This past week, my friends and I took a road trip to Florida for our senior year spring break. Our condo was steps away from the beach and we had a STUNNING ocean view from our living room and kitchen. I’m talking walls of windows, friends! Even when we were inside recovering from the sun, it still felt like we were on the beach. We relaxed on the beach, made cookies (lots of cookies), cooked dinners and played a ton of cards. We had so much fun together and made memories that will last a lifetime. 

I’ve traveled to Florida for every spring break during my college career, and we always make a road trip out of it. I’ve driven down and back to florida twice now in the last 3 months, so I’ve nailed down what some of the necessities are to make it more bearable. Here are my top 10 must haves for a road trip!

1. Snacks – Snacks are a necessity. I suggest fruit snacks, goldfish/pretzels, and some form of chocolate (we brought m&ms so they don’t melt!). Try to aim for a good blend of sweet and salty snacks to mix things up a little bit. The most important part, though, is to not forget a trash bag! You’ll definitely want this after you eat 10 packs f fruit snacks… 
2. Spotify Playlist – I 100% recommend creating a playlist, either on Spotify or tuning your favorite Pandora station. Choose songs that will keep you awake, songs that you can sing along to (know all the words) feel all the feels, mix the genres + must have the right flow
3. Sunglasses – This may seem super obvious, but I always forget to bring sunglasses. They will keep the sun out your eyes (obvi), but will also cover up the fact that you probably don’t have on any makeup. So in my book, that’s a win-win!
4. Blanket/pillow– I don’t know about you guys, but I always get cold. having a blanket is the best way to stay warm without creating a sauna in the car. I also suggest bringing your pillow because we all know how awkward it is to sleep in the car, and this will hopefully prevent you from getting a stiff neck the next day.
5. Hand sanitizer – This will come in SUPER handy when you have to make an emergency pit stop at a sketchy bathroom, and you are afraid to touch anything relatively close. It will help you feel clean and avoid germs!
6. A good book – because when else do you have time to read?? But really, car rides can be long and boring, so having a good book to distract you from the looming number of hours you have left in the car is probably a good idea 🙂 
7. A map – I know this is old school, but it was extremely helpful for us! If you are a member of AAA, you can get a Trip Tik for free, which is a step by step booklet that outlines your directions as well as any potential construction slow downs you should be aware of. It was really helpful to have a hard copy of our directions, PLUS this will save you from using all of your data!! 
8. Refillable Water bottle – This is also a money saver. By bringing a refillable water bottle, you don’t have to keep buying water at the gas station and can just fill up with the free water that you get at restaurants. 
9. Games – When you have a long car ride ahead of you, thinking of ways to spend time is challenging, especially when you are stuck in a car. One of the things that my friends and I did to pass the time was play Two Truths and a Lie. This game was actually a lot of fun and you can learn SO MUCH about someone by listening to all of their fun facts.  
10. Car Charger – If you don’t already have a car charger, I 100% recommend it. You can get a cheap on at Walmart and it will be a life saver!

Well friends, that’s all I have for today! I hope you all have a fantastic week!! 🙂