In the midst of chaotic work hours and overly booked calendars, we often miss the beauty of spontaneity. While I was home in Arizona during winter break, my four good friends and I spontaneously decided the night before that we were going to take a road trip to Sedona, Arizona and do wine tasting at a quaint little vineyard called Page Springs Cellars. I am sure you can imagine the memories that come with packing four girls into a tiny car with barely any phone service…not to mention our throwback music selection. I created this short video as a recap to our laughter-filled-dance-party-packed-trip.

Here are my top five tips for your next road trip:

Pack Ahead
Have your bags packed and snacks ready for the trip the night before. Waking up at the crack of dawn when it’s still dark out is so much easier when all you have to do is throw your clothes on! Snacks like trail mix, pre-sliced fruits and some crackers will give you variety incase you get hungry throughout the day.

Yo DJ
Put the music guru in charge of being DJ. The time flies by in the car when you have a great selection of music everyone can rock out to. Whether it’s from a CD mix or a custom Spotify playlist, you can’t go wrong with a few hours of karaoke.

Prevent the Hanger
Map out a few spots you have read or researched about to eat, even if you just do your research through Yelp during the car drive. Having a general idea of where you want to eat will prevent the hangry (hungry + angry) side from coming out and allow you for more time to explore.

When in Doubt…
Listen to the locals. If you’re stuck about where to go or what to eat next, ask around and trust what the people around you are recommending. They often know about the hidden gems that get overlooked by tourists.

“Can you send me that?”
Assign one person to start a iCloud Photo Stream so everyone can share their photos of the trip at the end of the day. This will allow you spend less time on your phone and more time relishing in the beauty around you.

Where are you planning your next road trip in 2015?

Love food. Love self. Love life.
Gabriela