That would be Elmer Long’s amazing art installation – Bottle Tree Ranch. He created this folk art masterpiece from hundreds of empty bottles found in the desert that he inherited from his late father. Not wanting to discard the collection, he began to utilize it, by turning it into the leaves on “trees” created from recycled scrap metal poles, railroad ties and more.

Kids will be enchanted and adults will love the artistry of Bottle Tree Ranch just off Rte. 66 in the Mojave

Usually on site, Elmer is friendly to a fault, and took us on a tour of his forest of folk art, pointing out his most recent pieces and explaining the elements that went into its creation. Along with the bottle trees, you’ll find quirky trinkets and toys and signs throughout; 1950′s era upbeat rock and roll plays on speakers, and Elmer offers water to visitors parched in the desert heat. At two acres plus, Elmer’s ranch includes his workshop, where he’s happy to smooth out pieces of colored glass and give them to kids who request them.

We easily spent over an hour strolling among the bottle trees, sunlight making rainbows through this magical world. Along with the bottles, kids will love playing a game of “I Spy” for a merry-go-round horse, old rifles, even a traffic signal. From sun bleached bones to a model train that was once Elmer’s as a child, Elmer finds castaway objects and creates a home for them. His elaborate creation is reminiscent of the elaborate sculptures of Watts Towers in LA or the whimsical architecture of Nit Wit Ridge in Cambria – hit all three to thoroughly show your child folk art at its finest.

Unlike the itinerant creators of these other artistic finds, Elmer was an aviation engineer and his attention to detail and planning gleaned from his long career shows. He shared his love of the desert with his dad who started his collection by cleaning man made trash from the desert he cherished. Although thousands of visitors a year show up, when we were there about ten others shared the charming space, allowing us plenty of leisure to chat with this awesome artist and let the kids wander the roadside attraction.

Planes in Mojave

On the way back from Bottle Tree, we swung a half hour out of our way to the town of Mojave and the Mojave Airport, to take a van tour of the facility where space rockets are now being built and derelict aircraft are used for film and television shoots before being sold, piece by piece, or destined for the scrap heap. We’ve long seen the planes from the road on our way to Death Valley or Bakersfield, the plane parking lot is sometimes crowded with aircraft, other times less busy.

Tour the planes and watch small craft land at Mojave airport

This trip it was at about medium capacity, and the short tour is well worth the time. It’s sad but wonderful to see some of these planes, with logos and colors long forgotten or faded in the desert sun. Security reasons forbid the taking of photos on this forty minute tour, but the vision of these aircraft stoically awaiting their fate will stay with you nonetheless. The current Mojave Air and Space Port site says tours are only available on “Plane Crazy Saturdays” at present, so be sure and check before you go. When we went this summer, tours were daily except Sunday at 3 pm and the price was a reasonable $8 per person, with small children free.

By now you must be hungry, and the place for a generous breakfast or lunch is right there at the airport, where you can sit in a booth and watch small planes soar in and out of the airport. The Voyager restaurant has great views and a menu that’s flight-inspired. We enjoyed an order of “The Hangar Queen”omelet and “Joudis Crash Landing,” a poached egg take on Huevos Rancheros.

Vasquez Rocks

Cruising on down Highway 14 back into the LA basin, be sure to add in a stop at nature’s own Star Trek set, Vasquez Rocks, just outside of Santa Clarita. These red rocks are easy to access and climb, even for small children – parents, hold their hands – with simple sandy trails to stretch everyone’s legs before hitting the traffic jam back into LA proper. These stunning, other-wordly rock formations were created from San Andreas Fault action, and are named for Tiburcio Vásquez, a California bandits, who hid out among them to avoid capture for his crimes.

Vasquez Rocks are highway close and easy to climb.

We love strolling up the ribbed rock face of an angular horizontal rock offering a gaze across the desert at cacti and Joshua Trees and the highway beyond. Kids feel like they’re climbing a great distance, when actually it’s an easy, long rock ramp up from the sandy parking lot. Nature trails are flat, simple loops which will take you close to those cacti and other desert growth.

Bottle Trees, derelict planes, and a bandit’s outer-space-worthy rock hideout – a pretty cool day trip for everyone in the family.

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art – Bentonville

There were also blue hill vistas and sparkling streams and the corporate headquarters of Wal- Mart, which is either corporate evil incarnate or a great place to find bargains, depending on your point of view. Regardless of your POV, the museum is the project of the Wal Mart founder’s daughter, a prodigious collector of art and she knows her way around some of the best in American images.

The museum is huge and designed with spare elegance by famous architect Moshe Safdie. Its spacious beauty and wonderful collection offers an admission fee that’s just right for families: free.

Exterior of the awesome Crystal Bridges American Art Museum

The setting is lovely, too. The gallery space is contained in over a hundred acres of forest land and gardens, and the kids will love the ability to leave the buildings and stroll through quiet walking trails lined with lovely trees. The trails also lead into the town of Bentonville itself, making for an environmentally friendly museum visit by saving on transportation costs. We took the Crystal Bridges Trail from town, which led us through flower filled Compton Gardens, and allowed a stop at an overlook which let us view the museum’s excellent architecture from a perfect distance.

In a break from exploring the art itself, the kids and I enjoyed the Tulip Tree Trail, a loop that reconnects with the museum’s main lobby. On this route the kids will love the Tulip Tree Shelter, created from a model of the Museum’s pine-beamed roof structure. There’s also a natural spring here that feeds the museums pools.

Inside, we saw works by Rockwell and Sargent, luminous modern art, beautifully realized late 19th century pieces by artists I’d never heard of before. The museum’s galleries include collections that range from the colonial era, to post-Civil War, early and late twentieth-century works, and current artists. Our favorite exhibit was called Wonder World, an exhibit of thirty some contemporary works with thematic nature and illusion organization.

