THIS TIME of year, many of you are looking forward to a long car trip. Perhaps “looking forward” is the wrong phrase when the trip includes several kids, the family pooch, high tempera- tures and many miles. In fact, 1 would probably get a lot of applause from apprehensive parents if I suggested scrapping the idea. It is not a holiday to embark upon lightly or without plenty of planning. ' "The worst scenario includes overiired, fighting kids and exhausted, screaming parents. If you're lucky, the dog will cover his ears and hide under the car seat. Unless he’s car sick, that is. Assuming that you’re commit- ted to this excursion, how can you manage things to get the greatest pleasure out of the trip? Let’s start with the route. . This is a good time io share - some of the planning with your kids. Start with a good road map or road atlas and a felt marker. Dot in your starting point and your desti- nation. Often, there is a choice of high- ways that wil! lead you there — consider the time involved and the number of possible stops. The first tesson in kiddy travel is to plana lot of stops. The second lesson is to make every stop a washroom break. Freeway travel is generally faster but stopping is not so easy. Rest stops usually are spaced at least 40 miles apart. They’ re fine for the necessary ‘picnics and washrooms, but they don’t have a lot to offer by way of entertainment. Kids need to run off some of that bottled-up energy so have some simple toys — a frisbee, an inflatable beach ball, skipping ropes — on hand or they’ll be nun- ning like fools all over the seat. _ The stops on secondary high- ways can be far mere interesting and, with a little advanced plan- ning, the parent can figure out where to stop — places that will interest all of you. Look for small museums, glass factories, potteries, waterfalls, his- toric sites — many of these are included on road maps in very small print. © I simply can’t imagine how the average family can afford to take the kids on the road and eat in | Properly organized, Barbara NicCreadie ‘TRAVELWISE restaurants. Even the Golden - Arches will knock hell out of a $20 bill. We solved the problem by pic- nicking almost every meal. We car- ried a cooler, a portable barbecue and an electric kettle. When we pulled into our motel (always one with a pool and play area), Brian took the kids swiin- ming while f went shopping. I bought meat to grill for dinner, plenty of salad stuff, fresh fruit, rolls and juice for breakfast and sandwich stuff for lunch the next day. And milk, of course. We ignored signs over ice machines and used it by the pailful. If the cooler got too full, juice con- tainers were packed with plenty of ice in plastic motel garbage pails. For dinner, we'd look for a park with picnic tables and set up our grill. The kids ate breakfast around the motel — wherever they could find a spot. The kettle provided tea, coffee, hot chocolate and we carried ther- moses that we filled in the morn- ing. Eating out became. a treat that we planned in advance. Packing for a long car trip is a challenge. To fit everything intc the trunk, we used plastic garbage bags with another for laundry. I carried nightwear, cosmetics and other small essentials in a satchel. We stopped at a laundro- miat every three or four days. But however weil you plan your packing, you're still going to be faced with hours on the road. Aside from frequent stops, how do you keep the troops from mutiny? Get an early start! Kids wake up at ungodly hours and if you keep uly trips are fun them sitting around you're asking for trouble, Get them fed and on the road by 7 a.m. and you've defused half your problem. Even with frequent stops, you can be off the road by 3 p.m. and sull cover enough ground to get where you’re going — eventually. And, at 3 p.m., you've got 4 much wider choice of motels. Early stop- pers can pick the one with the adjoining units, pool and other ainenities they require. Every kid should have an assigned space to sit. If you've three kids and two windows, regu- lar rotation is imperative. Every kid should have a smali bag for personal treasures. Be ruth- less about what they can bring from home, but include a note- book, pencils, non-melting crayons and tape to mount souvenirs. Most kids get a charge out of keeping a diary and all kids love to collect stuff. I made a rule about eating in the car — no way! Drinks were paper cups of water, one-quarter full. In my satchel, I carried small surprises — plastic toys, hard can- dies, sticker books and comic books. These were also used as prizes for games. Try playing “spot” -— make a list of 10 objects to look for as you're driving. Try Pepsi signs, yellow school buses, purple cars, police cars (exceltent early warning for the driver), two people on a motorcycle, For Sale signs — the list is endless. The game keeps everyone busy for at least half an hour. We tried naming every state in the U.S. (harder than 10 provinces), every make of car (nearly impossible) and breeds of dogs (worse!). I always planned to get bingo cards and never did. The games are great in the mid-afternoon when everyone is getting cranky. Take your camera and use it. Give the kids a small daily allowance for souvenirs. Buy them postcards and be sure to bring friends’ addresses. Pack a good first-aid kit and make sure you have an extended medical (travel) policy. Keep the rules simple but enforce them immediately. Learn a few simple nonsense songs and sing them. Be flexible — if the day is going wrong, stop early. 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