Last weekend, I found myself in the unusual situation of going on a road trip where I didn’t have to drive (honestly, that’s a first!) My family were off to Somerset for the day to visit my mum and I managed to blag myself a seat in my Auntie’s car where I could relax and let somebody else do the driving for a change. Of course this lead to packing of a few essentials as I knew my cousions would put their headphones on the minute they got in the car – we all have VERY different musical tastes! So below is a list of my road trip essentials…
It might seem a bit bulky for a day trip but my iPad is essential for a bit of in car reading. I’ve just subscribed to ‘Woman’s Health’ but I struggle to find hard copies of the magazine. With my iPad I downloaded it before I left the house and voila, it’s there in a flash. I can also hotspot my iPad through my phone if I want to catch up on a bit of YouTube (I can’t read in the car for too long) or some Netflix. I’m currently watching season two of Hart of Dixie which you’d love if you liked Gilmore Girls.
Need I give a description of why this is included? As important to people as their right arm, I like to use it as a hotspot for my iPad and to catch up on twitter and Instagram. What isn’t in this picture is the charger that you need to carry around with it as let’s be honest, the iPhone 5 battery is truly awful!
My current notebook of choice is my large Moleskine. It’s my blogging bible and it’s what I use to write down anything from blog post ideas to thoughts to expand on at a later date. I carry it with me everywhere. I’m not the sort of person who can write things in my iPhone notes so I love having a book of some kind with me. I got into the habit of having a Moleskine for work about a year ago but lately I made the transition for blogging to. It looks a lot more professional than whipping out my Disney bound books. This sounds really OCD but I can only write in black pen so I always carry one just in case.
British weather can be a bit unpredictable. When they forecast glorious sunshine, the chances are it will probably rain at some point. For this reason I always carry an umbrella. I picked this one up from Topshop in the sale, I think it cost me around £7 but it’s a good sturdy number and has outlasted any of my Primarni ones.
Sunglasses are essential on any car journey. At the first sign of sun, I’m usually whipping out my sunglasses as I have a slight sensitivity to light. I’m that girl wearing sunglasses on an overcast day. I love Raybans, having stolen acquired a pair from my mum, vintage 1997 ones – which then preceded to get lost in Florida. I’m current sporting these ‘s which I picked up in duty free. I love the Wayfarer style and am thinking of adding a black framed pair to my collection.
My new baby, my new vlogging camera. I finally bit the bullet and finally upgraded from my Canon Ixus 240. With infinitely better picture and video qualify, I’m sure I made the right choice. As you know if you’re following my Food Diaries on my YouTube, I’m currently recording everything I eat so I always carry my camera to whip out at a moments notice.
Ok so I may have stolen these too. I actually bought boyfriend these SkullCandy headphones for his birthday last year however I find they’re the perfect headphones for the size of my ears. They are so comfy and I now wear them to edit my videos, listen to my music and even at the gym from time to time. They’re perfect for popping on in the car to block out all the sound and barely any sound escapes them so other people don’t get annoyed at second hand music.
For any of you that follow me on twitter, you’ll know I have a huge obsession with Mindy Kaling – I bloody love her show ‘The Mindy Project’ which is shown here in the UK on E4. I picked up her book on a whim many moons ago and am currently rereading it for what might be the thousandth time. I’d describe it as part biography, part advice but definitely hysterical. I had to stop reading it whilst on the tube once as I was getting bizarre looks as I sat there chuckling to myself – come on I can’t have been the weirdest person people had encountered on the tube surely? Even though I have my iPad I couldn’t resist bringing a book – mainly for when we drop into a dire signal area (believe me there are lots of them in Somerset!)
So that’s what I carry in my bag for a four hour car journey. Am I missing anything essential?
