40 Essential Items for a Three Week Road Trip

The 40 Essential Items to 24 Days on the Road with Your Kids

ie:  The Packing List

9 days from right now, I'll be taking off with four kids (ages 19, 10, 7, and 3, and picking up an 18 year old along the way) on a grand adventure of a road trip.  We'll be visiting 15 states in 21 days and camping in our tent AND in our van!  See the pics below for our setup.  So, here's the conundrum: I have to be able to fit everything from the trunk in the front two seats for sleeping when we aren't tenting it.  Here, I'll show you....

This is the layout of the van.  See the trunk space?  See the front seat space?  Well, the whole list of stuff, minus the air mattress, sleeping bags and pillows need to go from the back.......................

to in between the front seat and the dash.  This includes Annika's car seat.  So I'm posting my list to make sure I didn't forget anything, or maybe even skinny it down!  We've done it for two years running.  Next year, we'll be flying to Alaska and Hawaii, so I'll have a whole NEW set of problems....HAHA!  #camperproblems Please comment and FOLLOW!

1.  Air Mattress
2. Sleeping Bags x4
3. Pillows
4. Cooler with Ice
5. Fresh Food
6. Dehydrated Food
7. WATER
8. 2 pair long pants each
9. 3 pair shorts each
10. 5 pair underwear each
11. 5 t-shirts each
12. 1 sweatshirt/jacket each
13. 1 pair tennis shoes each
14. 1 pair Sandals each
15. 5 pair socks each
16. 1 swim suit each
17. 1 towel each
18. 2 pair jammies each
19. deodorant
20. shampoo
21. conditioner
22. body wash
23. toothbrushes
24. toothpaste
25. face wash
26. moisturizer
27. Sunscreen
28. Bug spray
29. Benadryl/Motrin/tylenol/valium
30. money
31. MOVIES
32. BOOKS
33. Emergency Kit
34. Atlas
35. Computer/Charger
36. Cell phones/charger
37. Tent
38. Tarp
39. Stove
40. Baby Back Pack

Car Camping:

 

Tent Camping:

Day 4: A Day with the Lincoln Family

Day four was another unexpected stop.  After having talked to Grandma and Grandpa, the recommendation to stop at the Springfield, IL Lincoln Museum was made.  Having previously established the nerdiness of my crew, this made perfect sense.  We had a quick breakfast with our favorite Airman near Scott AFB

And headed up to Springfield.  It was only an hour and a half drive, which was a nice reprieve from the previous days 5 and 6 hours.  We met at one of the Springfield malls, ate a little more, and went exploring!

The Great 16th President has always been a love of mine.  Maybe its partly genetic, as my grandfather was also enamored with the man.  Maybe its in my roots in the Land of Lincoln (my bff makes fun that I dress like "Little House on the Prairie"...I told her that is because I'm FROM a little house on the prairie).  IN any case, I LOVE LINCOLN.  The museum in Springfield does a fabulous job helping kids love learning about him as well!

We enjoyed several interactive exhibits and some films.  We got to see authentic artifacts and letters from Abe himself, as well as tour some of the sets and see the grand costumes from the movie, "Lincoln".  After we finished up (we spent probably 6 hours there.  I highly recommend visiting!), Grandpa JC took the two oldest female JC's up to Galesburg, while Grandma JC and I took Boy JC and Baby JC to a special flag ceremony at.....

LINCOLN'S TOMB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The 114th Illinois Volunteer Regiment gave a fabulous presentation with flag lowering, taps, marching drills, and cannon fire.  Boy JC was quite impressed.  After the ceremony, he got some cool pictures holding a sword

And holding a rifle

We were very fortunate that the tomb, which normally closes at 5pm, was re-opened for the observers of the ceremony.  Entering the Tomb Of Lincoln.  Even the thought gave me goosebumps.  In the last 4 days, I've been in the oldest cemetery in New Orleans, seen the grave of the Voodoo queen, the future resting place of Nicholas Cage, the home of Elvis....and here I was at the grave of one of the most influential and controversial men of the last 200 years.  The hype of the previous dead we'd visited pales in comparison, and the pomp and circumstance of pop culture faded to the gravity and somberness entering the grave site of this great man.  

I can't even begin to describe the heaviness and the mustiness, which you can breath in and enjoy because you are breathing with the ghosts of greatness.  I was walking on The President Himself.  Humbled.  Beautiful.  Day 4 was in the books.