Tag Archives: road trips

(3) The Blue Ridge Parkway

How to Stay Safe on a Road Trip During Covid

(3)	The Blue Ridge Parkway
The Blue Ridge Parkway makes social distancing easy.
(2)	Pine Spur Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia
Pine Spur Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia
(1)	The Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia, October 2020
The Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia, October 2020
Woman in a mask at Mt Vernon  George Washington’s home in Virginia.
Everyone wore a mask at Mount Vernon, George Washington’s home in Virginia.
homeschool day with kids Mount Vernon, George Washington’s home in Virginia.
At Mount Vernon it was Homeschool Day.
At Mount Vernon, costumed—and masked—interpreters
At Mount Vernon, costumed—and masked—interpreters
Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Little White House in Warm Springs, Georgia
We had to wait to enter Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Little White House in Warm Springs, Georgia, because they are limiting the number of visitors.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Little White House in Warm Springs, Georgia
Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Little White House in Warm Springs, Georgia
Richard Johnston Inn courtyard Fredericksburg Virginia
This is the spot where we parked our car at the Richard Johnston Inn in historic Fredericksburg, Virginia.
Richard Johnston Inn courtyard Fredericksburg Virginia
Breakfast can be served outdoors in the courtyard instead of indoors in the dining room.
Richard Johnston Inn breakfast
And the breakfast is yummy!
Richard Johnston Inn interior of guest room with dog Fredericksburg Virginia
Here’s our pet-friendly room off the courtyard. Macy (on the bed at left) felt right at home.
St Simons Island Georgia biking on beach
We met up with friends on St. Simons Island, Georgia, where you can bike on the beach!
St Simons Island georgia oak trees
St. Simons is famous for its magical oak trees.
 St. Simons Island Lighthouse Museum Georgia
We opted not to enter the St. Simons Lighthouse Museum because I was too concerned about poor ventilation in a cramped space.
 Fort Frederica National Monument entrance St Simons Georgia
The entrance to Fort Frederica National Monument on St. Simons Island, October 2020
Fort Frederica National Monument St Simons georgia
We felt very safe exploring the remains of the 18th-century fort and town known as Fort Frederica.
Fort Frederica National Monument St Simons georgia
These small motorized watercraft are a great way to get a sightseeing tour while staying socially distanced from the rest of the group.
Fort Frederica National Monument St Simons georgia
Our favorite historic landmarks of our trip were, like Fort Frederica, outside and uncrowded.
covid safety signage at Fort Frederica National Monument St Simons georgia
Safety signage at Fort Frederica

 

As we’ve learned more about Covid and how to avoid it, my family and I have grown more ambitious with each road trip.  Since the pandemic started, I’ve had to make four essential road trips. On the first trip, right after New Jersey’s lockdown ended, we avoided hotels and restaurants altogether. On the second, I learned how to choose safe hotels and restaurants. On the third, we added visits to historic monuments and museums and even rented a house. Each time, before leaving home and upon returning, we each took a mail-in Covid test and self-isolated, so as reduce the risk of spreading the virus. And it worked: Nobody in the family has gotten Covid.  As I head out on my fifth long road trip of the pandemic, here are the strategies I’ll continue to utilize.

For safer food stops and restrooms, get off the Interstate.

Gas-station convenience stores, chain restaurants, and food courts just off highways—all of which tend to have poorly ventilated, cramped bathrooms—are, in my experience, the least safe places on the road. They are highly trafficked by a wide cross-section of people from who-knows-which states with who-knows-what rules, and many of those people don’t stay six feet away. By contrast, in towns a few miles from the highway, even in red-zone states, we’ve found non-chain, family-run places that are much cleaner, less crowded, more virus-savvy, with more outdoor seating (plus outdoor heat lamps) and better take-out menus.

Bring a plug-in cooler for your car.

To avoid indoor dining, too many fast-food drive-throughs, and frequent supermarket runs, pack a cooler where you can store provisions such as cold cuts, condiments, and other ingredients for luncheon sandwiches.

Order curbside pick-up from eateries that win local awards and have extensive takeout menus.

