Moms Talk: Road Trip Tips?

Welcome back to Moms Talk, a feature that is part of a new initiative on our Patch sites to reach out to moms and families.

Each week in Moms Talk, our Moms Council of experts and smart moms take your questions, give advice and share solutions.

Moms, dads, grandparents and the diverse families who make up our community are all welcome to weigh in and use the discussion forum as a resource. Each week, we'll pose a question and solicit feedback on a wide array of issues, but you should feel free to suggest questions you'd like to see discussed as well.

This week, our discussion turns to that rite of passage known as "sitting in traffic on your way to (insert your own destination) on XYZ roadway."

One of the great things about living on the east coast is the variety of amenities within an "easy" road trip for families.  You've got your pick of the beach, the mountains, another city or some other destination for a long weekend.  The problem lies in all of those other people who are headed in the exact same direction, at the exact same time, on the exact same highway.  Ugh!  A three-hour trip turns into five.  You can spend twenty minutes staring at the same off-ramp sign.

Considering how much we enjoy these trips, it's not a matter of eliminating them, but rather, how to make them more bearable.  I've found that traveling in the trusty mini-van really makes a huge difference.  While we don't have a souped-up model, the additional space alone really helps make long trips in the car bearable. 

The boys have their own space.  They both have laptrays that serve as Matchbox car racetracks, coloring book counters, meal trays, bingo board holders and, sometimes, unfortunately, impromptu drum sets.  I have room to be organized.  Bag of snacks, bag of toys, bag of books - all within the reach of both kids so that I don't have to spend half the trip turning around handing stuff to both of them.  We make roadtrip iPod mixes to jam to in the car.  And, of course, we have some digital entertainment available, though I try not to keep those in my back pocket for when patience really is running low.

We do sing-a-longs in the car, play I-Spy, word games, animal bingo, license plate bingo, construction equipment bingo, you name it, we bingo it!  So far, so good. I make sure to have plenty of snacks, which inevitably lead to the multitude of stops at Sheetz and WaWa.  But of course, there is always traffic wherever we are headed.  I'd love to hear some secrets to your success as you cope with the trials and tribulations associated with getting to your dream destination.  How does your family cope?  The destination is worth it, but I'm looking for ways to make the journey enjoyable too!