At the risk of sounding like Captain Obvious, knowing where you are going in your car is important.  Here are the options available for driving directions, with pros and cons for each:

Handwritten: Pro: inexpensive, if you have paper (or a napkin), and pen (or crayon, which happens to be the case with me all too often).  Con: who writes anything by hand anymore?  Nobody wants to deal with cramped hands do they?  It sounds silly but I would rather not go somewhere if I have to write the directions down by hand.  Ok not really, but really...this is always a last resort in my world.  Pony up and at least learn to use a printer and the miracle of google maps.  

Google/Yahoo/etc. maps - print out the directions and follow them.  Pro: inexpensive, if you have a printer with ink and an internet connection.  In addition, you get to pretend that internet maps are still cool and cutting edge.  Con: This of course works only if you have a printer, and mine ALWAYS seems to be out of ink.  The whip of printing out directions always seems to happen last second, as the suburban is full of wifery fending off the progeny slowly boiling over into a full blown fight between the two eldest over who gets to sit next to the baby in the remaining middle seat, and who gets confined to the dreaded third row of seclusion.  

Maps on your iphone/blackberry/pda - Pro: these tell you where you are relative to your destination, so if you stay on the path you know where to turn next.  They are most helpful if you have a navigator, so when you get off the beaten path, you don't have to look while driving.  Problem comes when control freaks like me grab the device from their navigators/wives while driving because they don't trust anyone with directions.  Con: while helpful, these aren't really a blessing if you happen to get off the trail.  In order to get back to where you are going, you have to actually look at the map (God forbid!), which of course isn't the end of the world, but is less than optimal if you are driving.  There is also not the smooth and silky voice of a british woman telling you where to turn, which oddly enough, is comforting.  

GPS on your iphone/blackberry/pda - Pro: i've found these to be mostly reliable.  I've driven long distances using my Blackberry GPS.  In addition, if you own a smartphone, which many do today, it often comes included, or at an affordable price.  Con: they are a bit clunky, no other way to say it.  In my case, everytime I needed to make a phone call, it was a dramatic and epic journey to get back to the GPS screen, all while driving, which is double fail.  

Dedicated GPS Device -Pro: Hard to beat this, anyway you slice it.  I drove from North Texas to Yonkers blindly relying on a GPS.  We were delivered safely to the exact location we had entered back in Dallas.  If you get off track, you just listen to your GPS and you will get back on.  It does require a measure of faith, especially when you get into unfamiliar areas with lots of bizarre highways, loops, spurs, streets whose names keep changing, etc., but your GPS won't let you stray off the path too far.  It is also fun to name your GPS.  I call mine Marge.  Con: Cost is pretty high, though pretty affordable for the lower end ones.  They are also thief bait.  When traveling on the road and making many stops, especially overnight, a dedicated GPS is one more thing you need to secure in your car as you leave it in an unfamiliar parking lot. 

If at all possible, a dedicated GPS device is the way to go.  I don't think it is necessary to pay over $150-200 for one.  I'm not even sure what the higher end ones do that the cheaper ones don't.  Do they make you breakfast?  Come with a free toaster?  After reading the reviews, the whistles and bells are nice, but at the end of the day they both get you to the same place.  Of course the same could be said for handwritten directions or print outs.  At the end of the day, its all about convenience and how well you want/need to pamper yourself in order to make it through a long road trip, or a Craigslist pick up the next city over.  Check out cnet's top 5 GPS systems here.  

This will come in handy for your next road trip, be it cross country or hammering it out on the morning commute. 

Road trips have an allure about them, at least in my possibly distorted view of things, that put me in the same frame of mind as the snow day.  Snow days and road trips, while existing in this dimension, seem to exist far enough outside of the reality that is my day to day schedule that not only is a break from the norm a fair possibility, but is downright expected!  This is particularly the case with food.  On a snow day (I live in Texas, so they happen twice a year: once when it actually ices over, and another when everyone thinks its going to ice over but because no one wants to work, they shut down the entire state), all bets are off when it comes to any scheduled meals.  We simply fire up the dvd player and eat popcorn, poptarts, and sugar pops all day long.  Road trips are no different.  The temptation for us is to stop every 2-3 hours and let the kids out of the cage to run around, which inevitably includes a small "snack," while at meal times engaging in the favorite American pastime of gorging on fast food.  This is not good.  Of course its a wee bit convenient, but the drawbacks bury any positives deep into the shady truckstop/fast food restaurant trashcan.  Sure the road trip needs to be fun, but that doesn't have to mean being unhealthy the entire way.  Here are two articles with suggestions for eating healthy when on the road.  We actually implemented some of these last summer when we drove cross-country, and not only did we eat better, but we saved some dough in the process.  And when we did plan on stopping at a fast food joint, we were able to treat it like a big event, which went a long way in keeping the kids in line.  Now if we can only work on being healthy on the snow days...