The museum really does offer a great collection, and the kids also enjoyed a thirty minute gallery tour for kids which is offered as part of a home-school-art appreciation program several times a year. We were lucky to be able to participate.

Other Bentonville Attractions

A full afternoon is definitely necessary to experience the museum and its grounds, but what else is there to do in Bentonville?

The original Wal Mart

In town there’s the somewhat archaic Wal Mart Visitor Center contained in the building on the town’s main square that once housed the original Wal Mart precursor, Walton’s Five and Dime.

It’s an interesting curiosity, and well worth checking out for an hour. Although it’s told entirely from the Walton point of view, a short film is also interesting to see how this huge conglomerate began. The kids liked seeing Sam’s old pick-up truck, too. And like the art museum, the visitor center is a free attraction.

Accomodations and Dining

While a sleek modern new hotel will be open in 2013, The Museum Hotel downtown wasn’t open for our visit, so we opted instead for the Simmons Suites hotel, easily accessible to both downtown and the museum, spacious, and inexpensive. Absolutely fine for a visiting family on a road trip.

The Simmons Suites hotel

We dined just off one of the paths from the museum, in the town square at Table Mesa Bistro. The square itself is charming to walk around and window shop, and the restaurant far exceeded our expectations both in terms of diet choices and eclectic presentation. Excellent, Mexican/organic dishes, plenty of vegetarian options, a charming view of the square itself, and crisp and delicious sweet potato fries. We liked the tapas menu – as a family, we like tasting small dishes and sharing more than selecting one main entree, and are always happy to find a restaurant that caters to this style of dining.

Concluding our Visit

Before heading back on our original travel itinerary, we stopped at another museum also free: The Museum of Native American History. Inside we found a fascinating look at indigenous tribes in the region, filled with tools and arrowheads, pottery and headdresses. My kids learned a great deal about the making of arrowheads, or stone points, as they are called here.

So if you’ve never thought of Bentonville before, hope you’re thinking of it now.

Driving offers many rewards for kids, including sights like these - Florida's old route A1A.

Like any other form of travel, road trips take time and planning, especially with the children in tow. I’ve always preferred road trips to almost any other form of vacation transportation, although time constraints versus long distances or overseas trips obviously preclude them. For us, the advantage is being able to tote a lot of your own food, which saves money and keeps the family healthy. It also means being able to stop en route from point A to point B and sightsee along the way. And it means being able to take that bottle of shampoo or baby formula along without worrying about TSA regulations this week.

Still, I know what you’re thinking: small children get restive enough on a three hour flight, how will they be after eight hours on the road, or eight days of road travel. So, with holiday season meaning travel time for many of us, let’s take a look at how you can make road trips easier on your kids and your pocketbook.

Our Road Travel Tips

First of all, car travel means you’re spending a longer time getting some place than if you just hopped on a plane. But if you factor in TSA screening, luggage check in, and tarmac delays, maybe flying isn’t quite as simple as you thought. On top of that, there’s luggage fees and the simple equation that if there’s more than two of you traveling, a tank of gas may still be the cheapest way to go versus four or five airline tickets. However, longer trips may mean you’re staying over night to get to your final destination. So, of course, factor in the cost of an extra overnight stay – and make that stay count. Don’t just pick any old highway stop – find something that will be interesting for the kids to do nearby, even if its a miniature golf course instead of a grand museum or landmark.

Older children will enjoy a road trip more if they feel they can help shape the itinerary. So let them help with the research – whether it’s through picture books or over the Internet, or an idea they’ve gotten from a movie or television. Depending on their ages, let your children come up with ideas of things they’d like to see or places they’d like to stay.

And, be sure to include their interests. If your kids love pizza, find an authentic Italian restaurant not just a take out place near a motel. If they love sports, think about a local minor league, college, or even a high school game along the way. If you’re searching for an historic spot, ask your children what they like best – an outdoor monument, an art museum, seeing dinosaur bones – and look for something that will fit their top choices when you pick a route, an overnight stop, or plan a total car trip vacation.

Crossing Texas border on the way to Amarillo!

Sometimes you’ll find things along the way that just call out for an unplanned stop, so if you can, be flexible. Build in a few extra hours of daylight fun time, even if you end up using them at the hotel pool when you arrive. Having these extra hours were particularly precious to us when we took a long drive from Fort Smith, Arkansas to Amarillo, Texas. We were able to stop at the wonderfully informative displays at the Route 66 Museum, and at a huge roadside installation of religious art both along the I-40, simply because we had the hours to “splurge” on these treats. Driving on backgrounds between Los Angeles and San Francisco we’ve found everything from a butterfly migration grove to a diner in an old train car and farm stands with delicious spiced peas as a snack. If you find a place you like, or that looks like you’d like it, just stop and check it out. You’re not wasting time, you’re enjoying it. After all, it’s not like you have a plane to catch, right?

A trip to Vegas detour: Death Valley - nice view!

Next, be sure to keep the car you’re traveling in comfortable and clean. Always clear out any food packaging or empty cups at every stop; keep tissues, wet wipes, pillows, and throw blankets handy. Older kids should be responsible for their own belongings in backpacks or satchels – and make sure they’ve brought along their “necessities” whether those are i-Pods or favorite stuffed animals.

You should also have some road games and informational material handy. When you get your own maps, get one for the kids to look at, too, so they can see where you are. Keep guide books handy, and read from them when you make a stop.

You’ll also keep the kids from getting bored if you involve them in your actual traveling. Let them help read maps, follow a GPS, or read driving instructions aloud. The youngest travelers can be kept busy with simple but still fun games from counting car colors to looking for flowers and fauna, fast food restaurants, or landmarks along the road.

