Momma Told Me: Summer Twists- Road Trip DIY + The Santa Cruz Mystery Spot

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Summer Twists- Road Trip DIY + The Santa Cruz Mystery Spot

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #TwizzlersSummer #CollectiveBias All graphics and photos contained below are copyright Momma Told Me Blog 2015.
Stock up on your #TwizzlersSummer snacks at Walmart- they're the perfect low fat snack for sharing, and they don't melt! #ad
Momma Told Me: Sometimes life gets sticky.

You may have noticed- Summer is here.

We're just breaking into July and I'm already exhausted from all of the adventures we've snapped for the scrapbook. Seriously people, 4200+ photos all sitting on my drive waiting to be edited, and I can't even get to them because I'm too busy preparing for the NEXT Summer adventure in NYC in 2 weeks. As you know 2015 is my year of DOING. Were investing in memories, not mementos, and so far the pay off has been monumental, perhaps even life changing.
As an Aunt, I get to have all the fun without most of the worry. When I heard Sabrina, 12, was going up to spend another Summer with her grandmother, in Oregon, I jumped at the chance for a road trip. After all, flying into LAX was no price difference than flying into the Portland area. Even better, I'd have an excuse to visit my own Momma, just an hour away, in Scappoose. I planned this Summer road-trip for months, down to the hour. And, because I am a very serious, hard core, road tripper, I had several staples on my checklist of staples.
Traveling with a tween in a car for any number of days is ballsy. Along with several cases of bottled water, I was sure to pick up some low fat snack options from Walmart. For me Twizzlers Twists and Twizzlers Pull N Peel snacks go way back in the Summer memories vault. Momma and I used to sneak them into the Summer matinee showings, and we always packed them for the road trips to grandpa's boat in Long Beach. As an adult, there's one big twist about Twizzlers Twists and Twizzlers Pull N Peel- they don't melt. This is something I never appreciated before, but high on my selling points today.
Having a snack that didn't melt in the car was crucial, since my air conditioning happened to go on the fritz just after I poured about $1600 into the car for new brakes and tires (a road trip must.) Driving up the coast temperatures were expected to break 100, and some of my followers know I was blessed enough to have a similar temperature- thanks to my battle with the plague. The last thing we needed, while careening down the PCH, were sticky hands or melting snacks! No joke folks, Twizzlers Twists are right up there on my Road Trip Must Haves with the How To Survive A Sharknado Guide and the Instax Mini 8 Polaroid style camera!
Twizzlers Pull N Peel also helped make our trip more fun, in general. Since I was ever so lucky to get sick just days before we hit the road, I was grumpy and pretty much in poor spirits. It's hard not to smile with a Twizzlers Pull N Peel in your hand....the child in me comes out every time as I pull those delicious Strawberry strands apart to tie knots, make shapes, and generally giggle like a school girl at their wiggles and squiggles. It's the perfect snack to pass the time while waiting for, say, your tour group number to be called at a tourist spot.
One of the first places we stopped in at on our trip up the coast was The Mystery Spot, in Santa Cruz, CA. There are a few similar 'gravitational anomalies' throughout the U.S. but the Mystery Spot is one I remember from my own childhood road trips. Best of all, the tour hasn't changed in over 80 years. As it turns out, it was also the cheapest tour ($7 per head) I invested in this vacation and the one Sabrina still raves about most (go figure.)  For those not familiar, The Mystery Spot is a location nestled in the redwood forests where one can watch water seemingly flow upward, walk at an 40 degree angle, and snap a photo standing on the wall of a wood cabin.
I'll share more about the Mystery Spot in a future post but, for now, I'm going to get back to how we put our own twist on road trips. Remember those amazingly delicious, non melting, low fat snacks I was telling you all about? Well, I had the brilliant idea to find a way to mount them to our car's air vent clip in a one of a kind Twizzlers Twists dispenser. This project coast me about $3, and was so simple, Sabrina (12) made her own after watching me make the prototype.
Make this DIY car vent clip snack holder and stock it full of non melting, low fat snacks- lke Twizzlers Twists from Walmart. It's the perfect Summer Road Trip Essential! #ad
To make your own Twizzlers Twists Car Vent Clip Holder you'll need; a tall narrow plastic container, 12 gauge crafting/floral wire, scissors and washi tape. For the container itself you can use a Command brand bath accessory holder or a travel toothbrush holder. In the end I found I liked the travel toothbrush/toothpaste holder best because it allowed me to seal my treats up when not in use, as it came with a lid.
Begin by cutting piece of crafting/floral wire that exceeds the length of your container by 8 inches when doubled in half. Go ahead and bend your wire in half, evenly, as shown above, for this measurement, this will also serve as your bottom 'hook' for the wire holster.
Next turn the containe rover so that you are looking at the wire structure along the back side. Take one of the wire halves sticking up and bend it at a 45 degree angle, approximately at the middle of your container's height. Wrap this wire around the edge of your container, to the front, and loop it back towards the back. Use your thumb as a guide for spacing on your wire 'loops.'
Repeat this process on the opposite side, ensuring that both halves of wire are arranged on the backside of the container and angled to once again face upwards. At this point you should have a loop on the bottom and both sides of your holster, effectively acting as a cradle to your container. Both, cut, ends of the wire should now be facing straight up, along the back of your container.
Bend each cut end of wire down, in half to create your final hooks. These hooks will be bent inward to act as your method for hanging the holder on your car vent. Gently double the wire ends back over each other to provide a stabilizing structure and trim any excess wire, careful not to leave sharp edges.
Stock up on your #TwizzlersSummer snacks at Walmart- they're the perfect low fat snack for sharing, and they don't melt! #ad
Lastly, the fun part- go crazy layering Washi tape in different colors and patterns to decorate your Twizzlers Twists holder and add a little pizazz to your car. This was Sabrina's favorite part and, I dare say, hers turned out even nicer than mine. In fact, we ended up using hers on the road trip, and I've received many compliments from passengers since. People always chuckle at the beginning, but just one Twizzlers Twists and they realize any car trip is just all the more fun when Twizzlers Twists are on board!
Stock up on your #TwizzlersSummer snacks at Walmart- they're the perfect low fat snack for sharing, and they don't melt! #ad
If you're not sure Twizzlers Twists are for you, but curious to experience the Summer's best complimenting, non melting, snack- explore some of the many flavors and varieties at your local Walmart. My personal favorites are the Twizzlers Strawberry Lemon Twists and the Twizzlers Rainbow Twists, but Sabrina argues that Twizzlers Cherry Pull N Peel are the best for flavor and fun. I think the kid in all of us could see how playing with one's food will always win that argument! Which of your Summer adventures could be made more delicious wit Twizzlers Twists and Twizzlers Pull N Peel by your side (or on your dash?)

