Howdy! My husband and I make an annual road trip from Central Texas to Long Island New York. We would fly but our dogs are too large to bring into the cabin and I will not stow them. My husband does the driving. While I now have my license, my anxiety bars me from safely driving, which is something I hope to resolve in the future. But for now, my contributions to our trip are more on the planning, packing, and handling inner-vehicle-distractions-as-they-come side.

As for packing, aside from all we'll need to be comfortable for our New York stay, we also require supplies for the trip itself and I figured, while I'm in the midst of listing what we're bringing, why not break it down here? So, without further ado, the long road trip essentials:

• Driver's License & Registration: Eh, laws and whatnot.

• Toll Road Passes: If you've got the EZ-Pass, TX Tag, or some other regional equivalent, make sure you don't forget it.

• Cash: Convenient and reliable. If your bank goes down, you've got a backup.

• Entertainment: Books, E-Readers, Handheld Video Games, etc

• Music: Radio station vary widely so it's wise to bring your own selection, ideally, that doesn't require 4G/5G to access

• Relevant Chargers: You don't want your phone to die, especially if that's your GPS.

• Blankets: Even in the summer, it's nice to have the option to lie down on something soft, especially if you get stuck somewhere overnight. Do you trust hotel bedding? Because for me, with some, not so much.

• Snacks: Pre-packaged food that doesn't require cooking and won't make many crumbs is ideal. Bring more than you need, in case you get stuck somewhere for a while.

• Drinks: Hydration is crucial. Bring more than you need, in case you get stuck somewhere for a while.

• Cooler: Keep drinks and snacks cool.

• Windshield Washer Fluid: Go for the antifreeze one. Then you're prepared for colder weather.

• Flashlight: Very useful, especially if you've got a flat at night.

• First Aid Kit: Just in case.

• Sunglasses: Necessity.

• Spare Prescription Glasses: Just in case.

• Prescription Medications: You probably need those.

• Bathroom Hygiene Kit: It's a good idea to have toilet paper for the road, in case you break down between towns. Soap or hand sanitizer in case the bathroom lacks it. For women, you also want period products.

• Scissors: Always handy.

• Deodorant: Convenient.

• Chapstick: Convenient.

• Toothbrush and toothpaste: Necessity if you're gonna be on the road overnight.

• Windshield Scraper: Unless you live near the equator, eventually you should run into frost.

• Shovel: It doesn't have to be for snow.

• The Means To Recover From A Flat Tire: This means either carrying a spare and the means to swap it in or a patch kit, to hold you over until you can reach a mechanic.

• Safety Reflectors: If your vehicle is stuck, you can place the reflectors, not just around your vehicle, but a ways back in the lane you're in, so incoming drivers know to look out for you. If your car isn't working, your hazard lights might be out. And even with hazard lights, if you'd just come around a bend before stalling, incoming drivers may need more of a warning to dodge your vehicle.

• Kitty Litter: If you're stuck on a slick patch of ice, you can pour a big pile of kitty litter in front of each tire and run over them to gain traction.

  • Wood Planks: If your vehicle can fit them, you can place these in front of the tires and run over them to get unstuck from mud.

  • Saw: Yes, for cutting wood. If you're moving through a very rural area, there may be a fallen tree blocking the way. Is that likely? Only if you're driving through inclement weather, but folks who live in the middle of nowhere sometimes carry them in their trucks for this reason.

• Relevant Maps: Print copies are a good backup for if the GPS fails, your phone dies, or you lose your phone en-route.

• Spare Sneakers/Boots: You wouldn't want to wear soggy shoes all day after digging your car out of the mud.

• Spare Outfit: You wouldn't want to wear soggy clothes all day after digging your car out of the mud.

• Duct Tape: Always handy

• Marker and Paper: If you need to abandon the vehicle for a bit, you can leave a note

• Sunblock: Not in an aerosol canister.

• Trash bag: Better than letting litter collect

Do I keep all this in my car? Nope! I don't have the money nor the space, but, I'm hoping to eventually acquire those supplies currently missing.

What should you not keep in the car, especially overnight?

• Aerosol anything: They can explode when too hot or cold.

• Canned beverages: When beverages freeze, they expand, and exploding soda is really hard to clean.

• Warped glass like magnifying glasses or crystal balls: Sunlight can spark fire when concentrated.

• Firearms: This is more if you plan on walking away from your vehicle at any point, like to sleep in a hotel. If your car is broken into, your firearms are valuable and could be stolen.

Anywho, I hope you found any of this helpful. Thanks for stopping by! I drop a new blog post every Monday. Toodles!

Newsletter:

Howdy! This past week was pretty busy. Sonmi, my chihuahua-mix, had to have two lumpectomies on her eyelid so she's in the cone of shame for 14 days. And, since she hates it, I'm giving her as many breaks as possible from the contraption. Trouble is, she needs constant supervision without it or she will scratch at her healing eyelid. Babysitting her has meant delays with work but I don't have any upcoming events I'm prepping for.

I did reach out to Love Local in downtown Bryan Texas about potentially selling my art on consignment from their location. Their space is very wholesome and I think it'll be a good fit. I just need to knock out 15 safe, family-friendly, painted woodburnings between now and February. They have rules against holiday art, anything scary, or thematically problematic, as well as a ban on fanart. I can abide by all of that with a subset of my art, but I still plan to sell at vending events since that leaves plenty of pieces left over.

As for what works I completed last week, I finished a painted woodburning of a couple of cardinals, as well as two of Soot Sprites.

I'm currently reading The City and its Uncertain Walls by Haruki Murakami. I am really enjoying it. The story is about a man who fell in love with with a girl when he was young, only for her to suddenly disappear. Adult him finds the youthful her in an, assumedly imaginary, village she used to tell him about.

For readers unused to Haruki Murakami's works, I suggest beginning with one of his older, shorter, novels. Kafka On The Shore is a nice go-to. Murakami's fans joke about certain tendencies that appear frequently in his work. Kafka On The Shore touches on many. If you find that book too uncomfortable, he may not be the author for you and that's okay. But better to figure that out from his shorter stories than from The Wind-Up Bird or 1Q84, which are very long.

Thanks for stopping by! I drop a newsletter every Monday.