Also, be sure to allot plenty of time for simple stops – bathroom breaks, gas station fill-ups, and even road-side picture taking. All these stops will keep the kids comfortable and allow them to stretch their legs.

On the other hand, be sure that you’re reaching the goals you need to make during a travel day. If you need to be, or want to be, off the road by dark, plan accordingly. If you know there’s a restaurant or grocery store stop you want to make and there are hours that you simply must hit to enjoy a meal, make sure you allow yourself the time to arrive at such a destination. The worst times we’ve had on long drives have come when we’ve ignored the knowledge that the “good” restaurant in the middle of a national park closes for lunch at 2 pm, and with the next eaterie miles away, we spent hours subsisting on trail mix.

Lastly, if your children are elementary age or older, and taking the road instead of to the skies means missing some school, contact their teachers. In many cases we were able to create a journal or a report on an historic sight along the way to make up for other missed work. Or you may be able to get a homework packet to take along. Happy driving!

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Discovering Roadside Attractions
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San Mateo Coast Road Trip: Santa Cruz to San Francisco

We couldn't resist picking up a license plate

Sometimes I think I was born in the wrong era. Although you would never know it to look at me, I would have been a great child of the 1950s. I love poodle skirts and saddle shoes, malt shops and car hops, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley. But nothing retro makes me happier than a good old-fashioned road trip. Interstates are fine for getting from point A to point B in a hurry, but to me, roadside Americana is where it’s at. So naturally, I was thrilled to discover that portions of Route 66 are still drivable.

What Is Route 66?

The roadside attractions along Route 66 are fun

One of America’s earliest highways, Route 66 opened in 1926. Sometimes known as the Mother Road, the 2,448 mile road connected Chicago to Los Angeles. It played a major role in the Dust Bowl migration of the 1930s, but tourism forever linked Route 66 with the car culture of the 1950s and 1960s.

Passing directly through major tourist stops and tiny towns, the road gave birth to a new form of tourism–the roadside attraction. Giant concrete tepees, gemstone shops, oversized advertising icons, live animal exhibits…the race was on to develop bigger and better attractions to lure passing motorists and their precious discretionary dollars. Route 66 has even been credited with the proliferation of the fast food industry–in the newly mobile car culture, travelers didn’t always want to take time for a full sit-down meal. From the first McDonald’s to the first drive-through, much of what we now take for granted was developed along Route 66.

Route 66 Today

Portions of Route 66 are now designated historic places

Ironically, Route 66 was largely killed by the same thing that made it an icon–progress. By the mid-1950s, the new car culture had created another new phenomenon–traffic. In 1956, President Dwight Eisenhower signed the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act, authorizing funding for the construction of 41,000 miles of interstate highways over the next 20 years. Gradually portions of Route 66 were swallowed up or bypassed by the new interstates.

Though much of it was already gone, Route 66 was officially decommissioned in 1985. But historic associations banded together to preserve what was left. In 1999, President Bill Clinton signed the National Route 66 Preservation Bill, which provided $10 million in matching grants for historic preservation along the route. Portions of the highway are designated state or local historic places, and most of the remaining route is marked with Historic Route 66 signs.

Our Experience

Williams, Arizona blends Old West flair with small-town kitsch

Dad and I got our first glimpse of Route 66 in Williams, Arizona. Home of the Grand Canyon Railway, the city of Williams was everything I expected an old Route 66 town to be. Kitschy shops and 1950s-style diners served as the backdrop for nightly Old West gunfights. The tiny town was warm, welcoming and filled with roadside fun. A day in nearby Flagstaff taught us that Williams is not the only place that celebrates its status as an old Route 66 town.

Leaving Williams, our goal was to drive as much of Route 66 as possible to Kingman, in extreme western Arizona. The route continues a bit further to Oatman, Arizona and then south to Toprock, Arizona, but we were warned that the hairpin turns and steep mountain grades were not appropriate for our RV.

Today parts of Route 66 are nearly deserted

We had to merge onto I-40 just outside Williams, but we took the first exit that mentioned Route 66 on the interstate sign. This took us to Ash Fork, Arizona. As it turns out, Ash Fork is a terrific little town with a great roadside museum, but its segment of Route 66 dead-ends just past the museum. So we picked up a Route 66 guide and made a U-turn (quite a feat when pulling a 27-foot travel trailer!) back to the interstate.

We exited again at Seligman, Arizona. This is the beginning of the longest remaining section of Route 66, at 160 miles from Seligman to Kingman. The road veers significantly north of the interstate, making it feel as if we had entered a completely different time.

Here the road passes through quiet farmland and billboards are nowhere to be found. But all of a sudden, seemingly out of nowhere, I saw something I thought I would never get to see (that whole being born in the wrong era thing)…Burma Shave signs! I squealed with excitement and grabbed the camera, causing my father, who grew up in the Burma Shave era, to disintegrate into fits of laughter.

Burma Shave

The Burma Shave signs were fun

Introduced in 1925, Burma Shave could have been just another brushless shaving cream if not for a series of gas station signs. A member of the founding Odell family realized that if sequential signs could lure motorists to a particular filling station, they could also convince people to buy a particular product. The cute advertising jingles were divided into five parts and painted onto unassuming roadside signs. A sixth sign read simply “Burma Shave.”

The signs were an instant hit. By the 1930s, they could be found all across the country. Like Route 66 itself, Burma Shave signs became an indelible part of the American car culture. But like all good things, the Burma Shave campaign eventually came to an end. The company was purchased by Phillip Morris in 1963. By this time, the expanding highway system made the small roadside signs impractical, and Phillip Morris officially ended the campaign.