What Daughter Says: Keep Summer sweet with non-melting snack options like Twizzlers Twists, and our DIY car vent clip holder.



13 comments:

  1. Ooooo, Twizzlers are SO a necessity for road trips! I need to plan something like this soon. Love that Mystery Spot photo, there is a place like that in the Dells, loved it!

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  2. I love Twizzlers - I swear I could eat a whole bag by myself. You are just too clever with your holder for the car. I'm glad you are having so much fun this year. Good for you. I do hope you are over the plague

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  3. This is the coolest DIY! And I love me some Twizzlers!

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  4. Neat idea. I love Twizzlers PLUS they're ideal for road trips since (unlike chocolate) they don't melt.
    PS - NYC in 2 weeks - are you going to BlogHer and/or Blogger Bash?

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  5. This is absolutely awesome!!! I love how you're making memories and creating even more fun with Twizzlers candy--the holder is so fun! ~ Client

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  6. The Twizzlers holder has me cracking up because as soon as I saw it, I wanted it for my husband's sunglasses. He always puts them in the visor and they randomly fall on me and scare the crap out of me. However, I am sure Sabrina enjoyed it for the intended use. True Fact: I have never tried any twizzlers except the RED!!

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  7. Twizzlers holder! GENIUS!! I love the idea and might just have to do it for my next road trip. Twizzlers are my favorite, and they are fun to use as straws too. I might have to try some of the others, but I have a feeling nothing will top the strawberry twists. Long favorites of mine.

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  8. I had no idea Twizzlers came in those varieties. I'll have to let my husband know. He loves them!

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  9. Great idea on the cup holder for the candy! A nice project for my kid and makes for less messes in the car, all the snack cups she has outgrown this will be her big girl snack cup :) I love twizzers, but also red vines, I go between the two throughout the year lol. But I do not like chocolate so usually end up buying these, starbursts, or skittles when I want a sweet treat....and end up eating too much! Glad you had fun on your trip it looks like a great time!

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  10. Great idea on the cup holder for the candy! A nice project for my kid and makes for less messes in the car, all the snack cups she has outgrown this will be her big girl snack cup :) I love twizzers, but also red vines, I go between the two throughout the year lol. But I do not like chocolate so usually end up buying these, starbursts, or skittles when I want a sweet treat....and end up eating too much! Glad you had fun on your trip it looks like a great time!

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