I don’t know about yours but sometimes I think my kids believe their sole purpose in life is to disagree with their sibling. Recently my 11 year old, so accustomed is he to taking the opposite view of his sister, actually started to argue with her, as she was agreeing with him!
Nothing is guaranteed to get them squabbling, like a couple of pundits in front of a camera, like a few hours squashed together in the back of the car as we head off on a vacation.
We used to listen to music in the car but since they graduated from the strains of Raffi’s animal based arias, no one has managed to agree on a single acceptable artist, song or even radio station.
We are not fans of screen based activities in the car because whether its Big Sur or Grand Canyon the places we visit are spectacular and the drive is part of the trip.
They can listen independently to iPods but ear buds get annoying so we ended the grumbling with our secret weapon, audio books and story based podcasts.
Finding something that appeals to 7 year old, 11 year old and 2 grownups would seem tricky but we all agree on the fabulous Douglas Adams “Hitch hikers guide to the galaxy,” with 5 books in the series it’s kept us quietly entertained for many, many hours. The other huge hit in our family is a series of podcasts called “Welcome to Night Vale” presented as a radio show for the fictional town of Night Vale, a town in the desert where all conspiracy theories are real.
During spring break we drove from LA to Joshua tree, on to Phoenix Arizona, up to Sedona, Grand Canyon and back to LA.
Miles -1400 miles
Hours of driving – 20 hours
Duration – 5 days.
Squabbles – surprisingly few!
Do you listen to audio books or podcasts? Do you have any recommendations for us this summer?
Sunny Sleevez 
Boy, I am having flashbacks of our own trip to Sedona with my two redheads…
Glad to hear it’s the same by you too 🙂 mine are older but it never stops!
Audiobooks and podcasts are a great idea. Wish I’d thought of that. In the past year and a half I’ve done two three-week road trips with my family. By the end of both we were all a little insane!!
Thank for a good laugh.
Honey
I’ve never thought of the whole car listening to podcasts or books, actually sounds like it could be a good idea. We go on our yearly road trip in July, so we will check into the ones you talked about and some others. Thanks!
No suggestions…I am impressed that you creatively came up with solutions! Could you do the same with Congress…they are acting the same way???? LOL
A Dog’s Purpose and its sequel A Dog’s Journey would be a good one for the family road trip. I listen to audio books all the time. It’s great for commuting, running, walking the dog and etc. This article made me chuckle. Thanks for sharing!
I once had a tape of the Hicthikers Guide taken from the radio broadcast. I played it to my fellow workers. At the end of the tape, the announcer said “It is now one o’clock”. Everybody went to lunch. It was only 11:30 Oh they did complain when they returned from the closed canteen. Wasn’t my fault, but still gives a grin 😀
I will definitely download some audio books to take on a road trip we’re planning this summer. Sometimes we just have to take matters in our own hands to take their eyes off the screen. I had a great time reminiscing our Sedona trip. Better plan to be back there soon!
Listening to nonfiction biographies is sometimes useful! You just have to find the right one! My favorite is “Destiny of the Republic” by Candice Millard. While it is a biography it is a very involved storyline that could interest kids and adults alike.My favorite podcasts are the good mythical morning podcast (look the channel up on youtube to find the podcasts. Those are great!