When I can’t find a good outdoor-dining option, I search online for eateries that are beloved by the locals and do a huge takeout business.  As just one example, when we were nearing Winchester, Virginia, on I-81, I did a search for “Winchester Virginia best BBQ takeout,” found Bonnie Blue Southern Market & Bakery (check out the menu), and picked up Low Country Shrimp & Grits.  Bonus: I got to see historic Old Town Winchester en route.  Pro tip:  Always order by phone because the conversation with a human being yields important current info that you don’t get otherwise, plus they’re less likely to get your order wrong.

Look for government-run public restrooms.

In addition to local libraries, state welcome centers, and national historic landmarks’ visitor centers, we found the cleanest, least crowded bathrooms in places run by the U.S. National Park Service. First prize goes to the spotless, empty restrooms along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Before visiting a historic landmark or museum, find out what’s planned there for that day.

When we spontaneously pulled into Mount Vernon, George Washington’s home in Virginia, it turned out to be Homeschool Day. There were moms with kids all over, and while it was possible to stay six feet away from them, it would have been better to visit on a different day. A relatively easy way to avoid a school-field-trip environment is to visit such sites in the late afternoon.

Buy tickets in advance for indoor sites (and indoor sections of sites).

Many monuments and museums are limiting capacity, to reduce the number of visitors in enclosed spaces. This means there might be a wait to enter or tickets might be sold out. At F.D.R.’s Little White House in Warm Springs, Georgia, there was no wait to stroll the grounds but a wait to tour the house. At Mount Vernon, we bought Grounds Passes that allowed us to access most of the estate, but tickets to get inside the mansion itself were sold out.

Look for hotel rooms with outdoor private entrances.

To avoid sharing poorly ventilated indoor spaces with strangers, I usually seek out hotels that have standalone cabins or cottages with windows that open. (If I think a guest or housekeeper was in the room recently, I’ll keep the windows open for ventilation).  Where such hotels are not available, I look for historic inns because they often have rooms outside the main building.  We’ve now stayed twice at the Richard Johnston Inn in Fredericksburg, Virginia, because they have pet-friendly rooms off a courtyard:  We can park the car, walk to our room, and punch in the entry code to open the door, without entering a lobby or encountering another person. In the morning, breakfast can be served al fresco in the courtyard, and each time we were the only guests eating there.

Pack a HEPA filter.

When I enter a hotel room, my goal is to avoid breathing any particles left by someone else or touching anything recently touched by someone else.  So, before making a reservation, I speak with the room reservations supervisor in order to choose a room that will not be occupied by someone else the night before my arrival.  (On road trips I tend to make same-day reservations, so the supervisor knows for sure whether someone slept in the room the night before.)  Upon arrival, I use sanitizer wipes to clean all doorknobs, faucets, and the like. Last but not least, I place our air purifier with HEPA filter near the bed.

If you’re renting a house, the state’s infection rate matters less than hyperlocal factors such as the town and street you pick.

We spent the last weekend of one road trip in a vacation rental on an island off the coast of Georgia, and friends of ours who live in Florida drove up to share the house with us for three nights.  Georgia and Florida are not known for their Covid safety, yet our location and timing—St. Simons Island, near the beach, in shoulder season—allowed us to be as carefree as it gets nowadays:  We cooked all our meals, rented bikes—on St. Simons you can bike on the beach!—and spent our time sightseeing, fishing, taking long walks beneath the island’s famous oak trees dripping with Spanish moss, and just being so happy that we could catch up in person with our friends, even if we couldn’t touch or hug them.  We’re already planning to rent the same house with them next year.


Be a safer, smarter traveler: Sign up for Wendy’s weekly newsletter to stay in the know. And read real travelers’ reviews of Wendy’s WOW List and use it to plan your next trip.

Sunrise in Spartanburg, S.C. Road Trip, Wendy Perrin Covid-19

What a Road Trip During Coronavirus Is Really Like

A lot of Americans still don’t understand this virus. Especially the Americans you find in roadside convenience stores. Almost every convenience store attached to a gas station has a sign that says “Mask required,” yet almost nobody inside is wearing one.

That was my family’s main takeaway from our first road trip during coronavirus. On June 18, nine days after New Jersey’s stay-at-home order was lifted and 105 days after we had begun quarantining in March, Tim and the kids and I had to make a road trip to Atlanta (an essential trip for urgent family reasons).  We planned to stay in a bubble except for the time on the highway when we would need to leave the car. We did the full 14-hour drive in one day, leaving at 4 a.m. to avoid rush-hour traffic in as many cities as possible en route. We took I-78 to I-81 to I-77 to I-85 (a relatively rural and low-traffic route that we’ve driven many times). We did the same thing heading back north on June 23, again leaving at 4 a.m.

