Trip Planning

Nothing reminds me more how I'm wired than planning for a trip. Goal oriented; a planner. And one of my favorite things about planning is making it better each time. So now I'm planning a trip to a mystery location which I will disclose upon our return. (Historical locations will be seen, as usual!) We are driving, and it will take many, many hours--another thing we love. No. Really. We love car trips! More of that wiring!

Not only is it totally fun to decide what great places we will get to go see, but the actual trip itself is an event. I remember traveling with my parents--never very far though--and car games, singing, and reading ruled. Fortunately, I've been able to instill these things in my children plus the addition of books on tape, fine dining (we take our own food), and learning. It makes me almost giddy thinking about it. We will never...repeat...NEVER watch TV on a car trip. Whoever came up with that mind numbing, brain sucking, fiend of a money making trap, should be shot! (My apologies to all those of you who don't travel so well and require this mode of dealing!)

So for the trip, I've got certain learning things planned. I'm hoping to memorize a large section of scripture together. Maybe a Psalm. I haven't decided that yet. I'm looking at some other special topic studies we might do while car bound also. Did I mention that we never travel at night? Our kids do SO well in the car during the day, that we just take it and enjoy it. I'm wracking my brain to remember some of our car-schooling lists I've tucked away somewhere. That's a great book, if you've never checked it out.

We will be reading the next installment of The Kingdom Series, by Chuck Black. We started it on our last trip and even the husband, who is not a reader, loved it. We committed to reading them all together as a family and 'bout the only way we can is on car trips. We're up to book 3. Hopefully, I can get them from the library. If not, I may have to beg, plead, and borrow them from EEEEMommy.

On our last trip, we tried taking our own food. Two reasons. Money and nutrition. It worked great, but like most things, wouldn't mind some improvement. I learned that whatever hotel we were in usually had a breakfast, so we won't need too much of that. I also learned that boxed organic milks are awesomely incredible. Horizon's brand do not need to be refrigerated until you're ready to drink them, so this was great. Even though they aren't cheap, you can find them on sale and still save a ton over fast food places. Plus, my children don't drink pop, so this eliminates that as an option.

One thing I tried last time that didn't work was individual snack packs for each child, each day. They complained because it wasn't the snack they wanted, or they didn't eat all of it, or one wanted more. And it made more trash. I ended up with several left over. It was a good idea, I think, just not practical for my kids. They don't snack that much normally, so it opened a can of worms that wasn't necessary.

Now they do enjoy their own individual activity bags. And *I* enjoy treating them up in this way. Whether is a new puzzle book, or coloring book, it's always fun for them to have new trip treats. I go all out in this area, since we don't really do Valentines Day or Easter baskets. It's probably more fun for me to give to them, than for them to receive, but "hey", that works for me!

Another note I made to myself last time was to pack by day, not by person. We have a tendency to move from place to place each night. This just happens to be the nature of where we usually go. Because of that, dragging 47 suitcases out each night is a hassle. If we have them packed by day, it's OH SO EASY! I've actually done this before. It's kinda weird to wrap your brain around, but it works!

Packing lists are always fun too. I must be twisted to like something like that! Definitely not something I learned from my parents. My mom just took everything she owned. My dad just took what he could grab in 60 seconds as we were loading the car. I'm fastidious about every item. It's the only time the kids have no say in what they wear! Husband too! Heehee! It's so much fun!!!!

I do love trips! It's also the only time I buy magazines over the counter. Car travel and magazines just go together. Oohhh! And catalogs! Homeschool catalogs! With BOOKS in 'em! What can I say?! Well, I've got my work cut out for me. I've got sunshine at the moment so energy levels are high. I better get busy.