Travel-Time Entertainment
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So, I actually wrote this post yesterday afternoon since I knew I’d be away from the computer all day today. You see, I’m traveling today—driving six hours to Hot Springs, Arkansas, for a long weekend with my parents.
I’ve written before how road trips are a lot like writing (Road Trips and Writing,
Roadmap to Writing), so I don’t think I need to drag out another analogy comparing traveling to writing, do I?
Instead, I thought I’d focus on what I actually do when I’m traveling.
Since moving out on my own a little more than twelve years ago, whenever I’ve traveled, it’s been almost exclusively alone—with the exception of a few trips to nearby places like Gatlinburg with the singles group from church, or when a friend and I coordinated our flights to Pennsylvania so that we met up in Memphis and flew the second leg of the trip together. I like traveling alone for the most part—I’m not having to wait on anyone else, make decisions with anyone else, or stop when someone else wants to stop (which is always more often than I want to stop).
But this also means long, long hours of being in the car by myself. Now, because of the combination of my personality and the fact that I have lived alone for twelve years, this isn’t as big of a dilemma for me as it would be for some people. But I do have to make sure that I stay entertained while traveling.
And that means audiobooks and music.
When I make the decision to buy/download an audiobook, it’s always a very carefully thought-out decision. I try to choose a book I’ve been wanting to read, or I choose a classic or a book I know I’ll want to listen to over and over and over. My audiobook collection includes all seven of the Harry Potter books, all six of Jane Austen’s major works, a 24-hour-long unabridged version of Little Women, Dee Henderson’s O’Malley series, the novelizations of the three new Star Wars movies, as well as a series from the Star Wars “extended universe” (the X-Wing series), and so on.
Last Christmas, I downloaded two audiobooks from Audible.com. The first one I listened to was Dick Francis’s Dead Heat. I enjoyed it so much that when I arrived in Baton Rouge, I didn’t want to get out of the car, because the story was getting to the juicy part. I love audiobooks like that—they make eight or nine hour drives so much easier. I finished listening to that one about four hours into my trip home. I stopped at a rest area, fired up the laptop and transferred my other downloaded audiobook onto my MP3 player—Hood by Stephen Lawhead, since I’d heard really good things about the story. Unfortunately, only about twenty or thirty minutes into it, I had to turn it off. I was so confused about who was who because the Welsh names for the characters, while probably unusual to the eye if read, were nearly incomprehensible to the ear.
This time, I decided on Deanna Raybourn’s Silent in the Grave, a book I’ve been wanting to read for a while. According to Audible, it’s just over 13 hours total playtime, so that’s perfect for a six-hour drive, especially if traffic is heavy coming back on Sunday. [But I also downloaded my copy of Persuasion onto the MP3 just in case.]
But audiobooks aren’t the only thing I load onto the MP3 player. I make sure I have all of my music loaded onto it too. Because if my mind starts churning on my own stories, the audiobook gets switched off. Since I can’t have a quiet car, I have to have music. So Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Steve Tyrell, Nat “King” Cole, Harry Connick Jr., Diana Krall, Tony Bennett, Bing Crosby, and all of the American Standards singers past and present accompany me on the road as well.
So what about you? Any road trips planned for the summer? How will you entertain yourself/your kids in the car?
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KayeDacus.com 
You say “MP3 player” as if it’s neither a Zune or an iPod. Come on, Kaye, what year are you living in? 😛
I’m a big music guy when it comes to road trips. My iPod (since I personally live in 2008) has the best 15GB from my 60GB music collection. That probably amounts to at least 200 hours of material, so it makes it easy to randomize one of the larger playlist and just sit back and enjoy. Stand-Up Comedy albums also help pass the time.
If I’m road tripping with friends, we have this mix we call the ultimate sing-along that would surely drive anyone that doesn’t have our exact tastes in music crazy (think anything from Disney to 90’s pop to modern rock to Billy Joel and beyond). It’s a weird mix, and when you get get two or three guys singing at the top of their lungs for 9 hours, you’re bound to lose it if you’re not in on the joke. We live to entertain ourselves – especially when we’re in a confined space for hours on end.
I’ve gotta drive two hours to Gainesville tomorrow to pick up Elijah from Rachel (who is bringing him down from up north), so music should be in full force for the 4 hour round-trip.
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I guess I should have put a space between the 8 in 2008 and the end parenthesis in that second paragraph. Cool-Sunglasses-Man doesn’t belong there. Your automatic emoticons are attacking me.