Here are the articles: article 1, article 2

Man I wish I would have watched this video before driving cross country with a van load of squidlings.  Great tips for those about to launch out this summer. 

When on a long road trip it is important to plan your stops.  This becomes even more crucial as you add children into the equation.  Stopping with one kid isn't so bad, but the more you add, the more difficult a stop becomes.  For example, stopping for us is pretty difficult, because all three kids want to get out and walk about the store and buy everything their eyes come across, especially my son who is always drawn to the model hot rod section of the truck stops.  Emergencies aside, then, it is crucial to minimize your stops in order to make for an efficient and less stressful trip.

One way to cut down on the number of stops is to eliminate one of the most common needs for stopping, namely, food.  To do this, you need only pack a cooler full of delicious snacks and refreshments.  Here are some suggestions to help you do this:

1. Get a cooler that can fit in the car - this is key.  If you have to stop to get the cooler out, you are eliminating half of the need for having one in the first place (though you will still save money). 
2. Pack a mix of snacks, not just a bunch of granola bars.  Include something like Gold Fish and fruit.  Make it fresh fruit though, as anything else gets too messy.  Don't be afraid to have a couple of treats in there that aren't necessarily healthy in mass quantities.  Also, sandwiches are a good way to go as well.  Having a mix will give your kids different snacks to look forward to.  
3. As for drinks, avoid sodas, and have water or some kind of juice.  However, be sure to monitor drink consumption or you could find yourself stopping even more for potty time. 
   
4. Avoid ice (contra the above picture) and opt for cold packs.  Ice gets messy as it melts. 
   

With a well packed cooler you will be able to maximize your road time, which will in turn make for a much smoother, and faster, trip.  The longer you are on the road, the quicker things will go.  Of course stops are not all bad.  I would suggest making regular stops in fact.  But packing a cooler will keep you from making more stops than are necessary.  

Having three children and one on the way, relatives 5 hours away in Houston and other commitments many states away, my wife and I have been no strangers to the long road trip.  We have learned a few tricks along the way to make the runnings a bit smoother, and so I have decided to open the vault of my vast wisdom and experience and bequeath it to you, Joe and Judy Generic Driver. 

Right off the bat it is important to say that this list must be realistic.  In other words, I think we would all agree that a flying car would be nice for making long road trips into short puddle jumps, but that is not going to happen for awhile.  Something else important is the reality that people have been making long road trips for thousands of years without these necessities.  For example, my Dad didn't have what I would deem the number one most important necessity, the iPod, when he drove us in our Aerostar from Dallas to Orlando.  He couldn't escape into an audio book or his favorite music, but instead had to put up with chirping kids or Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam, my brother's awkwardly favorite band at the time.  Realizing that we are not as tough as our forbears, I am not going to forego these luxuries just to be "old school."  Finally, not all of these necessities are for the children themselves, but for helping the parents cope with said children as well.  

With that said, here is the list accompanied by a short explanation of each one.  The next few posts will go into more detail. 

5.  Snacks - this seems obvious, but many folks neglect to do the hard work of packing a fat cooler full of fruits, crackers, the ever present yet surprisingly unhealthy Goldfish, and drinks.  

4.  Pillows and Blankets - this helps the trip seem like one giant and ridiculously cramped camp out for your kids.  They love that kind of stuff.  

3.  "I Spy" - it seems ridiculous, but younger kids love this game.  It is the perfect thing to do when they get restless.  WARNING: Use sparingly, because this game will likely be very boring for you.  

2.  DVD Player - if your vehicle doesn't have one, drop a hundred bucks or much less at Best Buy and pick one up.  Many come with multiple headsets.  The trick is figuring out where to set it up, as fights will break out over who gets to hold it.  

