Rob Taylor - Road Trip Survival Guide

Rob Taylor Creator of 2TravelDads

The Road Trip Survival Guide

Tips and Tricks for Planning Routes, Packing Up, and Preparing for Any Unexpected Encounter Along the Way

Foreword by Samantha Brown, Host of Samantha Browns Places to Love

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Copyright 2021 by Rob Taylor

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First Tiller Press paperback edition May 2021

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Interior design by Jennifer Chung

Cover art and design by Patrick Sullivan

Car illustration by Peter Donelly

Trees, Grass Line, and Sign by Shutterstock

Author photograph by Chris Taylor

Illustrations by Peter Donnelly

Directions icon by Andrejs Kirma/The Noun Project

Compass icon by Dmitry Baranovskiy/The Noun Project

Turn right, turn left, road, right, traffic sign, and two way icons by HideMaru/The Noun Project

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been applied for.

ISBN 978-1-9821-7706-5

ISBN 978-1-9821-7707-2 (ebook)

This is dedicated to my family: to the kids who put up with crazy stops on long drives, and to the husband who enjoys the ride as much as I do and who cleans the car when we get home. Thank you for always going the extra mile with me.

IVE BEEN LUCKY enough to have had a career in travel for more than twenty-two years. Most of my travel takes place on planes that get me to far-flung destinations in the quickest manner possible, and yet even with the efficiency of aircraft, my favorite way to travel has been and will always be the road trip.

When I was growing up in the 1970s and 80s, getting on a plane wasnt even a consideration; the road trip was family travel. Driving for ten hours just meant packing up the station wagon and leaving at 4:00 a.m. instead of 9:00, still in our PJs and ready to fight with the family dog like it was another annoying sibling. I still remember the pajamas I wore, the cooler full of bologna sandwiches, and the lack of seat belts.

I highly doubt my parents gave too much thought to the importance the memories of these road trips would have in my life. How could they? They were parents before the word parenting was a thing. But now that Im in full parent mode, road trips arent just a way to get to a destinationtheyre what happens in between: the anticipation, the joy, the crankiness, the unexpected stops for slices of famous pie or even a half-decent restroom to put an end to the crankiness.

Reading this book will not only give you the best possible advice on how to plan a great family, solo, or romantic (Id forgotten there was such a thing) road trip but also encourage a mindset that understands how all the planning is ultimately what allows you to enjoy the unexpected, to leave room for that thing you didnt know would become the highlight of your trip.

So call shotgun and pass me a bologna sandwich; Im letting Rob be the driver. He knows the way.

Samantha Brown

EMBARKING ON ROAD trips has been an important part of American culture for nearly a century. Of course, it has evolved, and now more than ever its become an important way to travel. I grew up going on road trips because that was the affordable way to take a vacation. As the years have gone by, just as with anything else, road trips have become more expensive. That said, they are still one of the best options for budget family travel, couple travel, or solo travel.

I remember being a kid and thinking that road trips were so much fun but at the same time equally as boring. Maybe its because we did so many of them that I didnt appreciate them fully, or maybe because back then it was harder to entertain children for extensive periods of time, but now that Im a dad, Ive worked hard to make sure that the many trips we go on with our two kids are always fun and captivating.

As we go through the road trip survival guide, well tackle all kinds of topics including planning the most fun itineraries, making the actual car ride enjoyable for everyone, and discussing important ways to keep safety in mind as you journey down unknown roads.

The tips and suggestions in this book are coming to you from a place of experience and sometimes exasperation. What works for my family might not work for yours, and what works for my kids might actually be great advice to apply to a cranky spouse in the car. You decide what to do with all of this information.

As with any good advice, take it with a grain of salt. What Ive learned on long drives through the mountains of California doesnt necessarily apply to beach hopping in Florida. And learning the hard way about snowmobile routes in Canada doesnt carry the same lesson as getting stuck on a back road in Mexico.

Ultimately, I want everyone to explore at their own speed and create new experiences and memories along the way. As you dig into the itineraries, know that these are suggestions and youve got the power to adjust the plans to best suit you and your travel buddies.

CHAPTER 1 PLANNING

RESEARCHING DESTINATIONS AND ATTRACTIONS

A road trip can be anything from exploring locally or traveling three thousand miles from point A to point B. But what you do in between the points is what makes for exciting travel opportunities. I think its important to start by considering the value of worthwhile sites and attractions. Endless highways and interstates serve the purpose of making travel time fly by. Its the interesting things off road that really make a road trip worthwhile.

BEST WEBSITES TO DISCOVER ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS AND SIGHTS