Whether the signs on Route 66 are authentic or recreations I don’t know, but Dad assured me that the jingles were authentic to Burma Shave’s history. Reading the signs was great fun and surprisingly addictive. I definitely see why they were so popular in their heyday.

The Towns

The small towns break up the drive nicely

There were just enough small towns to break up the drive nicely. It was truly like stepping back in time, photographing buildings and random roadside attractions that have changed little since their creation in the first half of the 20th century.

These spots also provide great opportunities to get out of the car and stretch your legs. In places that were bypassed by the interstates, friendly folks wait to welcome you, genuinely excited that you stopped by. In this era of increasingly crowded tourist destinations and impersonal service, it’s worth the trouble to discover America’s small towns, where real hospitality is a way of life.

Santa Cruz is always a fun destination, with its broad beach and kitschy pier and vast boardwalk amusement park. We like to keep the fun going as we head to the urban enticements of San Francisco by taking the San Mateo coastal route – but this drive is fantastic as a day trip or as a short family vacation in its own right.

We love road trips with great views!

So first drive onto Highway 1, also called Cabrillo Highway here. Leaving Santa Cruz, be sure to fill up on gas, because you won’t find a station for another thirty plus miles. You’ll love the untrammeled coast line here. Open the windows and hear the rush of the sea, the lowing of cattle roaming the green fields, and you’ll be enveloped in a beautiful coast line devoid of development, but not as curvy or difficult to drive as the more well known Big Sur coast to the south. You can thank the non-profit group Peninsula Open Space Trust for preserving this stretch of stunning coast line.

If you’re lucky you may see some elephant seals, and you will most certainly see a beautiful lighthouse as your approach Pigeon Point. This is one of the tallest lighthouses along the coast, and welcomed sailors from 1872.

The grounds offer several great picture taking benches with a turbulent sea and wildflowers as background. They also include the Pigeon Point Lighthouse Hostel. If you have a big family and you’re looking for a kitchen, a view, the experience of staying on lighthouse property and a wonderful hot tub – this is the place. The hot tub sits cliff edge right by the sea and is temperate enough to share with toddlers. There are two semi-private suites and one large dorm at the hostel; depending on family size you can even rent the entire facility for a weekend.

You won’t be disappointed by the wild life around Pigeon Point. There are over a hundred different birds that nest or migrate through the area. Grey whales are easy to spot November to May; and just south of the light house there’s the Año Nuevo State Reserve. This is the resting place for what is reportedly the largest sea elephant breeding colony in California.

To the north of Pigeon Point is the quaint town of Pescadero. The small town looks as if it could have been transported from Maine, with its white wooden houses and clapboard church. If you’re visiting in the summer, take a stop outside of town at the Coast Ways Ranch. Buckets provided for the picking of Olallie black berries. Our kids spent many pleasant hours picking and eating the sweet, dark berries.

We love lighthouses and Route One near Santa Cruz, CA has some beautiful sights.

We bought bread and cheese for a picnic to accompany our berry bounty and headed around the twisty curves of old Stage Road, once a stage coach route and now a scenic mile from Pescadero.

Here you’ll find the historic San Gregorio General Store, offering everything for skillets to candles since farmers first arrived in the area around 1889. The kids loved taking a big fat dill pickle from the wooden barrel and browsing the aisles of books and farming supplies. We visited on the weekend and there was live music to dance to out in the dusty courtyard. It’s a community wide event that appeals to all ages. We stayed for “Sweet Home Alabama” and a few Twinkies.

At nearby Butano State Park we enjoyed the redwoods and a few short canyon trails, spotting a few banana slugs – whose slow moving fat yellow bodies fascinated the little ones for an inordinately long period of time – along the way. Leafy ferns and tall, graceful redwoods provide a shady contrast to the sun dazzled coast line.

Moving on toward the coast again and the town of Half Moon Bay you’ll feel yourself slowly acclimating to modernity. This surfers paradise provides great surf viewing and the mighty waves of the famous Mavericks swell. You might enjoy a tour of the James Johnson House, built in 1853. This New England style home is awesomely isolated with a commanding view of the Pacific Ocean. It’s located just to the east of Highway One, slightly south of the city of Half Moon Bay. The house’s lonely profile makes an impressive, stark sight rising up against a back drop of gentle hills, green when rain-refreshed, golden at other times. A good picture spot and another fine place to stretch your legs.

Time for dinner? Try the Italian-Mediterranean fare at Cetrella, where a savory carrot soup and a fritto misto can be paired or shared with steel-head trout. Our kids kept it simple with a filling focaccia appetizer, the delicious bread spread with cheese and fresh herbs.

We spent the night at Best Western in Half Moon Bay, ocean views, commodious doubles, and a reasonable rack rate made it the top choice for us. Next morning, the breakfast buffet provided make your own waffles, too. Then, before heading into San Francisco, we made a stop to watch the fishermen bringing in the catch at Pillar Point Harbor Watching the careful baiting of crab traps was an interesting learning experience. In season you can take whale watching boats from the harbor here.

The approach to San Francisco becomes less scenic as you drive, but it’s still a very pleasant way to enter the city – no freeway rush hour, and the back end of the Sunset district offers many an enjoyable Chinese or Indian restaurant for a quick dining stop en route to your city hotel. Marvel at the road less traveled and then enjoy yourself in a city often traveled to!

We choose the place we stay based on our family needs.

In the past I’ve made some mistakes. I’ve chosen resorts that had family-friendly activities, only to find over crowded pools or kid’s club programs that didn’t fit our schedule. I’ve also picked bed and breakfasts that said they welcomed families, but didn’t welcome them quite as much as we’d imagined. And I’ve picked fascinating, off the beaten track guest houses that included geckos on the ceiling and gecko poop in the beds. You can’t make the perfect choice all the time, but it helps to decide what means the most to you – and find the accommodation that fits most of your travel parameters. 

