Road trips are a natural part of life for me. Many a time I have trekked the 12-hour ride to Alabama in the family Honda, sometimes with, sometimes without air conditioning. Oftentimes, it can really suck to be stuck in a car hurling 60+ miles per hour on the highway surrounded by cornfields and not being able to stretch your legs. Here are some of my tips for when you have a longgg drive ahead of you:

1. Play A Game

Games are a great way to pass the time. Some of my personal favorites are I Spy, count the cattle, or “how many Christian billboards can you find.”

2. Take Photos

I like to take pictures of the sky or the skylines of the cities we pass through. My favorite pictures are of the Cincinnati skyline and the Ohio River.

3. Visit Dino World… 

…Or any of the other various generic theme parks off of the highway’s rural exits.

4. Read a book…

…For about 5 minutes, or until you realize that it’s impossible to read in a bumpy car.

5. Obsess about the amount of schoolwork you’re missing

This needs no explanation.

6. Make (crude) jokes about the stuff you see along the way

One of my favorite road trips was when we exited the highway to look for someplace to eat. As we were driving down the road, we passed a store with confederate flags covering the storefront. That was when we realized that we weren’t all so hungry after all. We joked to ourselves that the store probably wouldn’t let us use an NAACP discount… or use the bathroom.

7. Gossip

This works better with a group of 3+ travelers. Topics that have come up in the car have been a) the R Kelly case, b) singers and their plastic surgeries, c) institutional racism.

8. Enjoy time with family

A long, boring car ride is the perfect time to bond with family members. If you don’t end up strangling each other over the course of the road trip, you may just grow a little closer.