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I have a packing suggestion: after opening too many waterlogged containers from coolers on camping trips I found that plastic jars (such as empty peanut butter jars) with duct tape wrapped around the top to seal the area where the lid and jar meet work great. I take along a roll of duct tape to reseal anything that I need to return to the cooler.

Congrats to you! I hope you enjoy your well-deserved vacation.

Last year, my husband and I went on a road trip to North Carolina (from Pennsylvania) to visit some relatives.

I made a poor boy loaf before we left - Italian bread sliced almost-but-not-quite-the-whole-way-through with herbed butter, mozarella cheese and salami; wrapped in aluminum foil; baked. We'd tear a chunk off and eat it as we drove.

We also packed some pretzels and whole, unsliced fruits.

WASABI PEAS. it's like russian roulette with your mouth... the first one is a little hot but no problem. the second one is mild. the third one is OMG MY NOSE IS RUNNING OFF MY FACE AND NOW I'M SO TOTALLY AWAKE.

on long car rides, these guys are essential to my staying alert on the road. between the crunch and the occasionally explosive heat, there's no way I'm gonna get bored and sleepy (usually a problem for me on long drives).

otherwise, yes, carrot sticks and frozen grapes are great.

Personally, I use road trips as an excuse to have all the unhealthy foods I ate on vacation as a little kid but don't eat now.

Pringles, chocolate covered peanuts, cheese-its..also one-hand non-messy foods that don't *have* to be eaten hot like empanadas, left over pizza (a white pizza with grilled chicken and spinach would be delicious cold), calzones, ahd fried pies are great and easy if you don't want to stop to assemble sandwiches at a rest stop.

Take some dried energy stuff, drinks, fruit etc. Do you have a cigarette lighter in the trunk area of your vehicle? I noticed that I have one in my car which can be used for plugging in an electric cooler.

But definitely do some research before you go. Pick out some famous eating places to hit on your trip. I'm thinking BBQ, road-side diners for pecan and peach pie, shrimp shacks, etc.

Almonds are good, or any nuts really. Dried chile mango slices and any kind of jerky if your the jerky-eating types. There are always some legit jerky stands (which also make tons of good dehydrated fruits) out in the desert. On a road trip last year my friends and I came across one on Rte. 66 right after the border into Arizona and the jerky bounty we picked up fed us in the car our whole trip!

-A nice thermos of tasty soup you can sip out of a cup is nice to have when the AC if causing you to forget how hot it is outside.
-Definitely some pepperoni- i personally enjoy Landjäger!
-cheese and crackers or baguette
-potato salad
-berries

Once you get to Georgia be sure to stop for some boiled peanuts!!

my mom has always been deeply attached to fried chicken and potato salad

One thing I've taken to do is filling gallon plastic bags with ice and then putting that in the cooler - this way it keeps everything cold but when the ice melts I don't have a mess to clean up - just dump and re-use. Additionally, you can always grab a few cubes to stick into a water bottle a few hours into the drive.


As for foods - definitely crunchy, non-crumb things like veggie sticks and string cheese. I also love cucumber sandwiches on pita bread.

Have fun!!

For road trips, I usually hit up bulk bins to make small bags of various trail mixes: one salty, one fruity, one chocolatey. Even once we get tired of them, they tide you over when you're waiting to eat at a destination.

Look into any interesting places to eat or buy interesting local food along the way, too.

We took so many road trips when I was a kid. Man. My parents were insane. 12 hours at a shot in the car was pretty standard. We stopped for gas and to pee only, and this was done as fast as possible. And then we hauled. What I can add to the suggestions above is this: don't assemble your sandwiches. Pack nice rolls, cold cuts, cheese, already cleaned/dried/ripped lettuce, pre-sliced and well-bagged veggies, and condiments. Don't forget utensils, large napkins, and baggies for garbage and dirty utensils. Passenger assembles lunch and you have a nice, fresh sandwich at 75 or 80 miles an hour. That is the speed limit, right?

My husband, friends and I drove from Northern Wyoming to Sayulita, Mexico, over Christmas break. We packed a big bag of jerky and an oatmeal container of oatmeal-chocolate-chip cookies, neither of which made it to the border! Afterward, we relied on burrito fixings stashed in the cooler: refried beans, avocados, cilantro, sliced tomatoes, cheese, lettuce, salsa, tortillas. We could stop at any gas station or rest area (must say: rest areas along our route in Mexico were immaculate, but bring your own TP!), wash up and enjoy a quick, healthy snack. Don't forget to pack lots of water and your favorite frosty bevs so you don't have to pay for them on the road! Apples, carrots, almonds, etc. kept us satisfied between stops. Add a pack of unscented baby wipes for washing up in those "Where-in-the-bleep-are-we?" moments that make roadtrips so worthy.

Our all time favorite travel food is biscuits. Sometimes cheesy biscuits, sometimes with chopped scallions inside. Then we add sliced tart apples, smoked mozzarella cheese, and gulyas cream- a Hungarian pepper spread, and butter to waterproof the biscuits. Fantastic, we even pack them on short trips (2-3 hours) and unassembled for overnight trips.

I realize this is slightly off topic, but as a kid we took a lot of road trips - my mother, grandmother and me. My grandmother always packed for me "bread and butter sandwiches" which were exactly what they sound like. The bread was the thin Pepperidge Farm white bread, with a medium-thin layer of butter.

I think it might sound strange now, but it was truly satisfying as a kid. And not something that would spoil or whatever.

Nowadays, I get an orange, a big crusty-ish chewy roll, and a bag of trail mix before I go to the airport. It's a strange combo, but I tend to stagger the eating. Works well for me. And keeps me from buying overpriced stuff at the airport.

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A few years ago I went on a roadtrip and we loaded up on junk food - chips, candy, etc. and by the middle of the trip I felt so gross from all of it. I've since learned my lesson and like to bring frozen fruits (grapes, blueberries, strawberries, and melons work well) as well as cut up veggies (carrots, celery, cucumbers, and grape tomatoes are my favs.) If you have room do deli meats and cheese with tortillas instead of bread (you can't crush tortillas!) Crackers or rice cakes usually go over well and of course you do need SOME junk food - licorice or m&ms for me!

I also like to freeze several water bottles and use to keep the cooler cold. They don't make as much of a mess as ice and at the end of the trip you have defrosted water available.

I make a big pot of hummus... it keeps pretty well, and is edible on veggies, crackers, bread or tortillas, and it's just a comforting food to have on the road. I too take tortillas everywhere - they travel well and make great sandwich wraps.

My husband and I have a Westy we use to take take long and short road trips. We love the dried apple rings our friend makes (crisp, not spongy like store-bought), and Phillipine dried mango. The mango's expensive, though, so it's a special treat. We also like to have cookies on hand (usually chocolate chip or oatmeal raisin cookies with cardamom for a road trip). And for really long road trips, we enjoy beef jerkey--it has even occasionally served as breakfast. (Buying it from meat markets along the way usually works pretty well.) If you decide to take gummi candy, make sure you don't leave it in the hot vehicle; I did once, and ended up with a bag of solid gummi mess that used to be gummi worms.

Mostly, I don't like to have to bake/cook much for road trips, though--as you can see, keeping it simple works best for us.