Family friendly accommodations can be expensive, or a budget can be designed specifically for family travelers, such as Disney resorts or cruises, or can be a comfortable stop in a cultural enclave. 

The first consideration you should make is the location of your stay. If its important to you to be within walking distance of a main attraction, or a view of a specific landmark is what you want in your room choice, then make sure you figure in distances and views. If you don’t care if you stay outside of town or outside the borders of a national park, then you’ll select a different choice. When we were in San Antonio, after a week long road trip to get there we wanted to be able to leave the car in the garage and stroll the River Walk. We wanted a view of the Alamo. And this drove our hotel selection. When we visited Yellowstone National Park, I wanted inexpensive, modern accommodations. That ruled out the elegant in-park offerings and the camp sites and roughing-it style cabins inside park boundaries. When we visited Las Vegas, we wanted to stroll the Strip and bring the kids back to the hotel pool without missing a beat. That eliminated off- Strip hotels. You get the picture. You may want to spend a week at the beach but not mind driving a mile to park by the sand. Or you may want to just climb out of bed and hit the beach. 

Second, you want to consider how much space you’ll need. When it was just me and my toddlers, I needed considerably less space than when it became me, my kids, my kids friends. Even when my children were very small, putting them both in the same bed was often not a great option. Restless sleeper at home? Very restless sleeper in new circumstances. Today we also consider the ability to dine in, in order to save on restaurant bills and stay on a healthy diet, to be very important. So, I may pay more for a suite with a kitchenette, or at least make sure my motel room has a microwave and mini-fridge before I select my accommodation. 

We really enjoyed our stay at an alternative style dwelling in Joshua Tree, CA

Speaking of food, so many chain hotels and motels offer breakfast as a part of the stay. Don’t chose this “cost saving” option until you know what the breakfast actually includes. Is it a donut and a cup of coffee? Not great for the kids, and hardly worth selecting one property over another to obtain. If it’s a full breakfast, are there items your family will actually enjoy? It doesn’t do our primarily vegetarian family much good to have all you can eat bacon and sausage for example. 

And when you’re considering space, do you want a room with a roll away or portable crib, or do you need a sleep sofa or extra bed? And, if you’re looking for rooms with a sleeper sofa, make sure the sofa in that condo you’re renting really, truly folds out – and isn’t just a sofa with a quilt. Been there, done that. 

If you’re not bringing a portable crib from home and you need one, find out if the hotel you’ve chosen provides what your baby needs. We’ve been offered everything from beautiful antique cribs to playpens with a pillow. 

And what about a pool? Well, if it’s cold outside, make sure that pool is indoors. And if there’s a lake or an ocean or a river, do you need a pool at all? Still, pools are a wonderful antidote to a day on the road, or even a day exploring nature or museums or amusement parks. When given an affordable choice, we usually go for the one with a pool. Which brings me to child-friendly activities – do you need them? Will a splash in a pool do? Or do you need water slides and floaties, arts and crafts on the beach, kids exercise classes, snorkeling lessons or kid’s videos screened along with a mac and cheese dinner? Will you be planning a parents’ night out and seeking a babysitting service? 

These are all areas to consider when you select where you’ll stay on your family vacation. But here’s one more consideration: a sense of adventure and memory making. Sometimes taking a choice that might not comfortably include all your needs is the best one after all. A favorite memory of ours is a night in a rustic cabin outside Death Valley National Park. Billed as a ‘resort’ – and that’s another story – this cabin was anything but. I could’ve chosen a park-run motel I knew quite well, but I wanted a more economical, and a less pedestrian experience, and I got it. Still, watching the sunset over the desert from our rough hewn porch and playing charades to flash light when the power went out – that was one of the best memories ever, one we could not have had if I’d gone with the “safe” choice.

Travel is filled with opportunities to blow your diet

Travel is fraught with opportunities to completely blow your family’s diet. Fast food restaurants and greasy spoons beckon hungry road trippers, while many airlines have cut back the in-flight options to stale potato chips or high-sugar candy. The good news is that it is entirely possible to make healthy dining options during your trip. The bad news is that it requires advance planning and organization.

Road Trips

The best way to avoid pigging out on unhealthy food is to eat small, frequent meals. On a road trip, consider packing your own food. Dad and I travel full-time in our RV, and we try to always keep a “car bag” packed. We generally carry individual tuna salad kits, canned meats such as Vienna sausages or sardines, crackers, fresh fruit and a small assortment of cookies and candy. When we remember to pack the cooler, we add yogurt, fruit cups, cheese sticks, hummus and other healthier options.

Packing a picnic puts you in control of your family's dining

One of my favorite childhood road trip traditions was picnicking at roadside rest areas. Before each trip, we splurged on fun foods that we didn’t get every day. At the rest area, my parents would let me buy a soda and some cookies or chips to add to my meal. Instead of sitting still in a restaurant or inhaling burgers in the car, we had some time to run around in the grass and enjoy the sunshine. My favorite stops were always state Welcome Centers, where we picked up maps and tourist brochures or visited the attached museum displays. Now that Dad and I travel full time, we don’t always go the picnic route, but we still try to stop at the Welcome Center every time we cross a state line.

Flights

Airport food has greatly improved in recent years

Last year, Dad and I discovered one of the dirty little secrets of the airline industry–first class still gets amazing food service. We were booked in coach on Alaska Airlines from Anchorage to Denver, but the upgrade fairy decided to smile on us and we were sent to first class. It was an overnight flight, so I didn’t expect much, but we had a never ending supply of hummus, gourmet crackers, trail mix and other treats.