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I don’t know, Caleb – the year 200 was pretty hysterical!
Man – give me SILENCE in a LONG car trip!! Wow – I’d love it. That’s when all my characters get busy and tell me what they’re going to do next in my current WIP.
Or – and I guess this is another confession of sorts – I whip out the Sandi Patty, Andy Griffith, Dixie Echoes, and Elvis Gospel CDs, and crank up the stereo. I then sing along with my favorites as loud as my squeaky little voice will let me!
Gosh, I think I need a road trip! But who can afford the gas?
Kaye – I’m really enjoying your blog. And Caleb’s a hoot!
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Wait, Andy Griffith is more than just a TV Show? Or are you just talking about that whistling song?
And yeah, the year 200 was pretty awesome. Remember when Judah ha-Nasi compiled the tracts of Mishnah and began the creation of the Talmudic law? I know I do. It was like Christmas for me. Except, you know… before Christmas existed. It was like pre-pre-Christmas. 200 ruled.
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With 3 kiddos, car rides are always fun. NOT. Lately, we have taken to driving at night. We leave late afternoon. Drive for a while (kids are usually ok cause they play their leapster, Nintendo DS, and Gabby just watches them..) have dinner, then turn on some soft sleepy music to get them mall asleep.
THis of course while we are pinching each other to stay awake. They *usually* are good and fall asleep, so if nothing else, at least we don’t have kids screaming “Are we there yet??”
The only problem with this equation is, well, we are driving during OUR sleeping time. My husband can saw logs while I drive, but I am a nervous wreck when he drives, because he is able to fall asleep on the drop of a hat, so it makes me nervous.
About 3-4 in the morning we arrive, pass kiddos off to grandma and grandpa and go sleep in till about noon.
It has become our family tradition. *Yawn* I am sleepy just thinking about it. Our next road trip is later this month, where we will be doing our through the night trip on friday night, spending saturday at a family reunion, and driving back sunday. I gotta be at work Monday a.m. Blah!
WOW, year 200. That is pretty early… I don’t even know what was happening in history in year 200!! Like not even a clue. That’s sad…
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Funny you should mention Audible.com…I discovered that they have the Robin Hood audiobooks read by RICHARD ARMITAGE available!!! I definitely want to download those…and listen to them over and over and over again.
I don’t have any road trips planned (thank goodness, LOL!), but when I’m not listening to music I really like listening to radio dramas (like The Chronicles of Narnia) or old radio shows. I have several “mystery” collections from the ’40s and ’50s and I just love listening to them. Plus it’s nice because each episode is only 20 or 30 minutes long.
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I think the audio books is such a great idea. I know that my parents have used them before on long trips. I couldn’t do it myself, because I am SO EASILY DISTRACTED. I would either have to rewind the book over and over, or I would MISS MY EXIT!!
The only long trip in the car we have taken was on our honeymoon (6 years ago!) from Maine to Pennsylvania. We listened to music, and talked about the wedding! Now that we have a little guy we stay closer to home. Most of my relatives are in easy driving distance, or definitely plane rides away. No middle ground here!
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Back in the good old days, during one of my university years, I used to drive the hour and half drive home to my family and once I fell asleep at the wheel on a major highway. It was during exam time, so not much sleep happening then. Still, that was enough to scare me from driving highway for years and years.
It’s just been as of late that hubby has coaxed me into trying it again. He’s always been the highway designated driver, considering my fear.
When I’m alone I listen to the radio, pray, then listen to the radio some more, pray…
With the family, we usually have a dvd playing and the girls sometimes listen to their MP3 players. When the dvd is on, hubby and I are constantly asking the girls to describe the setting since we can only hear, not see the visual. Great fun!
Pray you’re having a safe journey, Kaye, and that you have wonderful weekend with your parents. Excellent bonding time prayed for you and may relaxation be found too.
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When we were kids, my mom would get YA novels. We still quote from some of these. Another favorite was Mark Twain short stories.
If we were with Grandma, she’d bring old radio plays (as a PP mentioned), especially the Shadow.
On our last road trip, we checked out a short story collection (meh—not what we needed to keep us awake after dark!), old suspense radio plays (but they freak me out so bad I didn’t want to play them for my 2 y/o, and he doesn’t sleep in the car), The War of the Worlds (done with cast members from Star Trek series, so a special treat for DH).
I also brought books (only picture audio books, though) and my laptop and car charger, but my son would never have let me get away with writing where he could see me!
