Jake and I are spending this weekend driving to the East Coast to spend the week of Thanksgiving with my family. He’s been a great sport and offered to drive most of the way so that I could get some work done. Since I only go home to visit once a year, it’s nice to be able to spend a full week there, visiting with my family and friends and not having to rush. But since we decided to drive instead of fly, we had to make the most out of all this time in the car. So I thought of a few things to make it more enjoyable.
Here are the 6 things we did to enjoy spending a whole day in the car:
1. Listen to a Podcast. Jake LOVES Joe Rogan Podcasts, so we listen to them whenever we take a trip somewhere. That was the first 4 hours of our ride today. And Joe Rogan’s Podcasts are always very informative, so I enjoy them, too, but don’t tell him that. Joe covers a lot of different topics with some very intelligent people, so it’s always interesting and different. Or check out a different Podcast! There are thousands of them on all kinds of topics.
2. Listen to an Audiobook. I have a subscription to Audible, and I love it. Even when not on a road trip, I listen to books on my way to and from work, too. I have all of the Harry Potter books on audio, which is one of the things that we listened to because I have a deep seeded love of all things HP, and Jake likes it enough to listen to it with me. It’s nice to be able to attain all of the information books have to offer, and this is great for busy people who don’t always have time to just sit and read.
3. Music! Of course, I think this goes without saying. When I was in high school and would take trips with my friends or my sister, it was the time when mixed CDs were huge. We had a great playlist set up, and those songs still remind me of those trips when I hear them. CDs aren’t as common anymore, but we did have a Spotify playlist for this trip. Pandora is also a great option, especially if you utilize the free trial of Premium and get it without ads while you have to drive for an extended period!
4. Play old fashion road games, like padididle, the license plate game, zitch dog (for the HIMYM fans out there), etc.
5. TALK! We all spend so much time on our phones. This is a great opportunity to BE together. Share stories and just talk to your partner and get closer. Remininse on things, talk about what you’re excited to do on the trip with them, whatever. Since Jake will be meeting a big portion of my family, I spent a good bit of the morning giving him the run down on everyone and just more info about my family.
6. Make it fun. Whenever we stopped for gas or get food, we mess around and make it fun. Jake is my best friend, so it’s in our nature to be goofy together. Laugh about the weird things you come across, make new memories, and just enjoy being out on the road together!
Here are some pictures from Day 1 of our trip today. We managed to get about 10 hours in today, which leaves only 6 more tomorrow!!
![]() |
There were Knight helmets for sale at a gas station in Illinois… |
![]() |
There were also a bunch of terrible purses. Had to get a picture. |
![]() |
Jake: “We’re going effing HAM, baby” |
![]() |
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Askaban Audiobook for the WIN. |
![]() |
We found this MASSIVE caterpillar toy and tried to get a picture of the whole thing.
Any tips for our remaining time tomorrow?? Let me know below! |