ROAD TRIP

HOW TO DRIVE IN A MINIVAN FOR 6 HOURS WITH FOUR CHILDREN AND NO AIR CONDITIONING

The key to managing a drive like this is:
(1) Be prepared.
(2) Plan your trip on a day with cooler weather.
(3) Prepare the children for what to expect and how to be the most comfortable.

OF COURSE . . . when you don't know the a/c isn't going to work until it just stops working five minutes into your drive and it is your last day of vacation which happens to be the hottest one yet and you need to get home and two of the children are completely locked into car seats and can't move an inch and don't really understand what you are talking about or what is going on and the two older children who do understand "the air conditioner is not working" but who question "Why can't you fix it?" and "When is it going to be fixed?" and want you to know that "I am hot and sweaty back here" these guidelines can all go out the window.

So, here are the things that really do work:
(1) Stop for lunch at a restaurant where it is air conditioned and save the picnic lunch for the next day.
(2) Make extra gas station stops where you fill up as many cups, waterbottles, etc. with ice and buy water, frozen slushy drinks, and ice cream snacks. Note- The older kids in the back can manage their liquid intake pretty well, but serve ice in bowls to little ones because they think it is a great treat and will remain hydrated . . . although everybody's cheeks will be rosy and their clothes completely soaked with sweat by the end of the trip.
(3) Most importantly, keep smiling in the front seat no matter how soaking wet your own underwear is from all the sweating you are doing as the sun beats down on you through the front windshield.
(4) But also don't forget to be thankful that it is "just" the a/c and at least the van is still functional and you can get home safely.