The 11 Best (and Healthiest) Snacks To Have For A Road Trip

Photo by: Smabs Sputzer (Flickr)

Whenever I go on road trips, eating healthy usually is the first thing I throw out the window. Earlier in the summer I went on a road trip to visit some friends in Idaho. The drive was a long one and I kept myself awake washing salty chips down with an energy drink. By the time I returned home, I felt physically sick and my stomach ached from all the junk. The next day I rushed to the grocery store and filled my cart with fruits and vegetables. Over the next few days I tried to eat only natural foods, hoping to fix some of the damage I had done to my poor heart. I promised myself the next road trip I went on, I would only eat healthy snacks and save myself from another achy stomach and massive migraine. When choosing snacks to load into your motorhomes, make sure to keep it simple, healthy and easy.

Almonds

These tasty nuts are a great source of protein and magnesium with no added chemicals. They are one of the healthiest foods and without the shell it makes for a mess-free snack. Continue reading

Why You Shouldn’t Use Electronics Before Going To Sleep

Photo By: RelaxingMusic (Flickr)

Every couple of weeks I hang out with a group of my friends and we talk about everything going on in our lives from what we eat for breakfast to how we slept the night before. One of my friends has been struggling lately with exhaustion from sleeping difficulties. She never seems to get enough sleep. Sound familiar to anyone else? After quizzing her about her sleep schedule, it was obvious why; she wasn’t going to bed until three or four in the morning! I flat-out told her, “Go to bed earlier”. It seemed like a no-brainer to me. She explained to me that it didn’t matter if she tried to go to bed three hours or one hour earlier; she simply could not shut off her brain and fall asleep. After talking more, I learned that she spent her hours at night looking at Pinterest, Facebook, and editing pictures. Who can’t relate to that? In fact I am writing this post when I should probably be sleeping instead! The problem with using electronics before sleep, is it can throw off your bedtime routine and make falling asleep extremely difficult.

Time Flies When you are Having Fun

It might be me but when I crawl into bed, minutes before I should be asleep, I reach for my phone to take a quick look at Facebook. Unfortunately that “quick look” turns into 30 minutes or longer of me looking at pictures, reading articles, and watching videos. Those 30 minutes seem to fly by without me realizing it and my much-needed eight-hours of sleep is cut into. Having a bedtime routine is not just for babies and children, as adults need some Continue reading

You Need To Replace That RV Mattress, And Here’s Why

Photo by: Alan Stanton (Flickr)

I am not a morning person and rolling out of bed is hard for me most mornings, but sometimes it even hurts a little. I find myself rubbing my sore neck and attempting to stretch my achy back while thinking, “Man I am getting SO old!” Because of morning or nightly aches and pains, I automatically assume it is all a part of the glory of adding another day or year onto my life. Although I am not getting any younger, many aches and pains are actually caused by an old mattress. Many people forget that their mattress needs replacing, unless it is falling apart, stained and beyond smelly, but mattresses need to be replaced every 5-7 years. That might seem excessive, but when you think about how many hours you sleep and relax in your bed every year, the hours add up pretty fast. Even if you spent an average of eight hours on your bed every night, after seven years that would be 20,440 hours! That’s too many hours! It is time to replace that old RV mattress and here’s why:

Aches and Pains

Those aches and pains don’t mean you’re getting old, they are most likely caused by Continue reading

11 Things You Can’t Be Without On Any Hiking Trip

Several years back, I went on a hiking trip with a group of my closest friends. It was last-minute and by time we arrived, the sun had begun to set and we knew it would be dark within the hour. We all hopped out of the car and started up a hill, thinking we would make it a quick hike and get back before it was too dark. Boy, were we in for a surprise! We wandered off the trail away and were trudging through trees and bushes when it got dark. Very dark. Without any preparation, the only things we had on us were our phones, clothing and shoes. No flashlight or compass. We pulled out our phones and used the very small light it illuminated to try to navigate ourselves back down the hill. Thankfully, we made it back to our car after three hours, a lot of mud, and blue lips from the drop in temperature. Now no matter how long or short of a hiking trip I go on, I prepare for hiking by Continue reading

10 Items You Need To Have In Your Emergency RV Kit

Most of my summers growing up involved lots of camping and being outside in the middle of nowhere. My family was the free-spirited type and a first aid kit was usually left behind at the house, shoved in the back of the kitchen cabinet. We would slip and fall and get an occasional scratch or three and my mom would wash off the bloodied dirt with soap and water and send us on our way. My dad always had a Swiss army knife in his pocket and my mom always had a couple of bottles of aspirin and Ibuprofen in her purse.

One day, my nephew sliced his pinky finger severely and the tip of it was barely attached. My brother and dad didn’t have any type of first aid kit and grabbed what they could out of the car. A clean diaper was on the seat and my dad quickly used his knife to cut it in strips and then used regular tape to wrap his finger. Who would have guessed that a diaper could stop the bleeding and save his finger? Although I would never suggest going my family’s route, if your emergency kit has a few essential items, then usually the other items can be made from things normally in your RV, like a bandage from a diaper.

