The Roanoker - May/June 2021 - 14

the home front

The
Open
Road

written and photographed by Christy Rippel
Now that you might brave a vacation
again, a few reminders on travel with kids.

I

t's been awhile since we've
traveled freely with nary a care,
and you may be feeling so pent up
that you're ready to throw the kids
in the car and brave a flight or a
car trip of any length, just to put some
miles between you and the house you've
been marinating in for the last year.
We've booked a beach house for a week
this summer, and I couldn't be more ready
to bust out of Roanoke. But in case you
have pandemic-related amnesia about
traveling with kids, let's revisit before we
all back out of the driveway this spring
and summer, shall we?

After years of trial and error (a lot of
error) traveling with four children, I have
three rules. Rule one: never let anyone
get too hungry. Rule two: Stop while
you're ahead. And rule three: Know
when to pull the emergency cord and get
the heck out of dodge.
Rule one is easy to execute with a
well-planned snack bag. I've learned to
give each kid their own bag, because
passing a box of granola bars to the back
seat is just asking for trouble. " What?
She took two! " Or, " Last week he had
more snacks than me so this time he
gets less! " You get the drift. Separate

bags. Names in Sharpie marker on a
Ziploc gallon-sized number is snack bag
nirvana, and go ahead and pat yourself
on the back for your organizational and
planning skills. Non-melty items are
best, and watch the sugar or they'll be
bouncing out of the plane seat, and that
is not what you or your fellow passengers
want. If this is a pure car trip, give
them all the sugar you want, but bring
earplugs.
Rule two is a bit tricky, so be gentle
with yourself as you readjust to postlockdown life. You're probably a bit out
of practice, but you know how your mom

CHRISTY RIPPEL is an award-winning freelance writer, covering lifestyle, design, health and parenting. A VT graduate, she likes to bike and walk local trails. When she and husband Chris
aren't watching the Hokies, they watch their four kids compete in sports. Christy is a Maryland native and lives in Roanoke County.

14 MAY/JUNE 2021

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The Roanoker - May/June 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Roanoker - May/June 2021

The Roanoker - May/June 2021 - Cover1
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The Roanoker - May/June 2021 - Cover3
The Roanoker - May/June 2021 - Cover4
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