10 Take-Alongs for your Labor Day Road Trip
The last days of summer are here, so get on the road for a family final farewell to warm weather. Stock up for your road trip with these 10 take-alongs for comfort and fun.
Hot Seat
Little ones may chill on the “are we there yet” mantra if they are sitting high and comfy on a rad booster, like the Olli in tokidoki pattern ($99). The award-winning cool seat is designed for kids 40 to 120 lbs and built with a comfort cube to eliminate “numb bumb.” Its cover is removable and washable and it features a quick-release strap and carrying strap plus a cup holder. It clicks in to vehicles’ anchor latch system for extra stay-put security. Available in several kid-friendly patterns at major retailers or shop.clekinc.com.
For Your Entertainment Pleasure
Even if you’ve sworn never to make electronics your babysitter, long trips with kids in the car were made for headphones and tablets. The Note Galaxy Note 8 ($349 at Best Buy) is your portal for games, movies, music and ebooks which can be stored on its 16GB internal drive plus it can expand up to 64GB with a microSD card. It comes with a stylus for writing, drawing and doodling on the HD touch screen.
Protect your tablet with an Otterbox case like the Defender Series ($69.95) with an armor-like shell that shields against drops and dust and features an integrated screen cover that guards against scratches and smudges.
Sharing is caring with the Wicked Audio Splitter ($9.99) which allows a second person to to plug in and share music with any pair of headphones or earphones and raise and lower their volumes independently.
Tech for the Trip
For the armchair tourist in all of us, hook up SlingTV ($299) on your home entertainment system before you leave so you can tune into whatever is playing on your home TV from a laptop, tablet or phone. Placeshift your TV and launch the Slingplayer app on your device and control your TV like you were sitting in your living room at home, no additional subscriptions required. It even works internationally and anywhere there is an Internet connection. Available at slingbox.com.
Work, Synch, Play
Even if you must take your work along, you don’t have to lug a laptop. Tote the slim Nokia Lumina 2520 ($499, or $299 with AT&T contract) and its companion keyboard ($149) which features two USB ports and adds up to five hours extra battery life. This quick-charging tablet powers up 80 percent in one hour and then is ready to create and edit Word, Excel and PowerPoint files on the go. Synch your email and calendars with Outlook. And with up to 64GB of expandable memory and OneDrive, you can save your documents and pick up where you left off whenever you want. And with 4G LTE connectivity for a super-fast experience, you can spend more time out and about.
Here Comes the Sun
Don’t let sunburn ruin your last days of summer. Cover up with sun protection that won’t wear off, because you are wearing it. UV Skinz UPF 50+ sunwear for the whole family is fashionable and comfortable in dozens of styles for everyone from baby to mom and dad. Whether snorkeling or surfing, UV Skinz has an outfit for that, from hoodies to aloha print shirts and bucket hats. Available at uvskinz.com.
Bee Prepared
If anyone along on the trip has allergies or special medial needs, pack along needed supplies, like an EpiPen or inhaler, in cute cases by AllerMates ($17.99) that kids don’t mind carrying along. The cool and colorful cartoon designs suit kids tastes, and the insulated cases are free of BPA, phthalates, nickel and latex and contain an emergency contact and medications info card. Available nationwide at CVS, Kmart, Walgreens and allermates.com.
One for the Road
Avoid traffic and hit the road when the roosters crow, but don’t skip the day’s most important meal. Take along liquid breakfast to-go, Naked Juice Protein Zone, a satisfying smoothie that serves up plenty of protein and fiber. Stopping for meal breaks can slow you down, so pack along refreshing nutrition you can drink down, like loaded-with-veggies Naked Juice Green Machine. Take in a meal or snack every 3-4 hours to keep your blood sugar levels balanced and your energy levels soaring, and stay hydrated naturally with Naked Juice Coconut Water, straight from Mother Nature and chock full of electrolytes and available in flavors like pineapple, mango or peach. Available at grocery stores nationwide.
Naturally Refreshing
Stock your cooler for the car or beach and keep that bikini bod year round with stevia-sweetened Zevia, the all-natural alternative to fattening sugary carbonated drinks. Available in 15 flavors, these sparkling refreshers have zero calories and no artificial sweeteners. Available in grocery stores nationwide including Whole Foods, Kroger, Safeway and Target.
