How To Prepare For A College Sports Road Trip
Whether you are a big college sports fan or not, as a college student you may find yourself on a road trip for your school’s team during your college career. You may be planning one at the moment if your college’s basketball team is in the Final Four of March Madness.
Away games can be super fun, especially with a bunch of your closest friends. However, the road trip to the game may take a while, which is why it is especially important to properly prepare.
Here is a guide to everything you need for an awesome college sports road trip.
Snacks & Drinks
What’s a road trip without great snacks to munch on? Bringing your own food instead of stopping at fast food joints will save you money, so you will have more to spend at the game and for the pre-game tailgate! It will also save you time on the road, allowing you to spend more time at your destination, or at fun stops along the way. It’s also great to put all of your snacks and supplies in baskets and containers to keep them from rolling around and also to save space.
Here are some recipes to try for your road snacks and drinks:
Hawaiian Roll ham sandwiches
These are great for road trip snacking because they are easy to make and distribute. Find the full recipe here.
Fruit
Fruit is simple and a good alternative to the normal fast food on road trips and there is no preparation.
Pre-packaged snacks
Chips, crackers, pretzels, cookies, and more are also hassle-free foods to bring along.
Sparkling blueberry lemonade
Besides the usual bottled water and sodas, try out this refreshing lemonade for the road. See the full recipe and instructions here.
Music
Depending on how far your road trip to the game is, you may lose your local radio stations. This can be one of the most annoying things about traveling, so it is great to bring your own music, whether you want to use Pandora through your phone, or even break out some old 2000s CD’s. It’s actually really fun listening to old songs that you grew up listening to with your friends! Bring out the NOW CD’s, you know you have at least two!
Pillows & Blankets
If you’re planning a particularly long road trip to an away game, you will do your fair share of napping when it’s not your turn to drive. Cars can get pretty uncomfortable when you’re trying to get a decent sleep or even just trying to relax, so you will definitely want to bring pillows and blankets, depending on the weather of course.
Road Games
It’s tough to keep the whole car entertained during a long ride, which is why there are car or road games! There is Road Trip Bingo, 20 Questions, and even iPad games that will keep the laughs rolling. Playing games will make the road part of the trip bearable. You can find a list of different road trip games here.
Cleaning Essentials
We all know that road trips can get messy when you and friends are eating in the car, so it’s crucial to bring a roll of paper towels, wet wipes, and tissues to avoid or quickly clean up any mishaps.
Game Gear
Of course, you have to rock your school’s team gear the whole trip. From sweaters, hats, bags, blankets, to even PJ’s. You can rock it all!
Driving Schedule
It may be smart to create a driving schedule of who and when each of the passengers are taking the wheel. Doing this beforehand can avoid any arguments and disagreements of “Whose turn is it?” It will also make sure one person is not driving long periods at a time. Many accidents are caused by people falling asleep at the wheel and this can help ensure everyone’s safety on the road.