Top Tips to Get Road Ready for Summer's Family Road Trips

May 23, 2008

Memorial Day is here, and that means it's officially opening weekend for summer travel. So, do you want to cruise the Florida Coast, meander the mountains of North Carolina, or check out the culture in cowboy land? Families planning their next road trip should look no further than getroadready.com. The all-inclusive online resource from Prestone Products, featuring content licensed from Rand McNally, includes handy destination information, useful trip planning tools, directions, gas savings tips, helpful car maintenance advice, and fun trip activities.

I recently helped getroadready.com create a fun video to guide moms in their preparations and ensure they keep their sanity while cooped up in the car. (Yay! I'm a star!)

Moms who have ever driven more than a few hours straight with kids strapped in know what I'm talking about. Our favorite family trip was a long weekend drive up California's Pacific Coast Highway to visit Hearst Castle. We did it once with a brand-new baby, stopping (what seemed like) every 30 minutes to nurse the newborn. (For the sake of decorum, I'll leave out the details of my son's strawberry pancake projectile vomiting and messy roadside diaper changes. Trust me, I've been there.)

One of the site's key features, the Rand McNally TripMaker Planning Tool, helps visitors plot their entire journey from start to finish and provides them with points of interest along the way. Better yet, travelers unsure where to go can take advantage of Rand McNally's Best of the Road regional road trip feature. If you've ever taken a wrong turn along the way, you already know how helpful this feature can be.

"Our editors have mapped out more than 35 ventures throughout the United States and Canada that include everything that makes a vacation more memorable: famous landmarks, museums, historical sites, and the best places to shop, eat, and stay," said Laurie Borman, Rand McNally spokesperson. "It's a great way to explore new areas without having to do a ton of research yourself." To utilize the feature, visitors simply scroll over a Best of the Road map and click on a destination to review a brief introduction and more detailed information.

The getroadready.com site also boasts travel information, a car maintenance check list, gas savings tips, and (because muzzling children to keep them quiet is not an option) awesome printable games that will keep kids occupied while still allowing for family interaction. There are also special offers and printable coupons for car care products that can help drivers prepare their vehicle for a road trip such as fuel additives, washer fluids, and interior cleaning products - all from the maker of Prestone car care products.

For more information on the site or to plan your own vacation, feel free to log on to www.getroadready.com. You can even register to win a Magellan GPS device. For information on Prestone products, you can visit www.prestone.com.

By Brandy Schaffels
AskPatty.com contributing editor and burgeoning video star!