If you, like us, generally fly coach, don’t expect the airline to feed you too well. When we got to Denver, we ran into someone we had met in Alaska. He told us that on his coach class flight on Frontier, he was offered stale potato chips–for a fee. This has been our experience as well across several airlines.

Instead, take nutrition into your own hands by packing some snacks in your carryon bag. Current TSA regulations allow you to carry on food items that are not liquids or gels, and rules surrounding pies and cakes can get tricky. Minimize your hassles by choosing pre-packaged items that are entirely sealed and are of a fully solid consistency.

Alternately, most major airports have dramatically raised the quality of food that is sold airside. Although airport food is pricey, much of it is reasonably healthy. Look for cafés that sell wraps, salads and sandwiches, all of which are easy to carry onto the airplane. You can purchase bottled water airside as well, rather than waiting for flight attendants to come around with drink service.

Cruises

Cruise ships offer a wide range of healthy dining options

Cruise ships are well known for the seemingly limitless array of food choices, almost all of which are included in your fare. Although deep fried, high-fat options are everywhere, cruise lines now offer a plethora of healthier selections. Look for items that are labeled “spa fare” or similar. These healthier choices follow strict guidelines regarding the amount of fat, cholesterol and sodium they can contain. Some cruise lines publish nutritional content labels for their healthier options in the menus, while others do not. Regardless, sticking to spa fare and simpler dishes can drastically reduce your family’s chances of gaining weight on your cruise.

In Town

Scope out the local restaurants when you arrive at your destination

Although you may be able to curb bad habits until you get to your destination, the majority of your vacation meals are eaten once you arrive. Thankfully, both traditional restaurants and museum cafes have gotten on board with healthier solutions.

Shortly after checking into your hotel, take the time to scope out the neighborhood. Familiarize yourself with not only the chain restaurants, but also the mom-and-pops. Knowing where to go for a good home-cooked meal can help you avoid making bad choices out of sheer hunger or exhaustion.

Likewise, if you know you’ll be spending the day at a tourist attraction, check out the café early in the day. This gives you time to study the menu and make arrangements to eat elsewhere if nothing on the menu appeals to you.

Finding Balance

There's nothing wrong with the occasional splurge on a decadent dessert

Ultimately, you are on vacation and you deserve to splurge a bit. If your lodging provides a kitchen, you can prepare some meals yourself. You can also keep healthy snack items close at hand. But don’t go overboard.  Allowing your kids to eat some chicken nuggets, sharing a pizza or even indulging in a decadent dessert won’t totally ruin your family’s diet. Like anything else in life, moderation is the key.

Getting oriented in a new area can be a challenge

Those who are adults today remember the ongoing road trip debate: do we ask for directions or not? It was often portrayed as a competition between men and women, with men refusing to stop and ask. Today that debate, once ongoing fodder for sitcom storylines, seems almost quaint. Now the more relevant question is: should we believe the GPS?

Pros and Cons of GPS 

Only a few years ago, GPS was heralded as the technology that would end the age-old tradition of getting lost. Just type your destination into the unit, and you will receive turn by turn directions both onscreen and helpfully narrated by a friendly computer voice. While GPS certainly has its place, it didn’t take long for hapless users to realize that the GPS doesn’t always have our best interests at heart. 

Your GPS can, at times, be your best friend and your worst enemy

Have you ever put your faith in your GPS only to stop short when you realize it’s guiding you onto a one-way street…in the wrong direction? Or had the unit repeatedly order you to make a U-turn in the middle of a busy highway? The problems are magnified when driving an oversized vehicle such as an RV. The GPS has no way of knowing that your vehicle is too heavy for that tiny bridge or too tall to fit underneath the upcoming overpass. 

On the other hand, GPS can be wonderful at helping us get out of confusing situations. Whether you made a wrong turn or just can’t remember how to get back to the interstate from that lovely café, GPS can be invaluable at walking you through the situation step by step. While solely relying on GPS can be a mistake, so can turning your back on the technology altogether. 

Pros and Cons of Maps 

The RVer's Friend details big-rig friendly services across the US and Canada

Many frequent road trippers still consider maps to be the gold standard. A map allows you to look at all available options and plan out the route that makes sense to you. It also allows you to locate major points of interest and weave them into your overall route without having to plot out each portion of the route separately with the GPS. Even if you rely primarily on your GPS, a map can be extremely useful for those situations in which your GPS insists that you go in a direction that simply doesn’t work. 

However, map reading is an art that not everyone is skilled in. From the time I was very young, I was in charge of the map for our family vacations. Dad was busy driving and, while Mom was quite intelligent and competent in almost every way, she simply didn’t have the knack for finding our current location and direction of travel on the map and narrating where we should turn. If you plan to use maps, have everyone in the family practice reading them well in advance of your trip, and give the job of navigator to the person with the best innate sense of how to handle the map. 

If you travel by RV, consider investing in a trucker atlas and the RVers Friend. Dad and I use both in our full-time RVing lifestyle, and have found them both incredibly helpful. The trucker atlas gives detailed information about weight and height restrictions, bridges and tunnels, and other important data for large vehicles. The RVers Friend, updated each year, provides information on big rig-friendly gas stations and restaurants, campgrounds and other important amenities along highways throughout the United States and Canada. 

Old-Fashioned Common Sense 

Getting there is half the fun, if you know where you're going

Perhaps the best way to navigate a road trip is to use good old-fashioned common sense. Sit down well in advance of your trip and put together a route. You can do this with a paper map or online using MapQuest, Google Maps or a similar program. Consider the time of day you plan to travel, where you plan to stop along the way and your personal driving preferences. Sometimes interstate highways are best, and sometimes the scenic route is a lot more fun. 

