Last summer I took my kids on a road trip down to Disney. The trip was exciting, but you should be fully aware of what you are getting yourself into when contemplating this idea. I wrote this to warn people of the potential dangers, not to mention the seemingly endless hours of driving. I have an eleven-year-old son and an eight-year-old daughter, to put things in perspective. If you are going to making a long trip like this, I would suggest purchasing a portable DVD player or bringing along a laptop with movies. Sure, these electronics may put a dent in your wallet, but if they keep your kids content then they will be worth it—trust me. Also bring along lots of food, drinks, snacks, etc. The last thing you want to be doing is stopping every half an hour to cater to the separate eating habits of everyone in the car. You should probably get on the road AEAP (as early as possible). This way you avoid traffic and hopefully get in a few hours of driving while your kids sleep.



To shift gears a bit, you should also think about your car’s maintenance. Most cars need to have their oil changed every 3,000 miles. If you are taking a long trip, odds are that you will need to get your oil changed somewhere along your voyage. I know, going to another mechanic may seem like cheating on your wife, but it’s a one time thing. As we passed through Georgia and I realized I needed an oil change 1,000 miles ago, worries of engine problems began to haunt me. I didn’t want to always have my car’s oil on the back of my mind while on vacation, so I sucked it up and pulled into a local gas station. A mechanic started working on my car right away, which was a relief. He started on changing the oil, but when he finished he tried selling me a new air filter. I said, “I only wanted an oil change." Then he went off on some pitch about how dire it is too replace the air filter. He kept trying to charge me $75 for the new one, but the price seemed a bit high, so eventually I told him I was going to call the cops if he didn’t let me go. Anyway the vacation went fine and my car didn’t blow up. I did go and talk to my mechanic when I got home and it turned out that I did need to get a new air filter.