Road trips can be a fun and exciting time; be it the excitement to get where you are headed, or the eagerness to get back home after your trip ends, the time spent in a car can go by quickly, and also very very slowly, especially at the end of a long day of driving. With the availability of vehicles that have DVD players, satellite radio, mp3 players, trips can become more enjoyable for drivers and passengers alike. What about the vehicles that do not offer these upgrades though? It’s left to the occupants of the trip to fill time.
1. License Plates
One of our favorite car activities, something that the driver can also participate in, is hunting for license plates. At the start of the trip, make a list of all fifty states on a sheet of paper and watch other cars as they drive by for new states. On an average two days on the road 35 or more states seen is not outside the realm of possibility. Remember that you can also do this when not on the freeway. Check the plates when you stop to get gas, or at your hotel for the night. No, you aren’t on the road, but you are still on your trip; so it counts.
2. Twenty Questions
Another activity, which everyone over the age of around eight can participate in, is twenty questions. Rotate around the car and let everyone have a turn thinking of the thing to guess, then rotate the questions too. Have the oldest passenger keep track of how many questions have been asked. Just remember to answer correctly and pick something everyone in the car can guess. Is it living?
3. Eye-Spy
A favorite for young children is eye-spy. For the very young it can be something as simple as ‘eye spy something that’s green’ and for older kids you can make it more complicated and complex. Just remember to spy something that everyone in the car can see, including from the back seat.
4. Alphabet Game
The Alphabet game is great for adults and children who know the entire alphabet. Just try to find all 26 letters in order from a to z. You can make it harder by eliminating license plates in the hunt, which makes letters like q and z remarkably difficult, until you pass through a city with a zoo anyways.
5. Cross Word Puzzles
Buy a cross word book that fits with the ability of the people in the car for fewer than five dollars from your local supermarket or gas station before heading out. One person can read the clues and everyone else can help try and finish the puzzle. The only drawback here is that it is easier sometimes to figure out clues if you can see the puzzle, so passing it around might be necessary, and will make the puzzle more difficult for the driver. That’s right, no crosswords while driving, please.