October is the best time of year for a road trip. You’re kicking yourself for all the traveling you didn’t do this summer, and it’s the hump month before the holidays. Plus — duh — there’s the weather, which falls into that ideal zone between sweat and shiver. So go. There are leaves to peep, apples to pick, and haystacks to romp in. Just do yourself a favor: Be prepared.

Good Eats
Lazy weekends are made for lazy picnics. Pack a collapsible basket with sandwiches (watercress, apples, and blue cheese on rustic bread or cream cheese and apple slices on walnut bread) and a nice bottle of something seasonal, like Neige Cidre de Glace, a Canadian apple ice wine.

Cool Beats
When it comes to road trips, the journey is the destination. Drag It Up, the new Old 97’s album, is the perfect soundtrack for the passing scenery: part moody introspection, part alt-country rockin’ out.

Warm Feets
‘Tis the season to be toasty — and very, very cute. A stripey pair of socks and an old-school fisherman’s sweater should do the trick.

John Keats
Well, he did dub this the “season of mists and mellow fruitfulness.” Mindless beach reads are so six weeks ago. Sink your teeth into The New Penguin Book of Romantic Poetry for greats (Shelley, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Keats) and lesser-knowns.

Fresh Sheets
Nothing beats a hotel room. But who knows where those sheets have been? Bring your own 600-thread-count pillowcase, spritz it with Santa Maria Novella autumn room fragrance, and turn any room — from the Four Seasons to a Motel 6 — into a slice of home.

Stash Treats
Put it all in the perfect weekend bag, and you’re ready to hit the road.