Summer Road Trip Tips

After over a year of being cooped up inside, you might be more than excited for your summer vacation. If you’re planning on a summer road trip to get back into the world, there are a few things you can do to make sure it’s a stunner, and not a bummer.

Tips for a Great Summer Road Trip

Here are some tips to make sure your summer road trip lives up to the hype:

Make a plan
While you may know your final destination, it’s important to make a plan on how you’ll get there that everyone agrees upon. You might be willing to drive all day to get to your destination, but do your passengers agree? Is there anything you want to see or explore on the way? Make sure to develop a timeline and plan with your road trip companions before you head out.

Reserve your spot
As you can imagine, a lot of people might have the same idea to hit the road this summer instead of taking a flight, so those quiet campgrounds and state parks might see a bit more action this summer. Make sure to reserve your campground spot, roadside motel or state park time if applicable well in advance.

Prepare entertainment
Update your playlist, research some road trip games, and select some podcasts or audiobooks before heading out. You don’t realize how time-consuming this task can be, so getting this taken care of in advance will relieve some night-before stress and help you easily pass the hours on the road. Check-in with your passengers and see if there’s any music or entertainment they’d like included as well.

Snack it up
Get your cooler ready! Road trip snacks are a time-honored tradition that should not be skipped. You can go old school with chips and candy, lean more healthful with carrots and string cheese, or do a mix of both! Don’t forget some fun drinks like soda or juice and, of course, pack plenty of water.

Get a tune-up
Nothing will put an end to summer road trip fun like being stuck on the side of the road. Before you head out, make sure a pro looks over your vehicle to make sure everything including fluid levels, the battery, your brakes, your tire pressure and more are in top-notch road shape. You can’t anticipate everything on the road, but this will at least help you avoid being stuck by a pre-existing issue.

Summer Road Trip Success
Your summer road trip is almost here! Following these tips can help you have the summer adventure that you’ve been dreaming about. After thinking about a vacation for over a year, you deserve it!

Road trip safety
Making sure your vehicle is ready for a long dive is imperative before hitting the road. Contact any of our dealerships to learn more about their service departments and how they can help you prepare for your drive with a summer trip tune-up.

Make Your Car Drive-In Movie Ready

One of the great things about living in Southern California is the incredible weather. As summer approaches, it’s the perfect time to think about some fun activities for our cool summer nights. With regular theaters still closed or in various stages of opening, you can still have a chance to see summer movies on the big screen right from inside your own car!

Where to Go for Drive-In Movie Fun

If you’re not a drive-in regular, you may not know where to go. Here are a few options that are close to home:

Rubidoux Swap Meet and Drive-In – Right now there is a two-for-one same screen offer, which means you can stay to watch two different movies on the same screen for the price of one.

Mission Tiki Drive-In – This Tiki-themed drive-in is sure to put a smile on your face. There are four screen options and be sure to check out their coupon page for some snack bar deals!

Van Buren Drive-In – This theater offers three screens, is owned by the same company as Mission Tiki, and offers the same pricing and snack bar coupon opportunities as well.

Prepping your car for the best drive-in experience
Here are a few ways to make your car drive-in movie ready:

Clean your windows
If you’re going to be sitting in your car watching a movie, you’ll definitely want to have a clear view. Clean your windows before arriving at the theater or bring some glass cleaner and paper towels so you can tidy up before the show.

Make it comfy
You’re going to be sitting in your car for the entire length of the movie, plus before and after as you wait for the show to start and for your turn to exit. Wear comfortable, movable clothes and make your car comfy with extra pillows and blankets (sometimes the summer nights can have a bit of a chill).

Don’t forget the snacks
If you have the means, you may want to choose to further support the theater by visiting their snack bar. However, if you’re looking for a more cost-effective evening, you can bring food into the theater. Don’t forget to have a cooler of your favorite summer beverages. Just a heads up, most drive-in theaters don’t allow alcohol for obvious reasons, so check the rules before packing your cooler.

Radio options
Theaters will have you turn to a specific radio station for movie sound. Most car batteries should be able to handle this, but if you know your battery has been unreliable of late or you plan to be running other devices like phones or tablets off of your battery as well, you might want to consider bringing a portable radio and fresh batteries for the movie.

Bag for trash
You’ll likely create some trash while you’re snacking away. There are trash receptacles on-site, but if you don’t want to leave your car, it’s a good idea to have a trash bag handy so you can take out your garbage. Please don’t toss trash out your windows and leave a mess on the ground.

Time for some summer movie fun!
Are you and your car ready for a night out at the drive-in? If you like the idea but have been thinking about getting a new ride, you can contact any of our dealerships to learn more about purchasing a car that will have you loving summer movie nights.

Fun Car Games for Your Summer Road Trip

Summer is approaching and this year many people will be opting for a chill summer road trip instead of boarding a plane. If you’re going to spend some quality time in your car, you’ll want to have some fun ideas to keep yourself and your passengers entertained.

Summer Road Trip Games

Here are some fun car games for your summer road trip:

20 questions
This is a classic road trip game and is super easy to play. To get started, one person thinks of something, it can be a person, place or thing. Then, the others in the car take turns asking questions to see if they can decipher what the first person is thinking about. The car gets up to 20 questions to guess correctly, and the person that makes the correct guess is next.

Name that song
This is a fun game for travelers that enjoy music. The person who’s up picks a song lyric, but only says the lyric in a straight voice. Then others in the car need to figure out the song. Whoever guesses correctly gets to pick next. For added fun, you could play the song after each round and all sing-along!

The alphabet game – categories
Select a category such as animals, food or movies. Then go through the alphabet from “A” to “Z” with each person naming something of that category that starts with that letter. For example, if you did food with four people in the car you may start with apple, almonds, avocado and asparagus. Then, you would move on to “B” with each person naming another food item that starts with that next letter.

Cows on my side
The idea is to spot the cows first. If you see cows on your side of the vehicle, yell out, “Cows on my side!” For each time you spot cows first, you get a point. If you see cows on the other side of the vehicle before your fellow passengers do, yell out, “Cows on your side!” For each time you spot cows on their side of the vehicle before they do, they lose a point.

The quiet game
If you’re traveling with kids, sometimes you just need a little quiet time. The quiet game is a great way to catch your breath. The idea is whoever can be quiet(not talk) for the longest wins. Some kids can see through this, especially older kids, so it might not hurt to provide an incentive to the winner such as being able to pick what you have for dinner that night or getting an extra 30 minutes of technology time.

Hit the road
Are you ready for your summer adventure? These are just a few examples of some fun road trip games to play while you wheel your way to your destination. Make sure to plan some ideas ahead of time so that you have a strategy for your road trip activities.

Is your car road trip ready?
Safety is key for any road trip. Make sure your car is safe before you head out on the open road and contact any of our dealerships to learn more about their service departments and how they can help you prepare with a car checkup.