A quick rundown and packing list of  what I plan on packing for our road trip through the Pacific Northwest in a minimalistic way.
Tomorrow the girls and I leave for our big road trip through the Pacific Northwest. As a quick reminder we'll be leaving our farmer on the farm...because farm things. We'll head north seven hours and stay for a few days. Then into Washington, down through Oregon, a little further south into California, east into Nevada, and then back to southwest Idaho. The whole trip will take two weeks. 

 (Feel free to follow our travels over on Instagram! I'll be posting lots of pictures and stories!)

If you're new here (which may be the case - lots of new faces!) - The trip will be me, Kaye (5), Sawyer (3), and our youngest, Elli. She just turned one. This will be my first experience traveling alone with my girls. We've done short road trips before...but nothing like this. To say I'm nervous is an understatement. I just want everything to go so well so as to not deter myself from taking future trips. If I could just get Elli to chill out in her car seat.

With all that said - Here's what I have packed for our two weeks on the road:

  • Sleep
    • (2) sleeping bags + pillows - When we aren't staying at an Airbnb we'll be crashing with friends along the way. The girls will have their sleeping bags and Elli in her...
    • Pack and Play
  • Clothing
    • (5) outfits for each of us (laundry on the way)
      • play clothing, nice outfit, running shoes, outerwear
      • swimming suits (my farmer's #1 rule - always pack a swimming suit)
    • I'll pack Sawyer and Kaye in one suitcase and Elli and me in another. All Elli's diapers and wipes will also go in our suitcase. I can't be schlepping back and forth to the car to bring in four bags + sleeping bags + backpacks + all the things.
  • Activity bags
    • Kaye and Sawyer will each pack their backpack with a few toys, markers, paper, and a few special snacks that they'll have at their disposal.
    • Homeschool binders - I made a binder for Kaye and Sawyer with printouts of each state we'll be visiting. It includes coloring pages, a word search, fun facts and spelling words. We'll also be reading a book about each state and bringing along some workbooks for math.
  • Snacks
    • Speaking of snacks - My girls are insanely affected by sugar. It turns them into wild, whiny animals. (It also makes Kaye super sick to her stomach.) So the old trick of give them a sucker or pack a million packages of fruit snacks would actually work against us and I'd have children hanging off the ceiling of our car like cats. So...My favorite car snacks are:
      • apple slices, grapes, banana halves, popcorn, cheese sticks, crackers, Goldfish, beef jerky...and then to break up the trip and let the girls stretch their legs we'll make stops at grocery stores so they can pick out a special snack along the way. 
      • I also plan on packing about 45 packages of wet wipes, because really,  can you ever have too many wet wipes?
      • Water bottles for each of us
  • Movies
    • We're so lucky to have a TV in the car. We'll be bringing along three new movies to have in the rotation. One is The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad which is from my childhood! It's also Halloween-ish...perfect for a fall road trip!
    • My farmer is trying to convince me that we need to bring along one iPad. I'm resistant because it's been almost two months since we've let the girls play on the iPad and I don't want to fall down that rabbit hole again.
  • First Aid Kit
    • It's pretty inevitable we'll need a band-aid or seven along the way, Tylenol for babies and big kids and a thermometer. I also have sunscreen and bug spray packed.
  • Tech Gear
    • Big camera - I've debated whether or not I want my DSLR or not, but I think in the long run...I'll regret not having it. So...I'm going to pack it and accept that if it never leaves the car, that's okay. At least I had the option.
    • Laptop 
    • Phone
    • iPad - maaaaaybe
  • Stroller - The double stroller is mandatory because there are these crazy moments when Sawyer decides both her legs are broken. And to keep the meltdowns to a minimum I'm going to make room for the giant double stroller.
  • Misc - I read somewhere that packing a roll of paper towels and some spray is a good idea. Normally, I'd risk it, but since it'll just be the girls and me I'm feeling like erring on the side of prepared for anything...like puke.
  • Purse - Most importantly, my purse. When traveling I always pack MY essentials in my purse. This includes : 
    • All chargers - I hate not having quick access or trying to guess where I decided to hide the chargers. (phone / computer / camera)
    • Headphones
    • Our brand new selfie stick that I'm already in love with. I debated on getting one of these...but friends, I want to be in some pictures!
    • My laptop - once the gals are in bed I plan on still getting work done on the road.
    • RX bars - there's nothing worse than a hangry mom
    • Binkies - I plan on packing no fewer than seven binkies for Elli that I plan on throwing haphazardly into the backseat as she gets whiny.
    • Hair supplies - I always feel a little better about wearing yoga pants if my girls look halfway put together. I can't have them falling out of the car with dreadlocked hair.
Things I wish we could bring, but I'm leaving behind:
  • Bikes
  • Osprey backpack (baby carrier)
  • Toy bin - I'd love to bring a toy bin, but since we'll only be in each spot for a couple of days while visiting friends (who have kids) I think we'll be okay. If all else fails...we can buy a special toy on the road.
  • And then probably a whole additional carload of things I'm not really able to wrap my head around at this moment. You see...I'm a little high maintenance when it comes to packing. I like to be pre. pared. But...when you're traveling solo with the kids, it's a great time to be a touch more practical. 
And that's that. Packing up and shipping out. Our farmer is acting sad and telling us how much he's going to miss us...but I have a feeling he's doing backflips in his head and he'll probably be throwing some kind of farmer party while we're gone. I mean...wouldn't you? Ha!

Follow our travels over on Instagram! I'll be posting lots of pictures and stories!