By Mary Beth Faller
Staff Writer

June 9, 2003
 

It's the fifth hour of a 10-hour trip on the Most Boring Interstate in the U.S.A., the Game Boy batteries are dead and the kids are starting to whine. Now what?

How about a traditional game of 20 Questions? Can't think of any animals, vegetables or minerals?

Let them eat cake! And candy! And gum!

Too messy?

Sing! Sing a song! Sing out loud! Sing out long!

Can't stand another bottle of beer on the wall? Our readers supplied many creative, inexpensive ideas to pass the time on long car trips.

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Road food

That long ribbon of black highway might as well be made of licorice because many kids get to eat just about anything that's normally forbidden.

"It's all about the food and we're well-equipped," says Maria Bazzano of Norwalk, who takes long trips with her husband, John, and her kids, Marialena, 8; Gianna, 7; and Annalise, 19 months. "They get Cheetos, which I don't usually let them eat, and those cheese and bread sticks that you dip. A soda will buy you some time because they'll get absorbed in the bottle for awhile."

Her kids look forward to long trips because "they know they'll get licorice and pretzels for dinner."

Laurel Smith, founder of the travel-tips Web site www.momsminivan.com and a mother of three, says she gives her kids two dollars or so at rest stops, "so they can try weird gum and really gross candy and stuff like that."

Vicki Phillipson of Stamford, whose kids are 9, 8 and 2, lets them have their own cooler in the back. "It's filled with their own juice, which they can have when they want," she says.

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It's in the bag

Many children get snacks as part of an individual trip bag, which also contains art supplies, games, books, magazines, etc.

Smith, who founded her Web site two years ago after scouring other sites for tips, recommends keeping travel games or books separate from kids' regular stuff. "Get the materials and keep them in a box or bag or something that you'll only use on trips, and don't let the kids play with it all the time. That keeps the novelty and makes it special.

"My kids will say, 'When are we going on a trip because I want to play this game!' "

Also from her site: Younger kids love surprises, and if you can plan ahead, put together several little "surprise packages" for them, to be distributed every half-hour or whenever.

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Listen up

Kids' music CDs are fun -- Bazzano makes her kids wait as long as possible before she puts theirs on so they have something to look forward to.

But many families enjoy books on CD or tape for the car.

"First, before a trip we take a short trip to the library, where we get a number of books-on-tape or CDs," says Janet Bein of Greenwich, a mother of four. "We try to get a variety to accommodate different-aged travelers."

For some families, it's a necessity. Phillipson says her family gets car sick. "We can barely talk, and we don't want to look for license plate numbers because we'll just get nauseous. We can't read. But listening to books on tape is enjoyable for all of us."

Her family, who will be going to Florida, especially enjoyed "Frindle," by Andrew Clements, about a fifth-grade boy.

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Make your own kind of music

A lot of families enjoy singing, and Smith keeps a songbook of lyrics in the car. Her Web site lists the words to old favorites such as "Found a Peanut" and "On Top of Spaghetti."

If your kids would rather rock to "Sk8r Boi" or "Get the Party Started," try www.lyrics.com or www.lyricspost.com.

Start your own version of "Interstate Idol" and see who wins.

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I see Montana!

I Spy, 20 Questions and the many variations on license plate games are sure bets to amuse a family for at least awhile.

Some travelers come up with their own variations. Here are two suggestions from Matt Kasindorf of Stamford:

* Name each letter in the alphabet, in order, by finding it on a sign, car, license plate, etc. The trick here is that you actually have to see the letter. To make it really tough, divide the car in half. Those on the driver's side can only count letters to the left of the car. Those on the passenger's side can only count letters to the right of the car. (Therefore license plates and car names right in front or behind you don't count. The person or team to reach Z first, wins. You can also reverse the order depending upon the age(s) of the children).

* Pick a category, and each person, clockwise or counterclockwise in turn, has to name something in that category within one second (two claps) after the person before. If you repeat an item or don't say it fast enough, you're out. Categories can include anything from colors to insects to food, to boys' names, girls' names, etc.

Jane Janis of New Canaan came up with this game by accident while she was driving her two grandsons to her house.

"We somehow started talking about what people are called who live in certain countries. And then it turned into a game. I'd say, 'What are you called if you live in Ireland?' 

"The 10-year-old did very well. The 6-year-old, even though he had never heard of these places, could make a guess and he wouldn't be far off. Sometimes his answer would be very funny and we'd all have a good laugh. He, of course, loved being funny even though he wasn't exactly sure why.

"There aren't many word games where children of two different ages can have a level playing field. It worked for this one and Grandma really had to stretch with her geography. And that was a challenge, too!"

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The write track

As part of the amusement backpack, Bein throws in a blank travel journal. "This keeps the kids busy for a long time, not just in the car, but during 'down times' in restaurants and the hotel room. My older kids will often just write in them, but the younger one will just color things that sort of look like what they have seen along the way. I have the journals from all the trips we've taken, and they're great mementos."

Smith's family has fun with journaling, too. "I have a journal from when I was a kid and I wrote about my trips," says Smith, who now lives in Louisiana but lived in Wilton as a child. "You should just keep it in the garage and toss it in the car when you go.

"Kids who can't write should draw a picture, then the parent can write to fill it in. Be sure to put the date on the back."

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Foiled again

One ingenious idea on Smith's Web site is to let the kids (not toddlers) play with aluminum foil. "They can mold it into anything, you don't feel bad because it's really cheap and easy to clean up," she says. "My kids make masks, jewelry, little animals, hats, footballs. I tear off a piece at a time and let them use the whole roll."

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Screen time

With more and more vehicles coming equipped with DVDs or VCRs, the days of License Plate Bingo may be numbered, and that makes Smith sad.

"I think (a DVD player) would take away that family bonding that you do that makes a road trip fun," she says. "If you're watching that TV, you're missing that family connection."

Bazzano, whose family just acquired a VCR-equipped car, says she plans to use it only on long trips, not around town. "I'll let them watch movies," she says.

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Whatever it takes

Sometimes, in that last hour or so, bingo just doesn't cut it.

When toddlers start to get out of control, Smith says one good distraction is a bottle of tiny bubbles, like the kind you get at weddings. "They make tiny bubbles you can have in the car," she says.

"I'll sit in the back with them -- anything to break it up," says Bazzano. "By the end of the trip, what amuses them the most is they take their shirts off and think it's great being in the car with their shirts off."

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A final warning

During our recent car trip from Ohio to Connecticut, I had just taken over the driving in rural Pennsylvania. It was my turn to come up with a subject for 20 Questions, and a long, empty, downhill section of the highway stretched before me. Minutes later, just as I congratulated myself on my clever choice of subject, I saw lights flashing in the rear-view mirror. Despite the nice weather and the great things we did and saw on that vacation, it will forever be known as The Trip Where Mommy Got A Speeding Ticket. The rest of the way home became a contest of who could think of the most jokes at my expense.

Don't let the fun distract the driver. 
 

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