trip playlist.
We are going to be in the car together for at least 8 hours. I know that isn’t a wildly long road trip, but it’s enough to get sick of listening to the same five songs on repeat. We’ve road tripped similar distances before (my family lives about 8 hours from us), and we love podcasts. Recently, we’ve discovered that both of us are huge fans of Off Book. It’s an improvised musical podcast, and there isn’t much more I could ask for. Plus, the crew here at Sartorial Geek has a podcast. Having podcasts prepped and a couple songs for when we’re feeling it (not gunna lie, we will be listening to Ninja Sex Party’s cover of Africa and their new album Cool Patrol for at least part of the trip) makes the time go by faster.
Plan well.
Know what you’re doing, but not down to the second. This is probably the most important tip I’ve got for you; have a plan, but let it stay loose. We have some big things we’re doing, of course. We’re going to the Mothman Festival (yes, it’s as weird as it sounds), the Cincinnati Zoo, a ghost tour, and that’s it for solid plans. But we have a google doc full of possible things to do if we want. Depending on the weather, there’s a park we’d like to walk through. We have a whole section dedicated to restaurants that can fit both of our needs, in different price ranges. But it’s not set in stone. The last thing you want to do on a vacation is plan things down to the minute. It’s less of a vacation and more of a scheduled visit if it’s that planned! Plus it’s fun to have time to follow the wind.
Set aside time for you.
I don’t know about you, but I get anxious as heck in new situations. That, along with my inherent need for alone time, makes vacations a bit difficult. New situations and being around someone constantly can really ruin things for me, so I always bring some comforting things on trips with me. I’ll be bringing a couple sheet masks, some light books (I know I’m going to be spooked after that ghost tour!), and a bath bomb on our trip. I’ll also have a nice soap that I haven’t used yet, so it feels special to the trip. I know this isn’t a need for everyone, but this stuff makes me a tolerable human, so it’ll be coming with us.
Don’t change your routines.
I feel like this goes without saying, but, bring your medicine. Both my boyfriend and I have daily medications that we need to take, and vacation isn’t the time to throw that out the window! We’ll also be bringing some stuff that we have on hand here, like ibuprofen, Lactaid, Benadryl, and Pepto-Bismol. These are meds you should probably bring with you everywhere, and vacation is no different. The same goes for daily exercising and food; I’m not going to say you have to keep up with running ten miles a day, but you should do something for your body while you’re out, so you don’t fall out of practice. And you can enjoy vacation eats without going wild over foods; I know that we’ll be hitting more bars than I’m used to, so I’m bringing multiple water bottles (a large thermos to keep in the car and a small one for each of us to walk with), along with healthy snacks like carrots. This will help me process alcohol and continue to feel well throughout the trip.
If you’re heading out for a road trip soon, I hope it’s a blast. Whether you’re heading across the country, or to a ghost tour, road trips are a rad way to spend vacation time. I hope you have a great end of your summer, and I’ll see ya soon!
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