Summer is in full swing, and with the gorgeous weather comes the opportunity for many families to travel across the state, or even across the country for vacation. Being prepared for a long trip can save your family a lot of hassle when you are down the road. Here is a prep list to check off when you are getting ready to hit the road for your family summer vacation: 1. Plan your stops ahead of time. While being spontaneous sounds like fun to many people, it’s never fun to realize that you’re an hour from the nearest gas station and you’re nearly out of gas. Planning breaks for gas and rest areas ahead of time will pay off when you’re on the road. Check out rest stops that have playgrounds here. If you’ve got little ones, these areas are lifesavers for kids with the wiggles. 2. Calculate the cost of gas. Part of planning for your trip includes knowing how much it will cost to get there. Enter your trip here to see how much it will cost you in gas to make it to your destination. 3. Get a pre-trip check for your car. Car travel, especially roadtrips, wears your car out, especially if you aren’t keeping it maintained. Making sure your tires, oil, other fluids, lights, and brakes are ready for the trip will set you up for the best possible vacation, at least the driving portion of it, anyway. We can’t guarantee that Aunt Marge will be nicer this year. 4. Bring entertainment. This doesn’t have to be anything fancy. Books, new, small, toys your kids haven’t seen before, notebooks and colored pencils (don’t bring crayons; some of us have learned this the hard way), small candies or suckers as prizes for good behavior after a long stretch in the car, and car games like BINGO, spotting license plates, or the alphabet game are all great for filling the time and creating memories. 5. Plan ahead of time to run behind schedule. If you’ve got kids in the car, you are not going to make it to your destination as quickly as Google says you will. There will likely be more stops for breaks than you anticipate, and if you know this ahead of time, it will cause less stress. Instead of focusing on the miles, try to focus on the memories you’re creating. You’re going on vacation, so try to make the best out of the whole trip. For further information on caring for your car during your next road trip, or to schedule your trip check, please contact John’s Auto Care today.