travel tips for car trips

some things to take on a car trip are obvious, but other things are not. here is a list of some perhaps obvious, and perhaps not-so-obvious, items to take on a car trip:

- snacks, some sweet & some salty, be sure they are all easy-to-eat finger foods, avoid melty things like chocolate
- a pillow & blanket
- box of kleenex
- flashlight, for emergencies
- pen & paper, for writing down points of interest, things you'd like to see again, notes about what you need to do when you get home, etc.
- mobile phone & car charger
- maps, if you don't have maps, you can stop at state welcome centers & pick them up. if you are not going across state lines, you might not need a map
plastic utensils, a couple plastic forks & spoons & a plastic knife b/c you never know when take-out food will not come complete, or you might want to stop at the grocery and get a yogurt or something, and not get a whole box of spoons for one yogurt
- a roll of paper towels, for the types of emergencies that a flashlight cannot solve
- bottled water, or something else you can drink if it is not 100% cold, and that is in a self-sealing bottle instead of a can
- games, mindtrap, trivial pursuit, or other games of cards with questions
- cash, not everyplace you want to stop will accept the ol' check card, especially off-beat fun places like old school diners & teepee hotels
- handi-wipes, for quick clean-ups of faces & hands and also the dashboard, windows, door handles

an additional item if you are staying in hotels: a nightlight. those hotel rooms can be dark with lamps that do an all-or-nothing lighting job. a simple nightlight can really come in handy.