Some Fun Ways To Pass The Time During Long Road Trips

It's Memorial Day weekend, this weekend, and that means a lot of travel for people going home to help celebrate the men and women who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. After all, that is what Memorial Day is all about. With that said, what about the long haul you have to make to get where you're going. It can be boring or even stressful with young kids in the car. Below are some fun "Road Trip Games" for everybody to enjoy during your drive.

I Spy (probably one of the two best known games)

Probably the classic make-time-go-by game of all time. One person looks around and chooses an object that the others have to guess, with their only clue being these words: "I spy with my little eye something that begins with (insert the first letter of the object's name)." Or the clue can be the object's color. The player who guesses the object gets to go next. The tricky part? It's not fair to "spy" something that's whizzing by the car at highway speeds. A landmark (mountain range, forest) that will be in the players' view for a few minutes is best.

License Plates (the other well-known travel game)

There are many ways to play with license plates, depending on the age of your kids. Young participants can call out letters in alphabetical order; the first one to Z wins. Next, have them look for doubles — or better yet, triples! — of letters and/or numbers in the plates. The one who has the most at the end of the day/trip wins. Older kids can "collect" out-of-state plates they see. (Make it tougher by going in alphabetical order.) Or they can try to build words or phrases using the letter sequence in the plates. A plate with the letters E, F and T, for example, might become the word "effort" (using those letters to start the word, in the middle and at the end). Those could make "Ed's Favorite Tacos" if you're running with phrases.

20 Questions (fun game, unless you're meeting you're girl friend's parents for the first time)

"Are we there yet? Are we there yet?" Only 18 more times to go! In 20 Questions, whomever goes first thinks of, well, anything. The first question is always, "Animal, vegetable or mineral?" After that, the players can ask pointed questions to try and guess — go around the car in a circle asking for clues such as, "Does it bark?" or "Can you peel it?" for example, although the answer to those questions can only be "yes" or "no." If you reach the 20th question without a winner, everyone has one last chance to figure it out before the "thing" is revealed and another person starts a fresh round.

Slug-a-Bug (fun unless dad shows no mercy)

The concept is that players keep track of how many Volkswagen Beetles they spot on the road. We've heard of variations in which the game is limited to New or vintage Beetles, or versions where the older Bugs are worth more. In the game's original version you were supposed to punch your seat mate when you spotted a Bug, but most parents find that any game that involves hitting can get out of hand pretty quickly. So keep score some other way — tapping your seat mate, counting on your fingers (first to 10 wins) or something more in keeping with the Bug's peaceful hippie history.

Where's the Alphabet? (not my favorite)

Perform this as teams or solo players. You'll want to utilize road signs, billboards, shop names — any reading material outside the window qualifies as long as it's spotted on your side of the car. (If you're the front-seat passenger, focus on the right.) You'll be looking for every letter of the alphabet, in alphabetical order, although the letter can be located anywhere in the word. Say there is a fruit stand with a sign for Granny Smith apples — there's your A. The exit for the Brooklyn Bridge would cover B, Road Closed is C and so on. First one to the letter Z wins. If you see "Road Closed," however, you'll probably be happy to have the other games listed here

Name That Tune  (couple different ways to play this game)

For those with singing/whistling/humming talent, this can be as much karaoke as a guessing game. Choose a theme for the game, such as show tunes, movie or TV themes, or your favorite song. (Good luck, adults.) The winner gets to be the singer for the next round. If no one can carry a tune in a bucket, then switch it up and use the radio! Really mix it up by hitting the "seek" button so no one gets an unfair advantage from sticking to one particular station's format.

HOPEFULLY these can help you pass some time during a long road trip this weekend or any of your long trips in the car.