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> > Always look at a road trip as an adventure. Getting there really is part of the fun.
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> Maybe if you're driving. Road trips are extreamly cramped and boring from the back seat. I usually sleep on trips, which is why I spend about four hours in the pool if the hotel has one once we stop.
>

But, you can spend more time looking if you aren't driving. Let me see if I can help.
Things to do while riding in the back seat on a long trip:
1. Watch people in other cars. As they pass (or as you pass them) keep count of the ones who are driving and doing something else at the same time. Talking on the phone, eating, putting on makeup, studying the map, and fussing at the kids are good examples. If the kids in the back seat stare at you stare back. Don't blink. Try it, it's more fun than it sounds like.

2. Watch for driving errors. It's a good idea not to notice the errors of you own driver; just the other cars. For example, score a point for each driver that you see crossing the solid centerline. Another point for turning or changing lanes without a signal. Running red lights should be three points. Rolling stops at a stop signs are one, etc.

3. Sit quietly until somebody turns around to see if you are OK. Time this one. I found it more fun than pestering my sisters. Besides, they had a tendency to gang up on me.

4. Count something that you like. I used to count motorcycles, See Rock City barns, Silos, airports, white horses, cars from out of state, policemen, funny neon signs. (When a few letters burn out they say funny things. For example a Drug Store with the D burned out.)

5. Eat something crunchy like chips or popcorn. If the noise doesn't drive them crazy the aroma will.

6. Try to think up some other ways of saying, "Are we there yet?"

7. On really long trips, watch the geography change. You might go from the mountains to the piedmont to the coastal plain to the beach. Sometimes a change in soil color will be the first thing you notice. On the way to Florida, our kids used to try to be the first one to see a palm tree. Then an orange tree. Then the ocean.

8. Keep a journal. Write down anything you might want to remember. Sometimes it's fun to not let anybody see what you're are writing. "Mama, make him stop writing, he's writing things about me!"

9. If you just sit there and read or play video games, you will miss something. Once I saw an AMC Grimlin painted up like a shoe. Another time it was an old Cadillac convertible with horns on the front like Boss Hogg's car. In California we saw a lady leading about ten dogs. All were poodles of different sizes and colors.

10. Read bumper stickers and vanity license plates. (good stuff for the journal)

11. My favorite is to look at another car and see if I can find clues as to who they are, where they are from, and where they are going. Then form a theory from the evidence. You would be surprised how much you can find out about people just by looking as you pass.

And there is really nothing wrong with sleeping. That way, you will be ready to stay up late when you get where you are going. The front seat passengers will be worn out and you will be full of energy and ready to go.
Howard