There was a popular television show in the 1960s called "Route 66," which followed a pair of wandering car jockeys. They criss-crossed the southwestern United States solving other peoples' problems in 30 minutes (less market time). For the nation that spawned the "youth car culture" it made exquisite sense to romanticize the auto and its occupants. The idea that road trips could be more than just fun, and legitimately be serious adventure, was gladly received by the consumers of pop culture.
With the rising gas prices of today, it is a bit harder to explain naturally driving about aimlessly, looking for adventure or habitancy to help or even just some new sightseeing highlights. However, with the proper planning and a reasonable budget, road trips can offer a join or a house an prudent trip treat.
A nation of destinations Parks, beaches, the mountains, the desert -- these destinations and many more are available for a great one-day or weekend outing, and it doesn't have to contain camping out unless you want it to. And once you've safely arrived at the lake or the resort or the park, the "road" part of the trip is over (technically, half over) and it's time to enjoy the great outdoors, the sun, the water and each other.
To economize, many families are now forgoing the amusement park for the city park. It is far less costly to enjoy climbing a nearby mountain than buying tickets for Magic Mountain, much less Disneyland. With the ticket prices topping 0 for the median family, low-cost alternatives to costly amusement parks are getting more popular all the time.
What to do? When you pay for entry to a Disneyland or Magic Mountain, you get your amusements in the price. You can take the rides and have your fun, but lunch and snacks can add a lot more to the total bill. If you plan your own fun at the local park, or drive to the lake, you can rent bikes and rowboats and still have abundance of money left over.
Of course, you will want to take abundance of pictures, both video and still shots. If you don't already have a video camera or digital still camera, you can now buy single-use disposables for under and , respectively. If you do have your own camera(s), then you already know how much fun they are, and how you can add to your family's photo journal for very dinky trouble, and just about no cost.
High-tech trips With the new, advanced and lower-cost video tool now available, some very spicy opportunities open up for "real-time" sharing of the road trip adventures. With a simple webcam and a wireless card in your laptop, you can take live pictures of your hike or your tag-football game in the meadow. Over the Internet, with very simple setups, your house and friends can share in the fun from their homes.
In expanding to that, you can check your home guard cameras and web-enabled protection ideas while you are away from home, whether for a day trip or a week in the mountains. The most costly part of the whole ideas is the computers, and if you already have those, adding a few cameras and wireless ability will be neither costly nor difficult.
Overall tips On the practical "car and food" side, the cost of road trips can be held down by being smart as well as frugal. Pack a picnic lunch, plan your route carefully, stop oftentimes along the way and scrutinize all the precautions that help guarantee safe road trips. Make a budget, plan the gas stops, check the oil, wash the windows and get going.
On the "tech and computer" side, make sure you have your built-in batteries charged, take an extra if you have one and make sure your home computer is set up for remote viewing if you need it. When you've checked all things twice, and have everybody excited and ready to go, take off with that same spirit of adventure that drove the Route 66 stars across the American scenery those many years ago.
Nation of Destinations - Low-Cost family Outings
