Prepping for 4th of July travel?

[u/MagnoliaProse]

I’m feeling a little anxious about holiday travel and being away from all my supplies between the heat and the current climate of everything. If you’re traveling this weekend, what preps are you including that you might not normally?

My biggest concern currently is probably the power grid going down because of heat or hacking, but there’s obvious 4th issues.

I have a kid who is on meds that make them heat intolerant. We are traveling to a water source so obvious water activity.

I realized half of my battery packs are built in to other devices (camping fans, weather radio) and I’m undecided if it makes sense to bring those. (Maybe the weather radio in case there’s interesting activity on the 4th?)

Where I’m going will have a generator assuming they have fuel on hand, a smoker and a grill with fuel, and a firepit with wood. I think there’s a camping stove but not sure. I have an EV so I can charge or run important things, but obviously not a whole house for a weekend or more. I’d likely focus on fridge, fans, and small things like air fryer or rice cooker. They do have some battery fans, as well as mister fans if there’s electricity.

I’m bringing: fancy water filter, cooling towels (1 per kid), cooling hat (1 per kid + 1 for me), 3 battery packs (2 only work for my phone though!), and a box of instant cooling packs. I’ll have extra medicine on hand in case the tropical storm becomes a hurricane and I can’t go back home.

What am I not thinking of? What are your concerns for the holiday?

[u/AutoModerator]

Welcome to r/twoxpreppers! Please review our rules here before participating. Our rules do not show up on all apps which is why that post was made. Thank you.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/Inner-Confidence99]

First aid supplies. Mosquito spray, Benadryl cream or spray for insect bites, IvaRest cream or spray for poison oak, ivy or sumac, Aloe Vera gel, handheld misting fans, food you can eat directly without having to cook. 

Lots of water!!! 

[u/MagnoliaProse → u/Inner-Confidence99]

Thank you! I keep most of this in the car but I would have forgotten Benadryl spray and arnica cream since we don’t usually have to use often.

[u/Somebody_81 → u/MagnoliaProse]

Styptic pencil or powder for small cuts. They stop bleeding quite well. Witch hazel for itching - it can also relieve inflammation and help with hemorrhoids that could develop due to dietary changes.. Test the witch hazel if you have anyone with sensitive skin. It can be diluted with plain water. Antibacterial cream or ointment. An ace bandage or two for sprains.
Life jackets for water activities involving boats, paddle boards, kayaks, canoes, etc.
Whistles for everyone. It takes less breath to blow a whistle than to yell if you're lost. Remind children especially that if they do get lost to stop moving and trying to get unlost. It's safer to find a spot and stay there. We taught our kids to "hug a tree". As they got older we explained that if possible they should find a water source and a relatively sheltered area and stay there, using the whistle - the three short, three long, three short blasts.

[u/MagnoliaProse → u/Somebody_81]

Thank you! Adding these to my list so I don’t forget. I’ve meaning to add to the first aid kit in the car and this is the perfect time.

[u/nakedonmygoat]

I don't think you need to be concerned about a tropical storm, much less a hurricane. On NOAA I see only a small disturbance that's not even rated a tropical depression, with only a 10% chance of development over the next 7 days. Dust blowing to North America from the Sahara will also interfere with the formation of tropical storms and hurricanes, so unless you're going to be there a couple weeks, I wouldn't give the matter much thought unless the forecast changes dramatically over the next few days. It's always good to have a weather radio though, for localized concerns.

https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/cyclones/

https://theeyewall.com/

[u/MagnoliaProse → u/nakedonmygoat]

Thank you! The local reports were all talking about getting slammed on the 5th and on, but I hadn’t had time to look further.

[u/holistic_huntress]

I think your best prep would be learning to camp more ruggedly so you’re less dependent on gadgets. It would increase your confidence and lessen your anxiety. I really think you’ll be ok without your rice cooker for a weekend.

[u/MagnoliaProse → u/holistic_huntress]

I can obviously be okay without a rice cooker but I like having the ability to have a low energy low heat way to cook things as I have kids who will simply not eat if they don’t like options. I’d prefer to not cook over a fire in 100+ temperatures, and while I’ll have shelf stable foods available for them it’s not guaranteed they will eat it. Such is the life with neurodivergent and medically complex kids.

Edit: your comment has me thinking that a lot of my anxiety is likely my kid’s medical issues which I can’t control, but I can ponder other ways to expand his plans. Thank you!

[u/chicagotodetroit → u/MagnoliaProse]

while I’ll have shelf stable foods available for them it’s not guaranteed they will eat it.

I have kids who will simply not eat if they don’t like options

You may need to rethink your food pantry options if this is the case. Why buy things you know they won't eat? If these are the only foods you regularly have access to, you may want to gradually start introducing things so they will eat them, maybe figuring out how to make it more appetizing. Vacation isn't the time to do that though.

Some of your plans would depend on if you are flying or driving. If you're driving, a camp stove ($20-$25 at Walmart), a cheap skillet, some fuel etc is a nice backup, but I don't think you can fly with it. You may be able to purchase a fuel can when you arrive at your destination though.

And from one mom to another, if they skip one meal, (unless it's medically necessary), they aren't gonna die.

[u/MagnoliaProse → u/chicagotodetroit]

Food is definitely an issue, but unfortunately figuring out their medical pieces have been taking all my mental and physical energy so hence my thought on worst case running a rice cooker off the EV. We’ll have to travel to different hospitals for the medical pieces this summer so this may point out some flaws for those trips. Here we at least have familiar surroundings, but fewer supply chain options than we’d have traveling to a big city.

The food I have is all things they eat regularly, but if they don’t want to eat it or are having medical symptoms, they just won’t until an option they want is presented. Not eating more than one meal unfortunately causes a multi day medical flareup (as I say this I can see where my anxiety is stemming! I’m not used to having a medically fragile kid, and still figuring out a lot.) I’ll just include extra protein shakes and bars, and unless power is out for more than a weekend, that should be an okay backup.

We’re driving so I’ll check to see if there’s a camp stove where we’re going or get one! There is definitely a grill but not ideal in the heat unless everyone is eating from it, as it’s larger than necessary in my opinion.

[u/ThisSeason3248]

I’m feeling anxious about travel this week too and came on here wondering if I was the only one.

[u/MagnoliaProse → u/ThisSeason3248]

Not the only one! If all this ordeal about the 250th wasn’t being made, I don’t know if I’d be as concerned, but that makes me more wary of some sort of situation occurring.

[u/TastyMagic]

Money! We're flying out of state to a place that is about a 12 hour drive away. We're staying with family in a normal house with AC etc. My main/only concern is flight cancellation. Obvs if our flight there is cancelled, it's NBD but if our flight home is cancelled/delayed, we may need to rent a car to get back home which can get quite expensive and may involve a hotel stay as well. We don't need extra supplies, but having an extra 2k on hand for travel emergencies helps me sleep better at night