We are the Griswolds!
Spring has finally arrived! For my family, Spring means Spring Break and Spring Break means road trip! We pile into the car and see the world. To be honest, these have been some of the most rewarding trips we have taken. The first road trip was motivated by going on a ski trip where we put the kids in ski school the entire day and then we would go out with friends (from home) in the evening…barely spending time with our family. By the end of the trip, we were exhausted and needed another vacation. With the road trip, on the other hand, we spend every waking moment together, usually see no one (except friends who live in the city we are visiting), and have hysterical shared memories/adventures. In this week’s Find I give you the tools for the ultimate family road trip!
I presume by now you have chosen a route and destination (If you need some ideas, just email me, I am happy to be of assistance!). The key to a great roadtrip are not only the ultimate stops, but the places in between. The stops are well covered by most guides and travel apps. For the places in between there is Roadtrippers.
Roadtrippers allows you to easily plot your trip on a map and then it will show you things to do on the way. For example, we are now traveling from New York City to Niagara Falls via Stowe, Quebec City, Montreal, Mount Tremblant, and Toronto … yes, I am crazy! The first leg of the trip was to Stowe. Roadtrippers allowed me to plan two stops that I had never done before, Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA and The Mark Twain/Harriet Beecher Stowe Houses in Hartford, CT. These stops were a good balance of interesting (my daughter calls them “learny”) and great photo ops! The app provides information and more importantly rates the stops. This is an invaluable resource for planning your very own road trip!
When you are on the road sometimes you are desperate for a stop, any stop. There may be stretches of highway where there is absolutely nothing to see (Vermont to Quebec for example). Nonetheless, you need to stop for gas, possibly a snack, or god forbid a meal (we are really trying to be healthy!). For those situations you need to know what your options are for the upcoming exits and for that there is RoadAhead. This ingenious little app identifies which highway you are on and tells you what is at the upcoming exits. It will allow you to easily identify critical stops on the RoadAhead including food, gas, ice cream, and more. For example, we were able to find an A&W three exits ahead which had much more novelty (though not much more nutritional value) for us than the Golden Arches!
Now you are an expert road tripper so enjoy the journey (in addition to the destinations), and consider Roadtrippers and RoadAhead Found!