CentriKid

10 Road Trip Essentials

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Many of you will be traveling for the holidays, so I put together some essentials for my holiday travel from when I was on the road scouting out new locations for CentriKid Camps a few weeks ago.  If you plan to spend a lot of time in the car or in airport security, you’ll need the right gear.  Everybody has their typical stuff to take when heading out of town, so here is my top 10 list of road trip essentials:


  1. Gameplan.  Funny movies are built on the premise of a fly by the seat of your pants adventure … but having a sane holiday or successful business-related trips is not.  A little time spent doing your homework ahead of time can save miles, hours, and money.
  2. Roadmap.  My iPhone has officially replaced the WalMart atlas as my official map of choice.
  3. Travel Charger.  When your entire plan for directions is built on an electronic device … that electronic device must have a charge.  #experiencespeaking
  4. Notepad & Pen.  At times I’ve fooled myself into thinking that I’ll remember all the details of a meeting, a conversation, a site visit …. and the truth of the matter is that it all starts to run together after multiple meetings, multiple conversations, etc…
  5. Gum.  This helps me reduce my number of stops in a couple of ways… if I’m sorta hungry, but on a quarter-tank of gas, I can chew gum and hold out til time to fill up with gas.  And if I’m eating and filling up with gas at the same time, it means I’m buying less cokes, which means I’m drinking less cokes, which means I’m stopping less … you get the picture.
  6. Friends along the way.  If you’ve ever worked camp, then you now have friends all across the country, so there isn’t a place you can go without seeing somebody you know, right?  In my case on a recent business trip, I stayed with my in-laws and it was fun to get to visit with them!  If you are going to see family, perhaps there are some friends you need to re-connect with along the way.
  7. Kindle.  I’m a big reader, so I’ve always got a couple of books that I’m working on.  When waiting in the airport or catching a plane I’m able to have lots of uninterrupted reading time.  Right now I’m reading the newest Grisham novel (The Confession).
  8. DVD.  When wrapping up the day, I love to throw a movie or tv show dvd into the laptop… right now I’m re-watching LOST.
  9. Hands-Free Device / Earbuds.  While driving, I gotta have my hands free during a call.  I don’t wanna navigate traffic in a new town while trying to hold on to the cell.  This lets me keep connected with home as well as touch base with upcoming appointments.  #drive-time #productivity
  10. Flexibility.  My notebook contains the agenda for my trip and essential numbers if I’ve got questions or need to re-schedule an appointment.  So as important as it is to have a gamplan, it is just as important to be able to adjust it on the fly.  Last week, I flipped my agenda and went to my campus visits in reverse order so I could avoid rush hour traffic.  Flexibility is priceless!

So what other things do you consider road trip essentials?  Got any tips or gadgets to share?