Roadtrip - Packing List 101

 My updated Roadtrip - Packing List 101. Which is different from Camping or Theme Park or Air-travel. These are essential items. You anyway need other regular use stuff.

Factors for this list:

1. Breakfast, lunch & snacks could be covered by many drive-throughs. But one meal needs to be home-cooked. Its not just financial, it's also gut-driven decision.
2. Meals in the Park - So if you are in a city or even village, you can step out to buy some lunch. Even that takes away 2-3 hours sometimes. But if you are going to park, there is no other option but to pack your lunch. There is no question of skipping it, coz you need to consider how long you can suffer, till you breakdown. I mean you will have to stay in the park till nightfall at worst case. And stepping out 50 miles for a meal is not worth it.
3. Cooler - to store yogurt cups, frozen peas or frozen parathas
4. Pack or shop what you left behind. Not all states have frequency of Targets & Walmart as your state. You might find local grocery stores for the staple items. But it could be few & far in between. Until then rely on gas-stations & their inventory.
5. Overnight bag - so packing might involve separate bags for each family member. But if you are going to move from hotel to hotel for night-stays, you need a overnight bag. Be flexible to move stuff around to one bag with only overnight supplies. That will reduce the headache of lugging multiple luggage to the room after a tired day of driving and getting them back to car again next morning.
6. Cold weather layering - need the hoodies & winter jackets. No matter how south, and which month; it's gonna be windy or cold and we end up needing some of those.

Clothing

1. Winter Jackets - coz no matter which month of the year and any corner of the country - its going to be cold or windy at best.
2. Gloves - for the same above reason.
3. Hoodies - coz maybe its not bitter cold, but its still cold.
4. Socks - you need clean ones after wading through sand.
5. Swim bag with all the paraphernalia - to utilize the hotel pool

Grocery/Ingredients list

1. Rice - count the cups based on people & nights to feed. And add more cups to that. 
2. Dal (Moong/Toor)
3. Pickle bottle
4. Turmeric, Chilli powder & Salt in zip-locks
5. Jeera in ziplock
6. Ghee / oil - small bottle
7. MTR Puliyogyre paste
8. MTR Bisibelebath paste
9. Maggi
10. Fruits, bread, jams, chips - shop along the way as you need.
11. Yogurt - shop along the way as you need.
12. Crate of water bottles - buy more every gas station

Cooking & Serving kit

1. Rice cooker
2. InstaPot - 3 qt
3. Cooler - small one will do
4. Griddle - lightweight for Paratha. Or can also be bought at the nearest Walmart/Target/etc
5. Paper plates, cups, spoons, forks (for Maggi)
6. Ketchup packets collected every drive-through
7. Tissue roll

Recipes

1. Peas-Rice
2. Dal
3. Frozen Parathas
4. Puliyogyre - White rice (w/ peas) mixed with MTR Puliyogyre paste
5. Bisibelebath - White rice & dal with peas mixed with MTR Bisibelebath paste
6. Maggi
7. PBJ - Peanut Butter Jelly Sandwiches

Toiletries kit or Shaving Kit

1. Nail-cutter - someone in your large party is going to need it someday; for sure.
2. Travel size shampoo, conditioner, soap - coz all hotels can't be trusted to have the right one
3. Medicines - Volini (for leg pain), Disprin (for headaches), Aquapor (for skin)
4. Rest you know

Others

1. Book bag - with book, book-light, pencil-case. A kids joke-book that I took, was a hit for all of us.
2. Neck-pillow - how can it not be part of a car !
3. Marker pen - to add name initials on  the disposable water-bottle cap, so we don't drink each others backwash - argh. And hence we don't discard perfectly good water, because we forgot whose is which. Ofcourse such water can be used to wash hands & such.
4. Scissor or cutter - coz someone need it someday.