At times, everyone gets a little bored on a trip that has lasted more than a few hours: kids and adults included!  Here’s the top 5 suggestions to banish boredom at any age.

1. Music: But instead of bringing along CDs that include songs that no one can sing along to, try burning a CD of your favorites!  It’s quick and easy, and oftentimes around 20 songs can go on just one disc.  That way, it’s all your favorites, all the time; singing along is a cinch.
2. Side Trips: When on a road trip, landmarks and interesting stops fly by.  To keep boredom at bay, try spontaneously stopping at any of the unique spots you may encounter, even if it’s just for a few minutes.  It gives the kids a chance to explore and the adults an opportunity to stretch their legs.
3. Games: As long as there have been road trips, there have been games invented to try to keep kids interested in the scenery.  Unfortunately, they don’t seem to hold the attention of today’s kids.  However, imagination is still important.  Challenge them to create their own card game and see who reigns supreme.  Or, take a board game that’s become tiring and reinvent the rules.
4. Picture Perfect: Everyone loves to take photographs.  Try out giving each person on your trip a disposable camera (or just give everyone a turn using a digital one) and see what pictures come out.  You could try to take funny pictures, family pictures, nature pictures, or anything you want.  Develop them all at the end of the trip (or along the way) and put them all together in a photo diary.
5. Souvenirs: It’s always nice to have a little reminder of places you’ve been.  In this case, just like a picture album, it busts boredom and creates memories at the same time.  At each spot you stop, seek out a little store or gift shop where you can purchase a small, inexpensive souvenir.  Then, over time, you’ll have a collection.  For example, you could keep a magnet board in your RV and for every road trip stop, buy a magnet (usually a dollar or two).  Soon, you’ll have a board that you can glance at and remember all the good times spent on your road trip.

With these simple tips, you can make your road trip bearable–without  portable video games, MP3 players, or portable DVD systems.  Spend your next road trip getting to know your family.  Bond and have fun at the same time!

Getting a chance to visit Southern California is always a treat, but when Mickey Mouse is involved, the kids can’t stop talking about it.  That’s why your first RV trip to the Happiest Place on Earth should be without tears.

Wish You Were Here...

If you plan on spending the whole day at the park, plan ahead on where you want to make camp.  There are four RV camps under 2 miles from Disneyland:

1. Anaheim Harbor RV Park (714-535-6495 or anaheimharborrvpark.com)
2. Anaheim RV Village (714-991-0100 or anaheimrvvillage.com)
3. Anaheim Resort RV Park (714-774-3860 or anaheimresortrvpark.com)
4. Orangeland RV Park (714-633-0414 or orangeland.com)

Rates vary from camp to camp, and shuttles are often available to bring you and your family to Disneyland for a fee.  In addition, at all four, a discount is given if you stay a week or more.

So why not make that stop at Disneyland into an adventure in Orange County?

For years before the car changed the way people traveled, the first RVs could be seen spotted across the American horizon.

How is this possible?  Well, the covered wagons used by those heading west in the 1840s and 1850s perhaps should be seen as the original RV: everything the traveling family needed the wagon provided.  Protection, food storage, a place to sleep; the covered wagon was an great innovation for those heading west.  In fact, even before that, the French developed similar wagons that would house a person and his family in the 1810s.  It seems that even so early on, people have wanted to live on the move.

It’s a natural instinct: many of the first civilizations were nomadic; that is to say, they never settled down in one place for long.  Everything they owned (which was not much) went with them everywhere.  The pioneers  of the mid-1800s became nomads just like their ancestors; some succeeded, some did not.  One especially famous group of original RV-ers was the Donner Party; others include the Ingalls and Wilders (of Little House on the Prairie fame).

While their situations were often more life-threatening, early pioneers had to make many of the same decisions modern RVers do today: finding the safest campsite, packing enough food, traveling the shortest route, and other such dilemmas.  But imagine the differences in the living quarters!  “Prairie schooners” (the original name of covered wagons) were typically about the size of a Volkswagen Bus.  In such a little space, food, clothing, and other necessities for 6 month trips were packed tightly in trunks.  As far as food went, everything had to be dried or canned if possible.  Coffee was the drink of preference.

But just as with trips today, how many “unnecessary” items to bring was the topic of constant debate.  Guitars and banjos, which could provide entertainment and were relatively portable, were O.K.  But some families, not wanting to leave an heirloom behind, would try to tote organs or pianos in their wagons.  Oftentimes, such items would end up getting left on the trail when the oxen could not take the weight anymore.  Even little luxuries such as tablecloths or china were discouraged; if you had space, you were wiser to fill it up with provisions.

Such were the trials of the modern-day RVer’s ancestors in 19th century America.  It is amazing to think that the west was settled using such difficult methods.  Now, next time you run out of water and are perturbed about having to stop at a supermarket, consider those who came before you.

NEXT MONTH: RV History 201 (1910s-1920s)

We Want YOUR Stories!

Here is where you can get involved!  We’d love to hear some of your funny stories to put in an issue of the newsletter as well as here on the blog.  They can be about any kind of road trip or camping excursion; as long as they make you laugh, we’d like to laugh along.  One entry will be chosen every month.  You can enter by simply commenting on this post (see link below) and making us chuckle with your storytelling.  The person we choose will get their own RV t-shirt (created by RVShop ourselves) as well as a $10.00 certificate to be used toward anything on RVShop.com.  So get brainstorming about those amusing anecdotes–and send them in!

Thank you for visiting RVShop.com‘s official blog.  Here, you will be able to find articles about the RV world in addition to information about our business and all that we can provide for you as we publish them in our newsletter.  Some articles will be exclusive to our blog, though, so visit often!

As always, we love to hear from you, so feel free to post comments with your questions or concerns.

Thank you, and enjoy the blog!

Your Friends at RVShop