On the day of your trip, go ahead and punch your destination into your GPS. If there is a major discrepancy between the route you planned and the one that the GPS suggests, try to figure out why. If you are driving an RV, check your truck atlas to make sure that the roads can handle your vehicle. Working back and forth between the GPS and traditional maps is a bit more time consuming, but can ultimately produce a safer and more efficient route that is best for your family. 

Related Articles:

Discovering Roadside Attractions
Planning Ahead for a Family Trip – Tips and Advice
Staying Connected on the Road: Internet Options for Travelers
Family Travel Planning: Dining and packing for small travelers
Are We There Yet? Keeping Kids Entertained on the Road

Road trips can challenge even the closest family

Since the early days of road trips, kids have asked the same question. “Are we there yet?” Although road trips can be a lot of fun, being stuck in the seat of a car for hours on end can be boring and frustrating for adults and kids alike. Thankfully there are more options today than ever before for entertaining kids on the road.

Car Games

Car games can help pass the time on seemingly endless interstates

Appealing to all ages, from young children to grandparents, old-fashioned car games can keep everyone in a good mood. The Alphabet Game, “I Am Going on a Picnic,” and License Plates are popular choices, although there are literally hundreds of possibilities. Search the internet for some new ideas before your trip.

The Alphabet Game is simple enough for any child that knows his letters, but requires enough attention to keep adults from getting bored. Just search for the letters of the alphabet in order on billboards, road signs and license plates. Those with younger kids may want to play as a group, while older kids often enjoy the thrill of competition. Be sure to set some ground rules to avoid arguments–do signs off in the distance count, or only those directly on the side of the road you are traveling? Is it okay to turn around and find letters on signs facing the opposite direction, or must the sign be facing the car in its current direction of travel? Get everyone on the same page before you begin.

Car games are sometimes too easy in busy downtowns

“I Am Going on a Picnic” encourages creative thinking as well as practicing letters. The first person says “I am going on a picnic and I will take (any item beginning with the letter ‘A’).” The next person repeats the phrase, including the item selected by the first person, and adds something that begins with “B.” Keep this up through the entire alphabet. Again, to prevent arguments, set ground rules. Is a phrase okay, or must the item be described in one word? If someone forgets the chain, can others prompt him?

“License Plates” is a great game to get kids thinking about geography. Designate one person to keep a written list of all the different state license plates that you pass. Everyone is responsible for pointing out new state license plates as they see them. The family goal is to get as many different states as possible.

Reading

Some people are prone to motion sickness and should not read in the car. If this does not apply to your family, however, sharing books is an excellent way to bond while passing the time. My family always shared the reading responsibility, taking turns reading a chapter or two out loud. Choose books that are at a slightly higher reading level than your kids’ current comfort zone, since you are on hand to assist with difficult passages. This is also a great time to share books that are thought-provoking or bring up challenging issues, since those books can spark a family discussion.

DVDs

A DVD player can come in handy

If you have a permanently installed or portable DVD player, movies can be a great way to pass some time. Unless each child has his own player, though, be prepared for conflicts over what to watch. Let the kids take turns watching a movie or bring along only those films that everyone genuinely enjoys. Movies tend to distract kids from seeing what is around them, though, so try to limit the amount of time they spend with DVDs.

Electronic Games

Handheld electronic games are extraordinarily popular, and are an excellent way for kids to stay occupied while in the car. To save your own sanity, consider investing in a good set of headphones or ear buds for each game system. Keep an eye on the amount of time your kids spend with the games, however, as they tend to cut off conversation with the family as well as sightseeing.

Toys

Sometimes the best way to distract a fussy child is to introduce something new. Before the trip, stock up on inexpensive toys at your local dollar store. You can either give each child a small bag of toys at the beginning of the trip or introduce new toys periodically throughout the day. Make sure that whatever you select is easy to use while strapped into a seat and is not messy or fragile.

Snacks

Snacks are always a welcome diversion

In some parts of the country, there may be long distances between highway exits. Food costs tend to skyrocket when you are unprepared, as arriving at a fast food restaurant starving generally leads to irresponsible dining. Stave off both boredom and hunger by packing some fun but reasonably healthy snacks in the car. If you have a cooler, yogurt, string cheese, pudding and fruit cups are great choices. Crackers, dry cereal and fresh fruit work well in a shopping bag. Don’t forget about drinks, and consider throwing in some fun foods as well. Cookies, chips and candy are all available in individually packed containers, which can help prevent overeating.

Rest Stops

Sometimes a quick rest stop can put everyone in a better mood

With smaller bladders, lower frustration tolerance and more energy than most adults, kids need more frequent breaks. If you are having trouble distracting the kids and everyone is feeling cranky, pull off at the next rest area. Sometimes just getting out of the car and running around for 10 or 15 minutes can put everyone in a better frame of mind. Although you may need to adjust your schedule a bit, maintaining peace is ultimately the most important.

Traveling with kids requires patience and flexibility. Packing your family into a car for several hours or days will spark arguments and frustration. With advance planning and a willingness to go with the flow, however, you may find that getting there is truly half the fun.

No internet option is perfect for all travelers

Anyone who is an adult today can remember when staying connected during a trip meant an occasional phone call to the office and postcards to friends and relatives. Today, however, we live in an always-on internet world. Disconnecting for a week or more can be impractical or simply impossible. While there is no magical solution that works well in every situation, a variety of internet solutions are available at a reasonable cost.