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Well I’m totally new to this blog. I came across it by accident but have enjoyed reading it. I think I’m going to try and enter the 500th blog contest! I identify completely with the books on tape while traveling alone. Time flies and long car rides are no longer dreaded. Love the recommendation for books on tape. Thanks.
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Long trips, short trips, in between trips, when I’m alone, I listen to classical music on the radio. If the family is with me, I punch the Oldies button , otherwise the passengers whine about listening to the geeky music. I don’t think I could listen to an audio book while driving. I’d worry I’d get so involved in the story, I’d end up pasting myself into a tree.
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@Caleb: Yes, Andy Griffith has several gospel CDs! My favorite is “Just As I Am: 30 Favorite Old Time Hymns.” It’s awesome!
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I used to love taking long road trips alone. Don’t get to do that anymore, but they were good times while they happened. Lots of music because it was back in the day before audio books became popular. No road trips or vacations this summer 😦 But I hope you have fun!!! Stay in touch.
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Krista pretty much summed it up, since we too have 3 kids and find ourselves driving at night when they (and us) are more likely to sleep. Hard to stay awake when it’s pitch black and you know everyone with good sense is asleep. But much better than the day trips especially for the 3 yo.
Much as I hate the idea of watching TV in a moving car, those built-in DVD players that are becoming standard now are just the ticket for young kids traveling by car.
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Always I must have Dar Williams, because a) her songs are complex enough that they never get old and b) though my voice is not as good as hers, I can hit all her notes.
I can’t stand audio fiction. I hate boys reading girls and girls reading boys and if it’s a dramatization it’s too dramatic.
A while ago you wrote something about including music in your work. I wonder if you could write any more about that. I’ve never heard anyone else talk about it and I wonder what you’ve learned.
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My DH and I listen to audio books while on long road trips but we’re still old-fashioned enough to use the CD or cassette player (yes, we still have one of those! LOL) in our car. I also listen to audiobooks while walking in the house on days it is too hot or too cold to walk outside. I still prefer holding the book in my hands and sometimes find myself distracted by something in the car and have to rewind or go back a track to re-listen to something, but it does help me get more books in! My DH also has a CD player in his tractor so he listens to many more books than I do, esp. right now in hay season when he can finish a book in a day! He loves John Grisham books but has already listened to all of them. Anyone have any recommendations for similar authors?
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I find when we travel, I’m usually the one reading the book aloud to the rest of the occupants of the van.
We’re not traveling this summer, due to a health issue with a family member, but when I’m tooling around town the radio or CD player is ALWAYS going and I’m almost always singing along with the tunes.
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@Caleb–
I live in the year of I needed a digital device and found the cheapest one I could get.
If you must know specifics, it’s a Sandisk m250 2G MP3 player.
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I can’t imagine the kind of will power it would take to consolidate my music library to 2 GB.
Since that’s not the case for you though, I’m sure you made the right choice. iPod accessories are ridiculously overpriced and the one time I tried to figure out my friend’s Zune I had no idea what was going on.
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I’ve listened to an audiobook once – I can’t pay attention to it that long – so normally I listen to music. If I am flying, I’ll take my portable dvd player with me and watch a movie 🙂
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For road trips it’s always music. I have one audio book that was a gift from my Mom. I have never listened to it. You’ve inspired me to try it out, though. I’m always afraid if I listen while driving I’ll get so caught up in the story, I’ll crash the car!
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I don’t drive, so when I go on a road trip my hands are free and I often take my knitting. I always take music too, but I don’t have an MP3 player so it has to be CDs.
I haven’t gotten into audiobooks for travel, but I love listening to Librivox at home.
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We had a road trip with my four girls nine and under to Washington DC. Luckily they can watch videos and read. My husband listens to books on tape. Not ones I would listen to, so I read. I actually love long road trips because it is the one time I can’t get up and wait on anybody. I read Singers book Reason of Insanity. It is the first book I’ve read of his and I thought it was a page turner. I had 5 books with me. I always bring at least 3 or four for fear I won’t like many of them and they won’t be able to occupy my time.
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we do not have any road trips planned this summer – we are planning a big move. We do, however, usually travel with plenty to occupy the kids. My husband drives, I read and the kids watch DVDs, listen to their ipods OR play their Nintendos. I remember when I got excited if we played travel bingo.
When I used to have a long commute I would listen to audio books. When my commute became significantly shorter I found it distracting and distressing to have to “cut the story short” every morning when I arrived at work.
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