Here are the ten things I would always have in my RV kit:

1. First Aid Handbook

I took a first aid class a few year back and by the time the class reached an end, I began to panic. How in world was I supposed to remember all of this stuff? It didn’t occur to me that having a medical manual in my car or RV emergency kit would easily solve that problem.

2. Gauze

Having gauze would have been a faster, cleaner, and easier solution for my nephew’s finger, but in case you run out of gauze, ripping up strips of clothing works too.

3. Antibiotics

A small scratch can turn into a serious infection and having antibiotics can prevent an infection from spreading and causing sickness.

4. Aspirin & Ibuprofen

Sometimes when I least expect it, a headache will get me and having aspirin on hand can save me from a lot of pain. It can help with any small pains, discomforts and swelling.

5. Antihistamine

Allergic reactions can become very serious and when you are exploring the outdoors you might come across something you are normally or newly allergic to.

6. Swiss-style knife

Scissors, tweezers and knives are great to have in your emergency kit and this amazing little knife covers it all.

7. Medical Tape

My dad used regular tape to hold the diaper over my nephew’s fingers and even though it worked, medical tape doesn’t stick so tight to itself and can be easily unwrapped.

8. 100 assorted Band-Aids

Having Band-Aids around prevents dirt and germs from getting in small scrapes and scratches. Choosing a box with a large assortment will give you a Band-Aid for a small blister, a deep slice, or a large scrape.

9. Peroxide

Peroxide is like magic. Seriously, this stuff has so many uses and should definitely be in every RV kit. It is great for cleaning, killing fungus, attacking germs and disinfecting the skin or surgical tools.

10. Matches

Did you know that the number one cause of death in outdoor recreationalists is Hypothermia? Having matches in your emergency kit could save your life.

This is my “must have list,” but my kit is filled to the rim with plenty of other things. It is always better to error on the side of caution, so stocking your RV kit with even more items and medical supplies is the best route. You can never be over-prepared but can definitely be under-prepared when that unplanned accident happens. What items do you keep in your kit and have you ever had to use them?

 

The 25 Best Road Trip Songs

When I was little, road trips were quite different than what kids might experience today. We didn’t have an I-Pad to play games on, a TV to watch, or individual MP3 players plugged into our ears. My parents had the radio, and sometimes had cassette tapes, but usually the music we sang to were songs right from memory. One road trip we went on was to Yellowstone National Park, when I was about nine years old. We didn’t have the comfort of a RV and spent half the drive with our heads hanging out the window because the air conditioner didn’t work. When things started getting a little boring, my younger brother and I began singing from the top of our lungs, causing my older siblings to place their hands over their ears and become very annoyed.

I can still see my mom quietly chuckling in the passenger seat as my dad joined in with his best-off-tune voice that he could manage. Eventually, my older sister begged us to at least sing something other than “99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall,” and my mom happily put an end to the song and started The Beach Boys. It set a mood, and from there the road trip seemed to fly by as we would occasionally all join in singing together, or just stare peacefully out the window and simply enjoy the drive. The entire road trip is still one of my favorites and seeing “Old Faithful” only added to the excitement.

Today, it is easy to download your favorite songs right on your phone and listen to them while in the comfort of all (motorhomes). Here are 25 best (road trip) songs that will get you singing along in your RV and make your family’s road trips unforgettable.

Soak Up the Sun – Sheryl Crow

Don’t Stop Me Now – Queen

Don’t Stop Believin’ – Journey

All Summer Long – The Beach Boys

Drive My Car – The Beatles

Unchained – Johnny Cash

Hello L.A., Bye Bye Birmingham – John Randolph Marr

Ain’t No Sunshine – by Will Withers

Carry On My Wayward Son – by Kansas

Country Roads – by John Denver

You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’ – The Righteous Brothers

The Distance – Cake

Hit the Road Jack – by Ray Charles

Highway to Hell – by AC/DC

Life Is a Highway – Rascal Flatts

On The Road Again – by Willie Nelson

Sweet Home Alabama – by Lynard Skynard

Dancing Queen –Abba

Live Forever– Oasis

Rolling in the Deep – Adele

I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For – U2

Free Fallin’ – Tom Petty

Born to Run – Bruce Springsteen

Stairway to Heaven – Led Zeppelin

Thriller – Michael Jackson

Years later, I still enjoy going out on road trips with friends and family. Even with working air conditioning, we will let the windows down and feel the wind whipping our hair while music blasts around the car. There is something truly amazing about the way music can make you feel so alive and is a must for the best road trip experience. What songs do you have to listen to when you travel in the car or RV? Two staples of any road trip for me are the Beatles and Michael Jackson. The fun thing about motorhomes is even after arriving to the destination, you can keep listening to your favorite road trip songs while relaxing, preparing food, or just enjoying the scenery.