Wi-Fi

Most hotels and many RV parks offer Wi-Fi connectivity

Wi-Fi, or wireless internet, has been available since the mid to late 1990s. At that time, hardware was expensive, service was slow, and hotspots were tough to find. In the early 2000s, technology improved to the point that Wi-Fi became a sort of de facto standard for internet on the road. Today virtually all new laptop computers are sold with a Wi-Fi card. Most hotels and many campgrounds offer some form of free or paid Wi-Fi access. A few major cities offer Wi-Fi blanketing, in which the downtown district or even the entire city provides Wi-Fi connectivity.

There are several standards representing the evolution of Wi-Fi technology. Newer standards, such as 802.11n, are backwards-compatible with older standards. This allows you to purchase a new computer with an up-to-date Wi-Fi card and still connect to older networks. However, your speed and the range at which you can get a signal may be lower on an older network.

Some places heavily advertise their Wi-Fi networks

Wi-Fi is a terrific option for travelers who only stay in locations that provide it and do not need connectivity while going down the road. Increasingly, fast-food and casual restaurants provide free Wi-Fi for their customers, allowing you to pull off the road for a few minutes to use the internet. Wi-Fi signal ranges are quite limited, so you may need to take your computer inside the restaurant rather than tapping into the signal from the parking lot.

Wi-Fi also works well when traveling internationally. Two years ago, we were on an Eastern Caribbean cruise. Shipboard internet is available on most cruise lines, but is frightfully expensive. Instead, I opted to work while in port. In St. Maarten, we did a shortened version of the America’s Cup regatta. After the race, we took a water taxi to downtown, where I slipped into the local library. After figuring out how to use the French keyboard, I was able to work for about an hour at no charge, meeting my deadline. We then re-boarded the water taxi with enough time left to do some shopping before the ship departed.

The biggest limitation on Wi-Fi is availability. We live full-time in an RV and often camp in state or federal parks, which do not offer Wi-Fi connectivity. We also drive for long periods, providing me an excellent opportunity to work in the car. So we decided that we need a more permanent solution for our internet needs.

Smart Phones

New cell phones provide internet access, but the usefulness may be limited

Remember when cell phones only made telephone calls? I recently purchased my first Android phone, which provides full internet access and hundreds of productivity applications. My cell plan offers unlimited data usage, but only when connecting directly from the phone.

I have found that my phone is sufficient for responding to email, taking notes and performing limited research, but between the screen size and the touch screen keyboard, I cannot write a full article on it. However, if your work needs primarily involve staying in touch and receiving emails, a smart phone might work for you.

My phone also offers the option to create a wireless hotspot at an additional monthly fee. As a hotspot, my phone will allow five different devices to connect to the internet. The major drawback is that the speed of connectivity is based on the speed of the phone. If we happen to be in an area with a strong signal, that’s great. If not, then we could experience speeds similar to dialup or worse. When using the hotspot function, I am limited to 5 gigabytes of data per month, like most AirCard solutions.

AirCards

The Sprint Overdrive is a hybrid 3G/4G device

AirCards have gone in and out of favor since their debut in the early 2000s. An AirCard, also known as a mobile broadband card, allows you to connect your computer to a cellular network. The current iteration is known as 3G, or third generation. Fourth generation, or 4G, service promises speeds resembling traditional broadband, but is only available in specific major cities.

You must purchase both the AirCard and a monthly data plan. Some carriers, including Sprint and Clear, offer unlimited data for a single monthly fee on the 4G network. Others, such as Verizon, have monthly data caps on 4G. All carriers currently limit 3G access to 5 gigabytes per month.

The Virgin Mifi will have a 5 gigabyte data cap beginning Feb 2011

Virgin Broadband2Go made a huge splash in late 2010 when the company announced that it was offering truly unlimited (no cap) 3G on a no-contract pre-paid basis for $40 per month. Unfortunately that offer was short-lived. Virgin announced last week that in February, it will begin capping data usage at 5 gigabytes per month. Some carriers, such as Virgin, slow down users’ speed when they exceed the limit. Others, such as Sprint, charge users a per-megabyte fee for excess usage.

To put the data cap in perspective, we had a Sprint Overdrive for several months. The Overdrive is a 3G/4G hybrid device that automatically connects to 4G when it is available, and 3G the rest of the time. In the year that we had the Overdrive, we were only in a 4G area once, for a few minutes. So we were subject to the 3G data cap every month. We had two computers connected to the device and were careful to avoid watching streaming video or listening to music. We turned off our automatic updates, and used settings in our browsers to prevent videos from automatically loading. Despite these precautions, we exceeded our usage twice, both at a significant cost.

The major advantage to mobile broadband is the ability to use the service while traveling down the road. Dad usually drives, and I am able to settle back in my seat and write articles as we go. The air card works about as well as a cell phone–sometimes the signal drops when we enter a remote area, and the speed varies according to our distance from a cell tower. However, I have successfully connected from deep within a state park.

Satellite Internet

Satellite internet is currently the most expensive but most reliable long-term mobile solution

Satellite internet is the most expensive but most reliable option for long-term travelers. If you have an RV or house boat, you can have a dish permanently mounted, preventing the need to set it up and tear it down each time. Some systems also offer automatic pointing, saving you time in determining the proper coordinates.

The initial cost outlay is significant for a permanently mounted system, ranging from $3,000 to more than $20,000. Monthly fees range from $40 per month for a consumer-grade plan with a daily download cap of 200 megabytes to nearly $1000 per month for a commercial-grade plan with no download caps.

Due to price, we have decided not to invest in portable satellite internet at this time. We currently use the Virgin Broadband2Go mobile broadband service. Once the 5 gigabyte data limit kicks in next month, we may weigh our options yet again. The price of satellite equipment has fallen dramatically in the past five years, and we hope that it will continue to fall. Until and unless that happens, however, we will continue to use a mix of mobile broadband and Wi-Fi.