1.  iPod - ah the sweet iPod.  Never has there been a greater invention.  Find an audio book and listen for hours while everyone else is occupied or sleeping.  This helps the time pass much more quickly.  

Buckle your seatbelts and stay tuned for more detailed information on each one.  

These may seem a bit obvious, but helpful reminders nonetheless.  And also from the desk of Captain Obvious, they apply to every day of the year, not just holidays.  Drive safe and have a merry Christmas! 

This is the second installment of Car Tales.  Read the first one here.   

It is natural for a teenage boy to want to explore.  His sense of adventure is part of who he is.  It is no surprise then when one goes looking for such adventure in the midst of a suburban culture that doesn't really provide it.  It was during one of these times of dissatisfaction that my friends and I decided the Super Nintendo was not going to cut it, and that we needed to go on a road trip.  Now everyone knows that teenage road trips, by their very definition, are incapable of turning out positively.  No money, no planning or vision, and no purpose.  Not a real solid business plan.  But there we were, 4 teenagers with $30 between us and a wide open highway.  We had our wits, our snacks from home, our music, and our illusions that our lives were so stressful that we just needed a break.  We wanted to get out of the nest and test out our wings.  We wanted to enjoy our youthful sense of trailblazing adventure.  We wanted to boldly go where no high schooler had ever gone before!  It only makes sense, then, that we would drive to Oklahoma City, the apparent cosmopolitan culture hub of our immediate region.  

With the pedal to the metal in the Silver Bullet, we set off at 10pm on our 2 hour journey north from our hometown of Denton, Texas.  No one's parents knew they were going.  We were on our own.  As is appropriate, Born to be Wild was playing.  Side note: We thought we identified with all classic rock from the 60's and early 70's, assuming that the musicians and artists of the movement were wise, and not realizing that most of them wrote their stuff when they were 19 and on drugs.  As mentioned above, we had no idea what we were going to do in OKC.  We assumed we would find either a party or a really cheap motel.  We didn't find a party.  We did find a cheap motel.  We never made it to our destination.  

It was about halfway through LA Woman by the Doors (we thought Jim Morrison was a "genius") when the steering wheel jerked over to the left, and I lost control of the Silver Bullet.  We ended up in the grass median of I-35, right outside the cozy little town of Pauls Valley, OK.  Far short of our destination, we coaxed the Silver Bullet back across the highway and on to the off ramp, up to the intersection of Highway 19, and turned right to find the Garden Inn of Pauls Valley, which would be our home for the next 3 days.  We were told that the CV Joint was "messed up" on the Bullet, and that it would take a few days to repair.  Our dwindling food supplies and low cash flow meant that we might have to bring our parents up to speed on our little road trip.  But we weren't ready to give up.  Instead, we hatched an elaborate scheme where friends from home would shuttle cash, food supplies, and people back and forth.  We were all working in shifts to keep the dream alive.  In the meantime we would continue to lie to our parents through phone calls purporting to be from Denton.   

After three days we got the Silver Bullet back in working condition.  By that time there was about 10 of us loitering around Pauls Valley, and we headed back in caravan fashion.  We had almost made it out of Oklahoma unscathed...almost.  As it turns out, the one friend who had done most of the shuttling traded places with me and had his car break down.  It was more than all of us could take.  Our funds exhausted, our teeth rotting from eating Star Crunches and Twinkies for 3 days straight, and our heads longing for our suburban pillows, we were forced to call in the parental reinforcements.  They swooped in, mopped up, and bailed us out.  My poor friend got the worst of the backlash.  He lost his car for months, and we had to shuttle him around Denton like a 15 year old.  

Was it worth it?  Who knows.  It wasn't really that fun.  We didn't do anything all day but watch the 3 fuzzy channels in our motel room.  But it was OUR motel room.  It was OUR freedom that was being excersized.  And it was OUR sense of adventure that was satisfied.  After our 3 day tour of duty in the real world, we were content to crawl back into our big houses with our video games.  But our contentment was not to last.  If anything, this ill fated trip opened up a new frontier of exploration for us, which in the near future would prove to hold many other poorly planned adventures in the Silver Bullet.   

Stay tuned...