When I was younger, road trips were definitely *not* my idea of a good time. I have painfully vivid memories of my sister and I throwing punches at each other across the middle seat in the back of the car when we were kids and driving down to the South of France, whilst my Mum attempted to mediate from the front. Ahh. Those were the days! ;) But really, who takes a stroppy 13 year old and an irritating 5 year old on a two day car journey and expects them *not* to try and kill each other at least once, right? We actually argued and bickered and fought so hard on that journey that I took a post-holiday holiday when we got back, and went to stay at my Auntie’s house to decompress!

But these days, now that I’m a fully functioning adult and not a hormonal, pre-pubescent walking ball of rage, car journeys are actually enjoyable again! I actually really look forward to the prospect of road trips with Jason- his Dad and Stepmum used to live about three hours North of us and now live an hour and a half South, so we’ve taken a fair few hefty road trips in the past almost-five-years going to visit them both. We bring a big ol’ pile of snackfoods with us into the car, stop off for coffee on the way, and listen to old albums that take us right back to when we first started dating. It’s always a good time! Recently Enterprise got in touch and asked if I’d be up for sharing a few of my road trip essentials here on Cider with Rosie, and since I think Jason and I have become pretty good at road trippin’ over the past few years, I said yes! So here goes!

A comfy jumper ::
Jason and I can never agree on what temperature the car should be- thank goodness for climate control, right?! Having a jumper on hand is always an essential for me, to be worn when it’s frosty, and used as a pillow when it’s not.

Sunglasses ::
Nothing worse than forgetting your sunnies, and having to do the awkward sun visor angling-dance all journey long!

iPhone (to be used as a sat nav, & also iPod) ::
If I happen to be the driver on said road trip (and am sans the human sat nav that is my fiancé) then I need my phone to act as direction-provider throughout the whole journey. My sense of direction is notoriously poor, and my phone has saved me from taking another trip the wrong way round the m25 on more than one occasion. Also, on the odd occasion Jason and I just can’t agree on what CD to listen to (Taylor Swift is pretty divisive for us), I’ll plug some headphones into my phone and settle down to listen to a few chapters of my Harry Potter audiobook whilst we drive. It’s pretty peaceful :)

Approximately 5 million kirby grips ::
Ahh, long hair problems number 851. Long hair + open windows/air conditioning = stressful wispiness. I like pin it all up pretty much the second I get into the car, and so keep a stash of kirby grips in my handbag and in the little side pockets of my car for just such emergencies.

Haribo ::
I like to think Jason and I eat a pretty healthy diet most of the time. We try and get our five a day, you know? But when we’re on a long car journey- the rulebook gets thrown out the window, and it’s game time. I’m talking Haribo, Percy Pigs by the handful (we don’t even eat the ears first! I know!) cheese balls (hello Honey Boo Boo) and sometimes, on the odd occasion, a Krispy Kreme each too! ‘Unsupervised child at a birthday party’ is how I’d describe it, and we’re not even sorry. It’s tradition, okay? ;)

Lip balm & hand cream ::
Air conditioning dries out my skin quick as a flash, so I’m pretty evangelical about keeping lip balm and hand cream on hand to sort things out. Lush’ Honey Trap lip balm has been my favourite for a good couple of years now, and Crabtree + Evelyn’s hand creams are really moisturing and fast-absorbing.

Coffee ::
Grande vanilla lattes times two, please.

A pen ::
It’s never a bad idea to leave home with a pen, right? Right.

And now I want to go on a road trip! It’s our anniversary (five years!) next month, so maybe we should take a little road trip together with Teddy for the day? Enterprise are also being completely awesome, and offering the chance for two people to win a £1000 road trip of their choice! To enter, just snap a photo of your own road trip essentials and use the hashtag #openroadessentials to share it via Instagram and/or Twitter! Enterprise will be featuring the best entries on their competition site, and then will pick two overall winners who’ll get to go on a £1000 road trip! Amazing!

So tell me, what’re your essentials for bringing along on a road trip? Do we share any similar ones?

** This post was sponsored by Enterprise! Thanks for your support!