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How To Survive a Road Trip to Lubbock with 2 Small Kids

June 17th, 2008 | uncategorized

Just got back from a little mini-vacation to visit my wife’s grandparents in notoriously flat Lubbock, Texas. It was an odd trip, but not a horrible way to spend two vacation days with my family. Also, I learned some good travelling tips for enjoying the monotony of the Texas panhandle–or any other less than scenic drive that lasts more than seven hours.

  1. Portable DVD players are your friend. If you don’t own one (we don’t), you can probably borrow one from a friend or relative (we did).
  2. Stop often. A fifteen minute delay to stretch your legs and help the boy pee (again) will do much to ease the driving tension. And what would you do if you arrived at a hotel an hour earlier anyway?
  3. Play games like the Alphabet Game, or if that’s too hard (it was), you can’t go wrong with I Spy. It lasted us from near Midland to near San Angelo.
  4. Rest stops are really fun places to stop. And, um, rest.
  5. The price of gas is easier to swallow if you treat yourself with a chocolate milk shake after every fillup. (And you’ll notice, “Awesome! Milkshakes are cheaper than gas!”)
  6. Texas wind power is an amazing thing.
  7. Teach the kids to love scifi by playing at YA story from Escape Pod.
  8. While the kids watch Enchanted (again), listen to another podcast with your spouse on the earbuds and hear the sound of rat laughter.
  9. Take the smallest car you can. When the children kill each other, the trip becomes instantly more peaceful.
  10. Remember at many various moments how glad you’ll be when you get home.

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