9 Hours, No Screens: Our Easter Road Trip Survival Guide

In this episode of Design for Adventure, Jesse and I break down our recent nine-hour road trip to Ohio for the Easter holidays. We share our honest feedback on two different travel strategies: splitting the drive into two days with a hotel stay in Charleston, West Virginia, versus making the return trip in one "fell swoop". Along the way, we discuss our "no electronics" policy and how we kept a five-year-old and a toddler entertained using everything from magnetic tiles on cookie sheets to high-stakes games of Car Bingo. We also share some "parenting fails" and the hard-won lessons we learned, such as why you should always go to the hotel pool—even when you're exhausted—to let the kids burn off pent-up energy. We dive into our tactics for finding safe, high-quality playgrounds using Google Maps to break up long stretches of driving and our experience at "The Sandbox," a massive indoor sand pit that was a huge hit for the kids. Finally, we talk about the realities of potty training on the road and why we’ll never forget the portable potty again. Adventure Gear & Toy Box: As promised, here are the items and toys we discussed that helped us survive nine hours in the car without a single screen:Magnetic Tiles: A huge hit that held their attention for over an hour; we used these on the road for building shapes. 60pcs SetMagnetic Cookie Sheets: Our pro-tip for car travel! The lip around the edge keeps the magnetic tiles from sliding off their laps. Car Bingo Boards: We played several "spirited" games of this to keep everyone looking out the windows. We prefer the ones you can slide.License Plate Game Journal: This is the specific book I use to track the states we see; it even includes a place for notes to serve as a trip journal. Its fun flipping back through old trips!Dry Erase Book: Great for younger kids who want to color. Our daughter loves this and its the one toy we forgot to mention in the episode! This isn't the exact one we have, but its not sold anymore. Toddler Busy Book: I recommend this one over two, since there are a lot of small pieces, but our Daughter loves it. I prefer this one for when you don't want any little pieces to come off. Both our kids used it and still sometimes do now that we can reinsert the middle section.Anna and Elsa Dolls: These were Easter basket surprises that kept our youngest occupied with putting on and taking off their shoes for hours.Monster Trucks: A classic favorite for our oldest, though be prepared to mediate if both kids want the same one.Sticker Books: We didn't bring them this trip but these are always a classic. We prefer this brand since the stickers are next to the page to put them on. No flipping back and forth. Cats & Insects & CarsPortable Potty: If you are in the middle of potty training, learn from our mistake and keep one of these in the trunk for those stretches of highway without a gas station.Connect with Design for Adventure:Instagram: @DesignForAdventurePodFacebook: Design for AdventureE-mail: [email protected]: Follow us on Spotify to help more families find these adventures!