The farther south we went, the more traffic was on the roads, and the fewer people wore masks. Indeed, the main danger on our road trip, we discovered, was other people. Not only are a lot of people in roadside convenience stores not wearing masks, but they are not staying six feet apart. They brush past you in doorways, in the aisles, at the cash register. And the store managers don’t seem to care. We never saw any mask-wearing requirement enforced. In fact, some store workers didn’t wear masks either, and almost none wore gloves. Coming from New Jersey, where we live in a responsible community (a New York City suburb) that succeeded in flattening the curve and drastically lowering our infection rate (note the NJ graph here), the rules to follow to avoid spreading the virus have become second nature to us.  Tim was in Manhattan for doctor visits two days before our trip, and everybody he saw wore a mask.  We’ve grown accustomed to conducting all transactions in a touchless manner. So imagine my surprise when ungloved convenience-store employees took my credit card with their fingers. (I used a lot of disinfectant wipes on my card during this trip.)

In every state, gas was amazingly cheap—usually $1.75 a gallon. In a past life, we would fill up at gas stations and, while there, use the bathroom and buy food. Those days are gone. On road trips today, the acts of getting gas, using a bathroom, and buying food need to happen at three different places.

car, dog, Charlie, road trip, family Covid-19

My older son and our dog, Macy, had the second row of our mini-van all to themselves. Behind that gray hanging blanket blocking out daylight was my younger son, asleep in the third row.

Based on our experience, here are my five biggest pieces of advice if you’re headed out on a road trip soon:

1. Use the restrooms in state welcome centers.

They’re relatively empty, spacious, and clean, and a relatively touchless experience from start to finish, with few, if any, door handles. Do not use the restrooms in the stores attached to gas stations: It will mean navigating door handles or knobs and people who may brush against you in narrow corridors and stand next to you because there aren’t enough sinks to space yourselves out.

2. Choose hotels where rooms have private entrances and windows that open to let in fresh air.

You can look for motels where each room has a separate entrance onto the parking lot, but such rooms may not have windows that open. Your best bet may be older hotels that have either freestanding cottages or rooms with balconies where you can leave the balcony door open, letting in fresh air throughout the night. Look in areas where you might find historic inns or sprawling old-fashioned resorts with individual bungalows. Because we were driving with our dog, and the only pet-friendly rooms I could find along our route with the aforementioned criteria required a half-hour detour from the highway, we decided to forego hotels and just cram our drive into one day each way. In Atlanta, we stayed with family who, like us, had stayed safely at home for months.

3. For meals, use drive-throughs or pick up curbside.

If you have prep time, of course you can pack picnics and stop in picturesque areas to enjoy them. We didn’t have that kind of time. We packed a ton of snacks, but my two teenaged boys can get ravenous, so for hot meals, we either used fast-food drive-throughs or called ahead and picked up curbside from restaurants near the highway, using Apple Maps or Google Maps to find our best options a few miles ahead of us on the road.

4. Reconfirm curbside-pickup orders.

We ordered takeout 12 times in five days, and not once did we receive a correct order. Sometimes we ordered by phone, sometimes online, but every time, mistakes were made. It’s awkward to attempt to double-check an order that you’re picking up curbside—it isn’t feasible to look through bags and containers to determine if something is amiss—but at least you can, before driving away, look at the receipt to make sure that the order is yours and that the number of items in the bag matches the number of items you ordered. When my 18-year-old, Charlie, realized that a Longhorn Steakhouse in Atlanta had given him bags meant for a different customer, we had by that time encountered so many mistakes that he didn’t even bother returning to Longhorn to see if they could fix the problem. Instead, he called the phone number on the receipt, reached the customer who had been given our bags, and did a direct swap with the other customer.

5. Pack—and have available in the car at your seat—a supply of masks, gloves, disinfectant wipes, hand sanitizer, and tissues.

The tissues are for when you need to touch your face and you’re not sure your hands are clean enough (you can scratch your nose with a Kleenex), or in case there’s no toilet paper wherever you’ve stopped. And remember to put on gloves when you pump gas, especially since you won’t be washing your hands at the gas station!

 

Be a safer, smarter traveler: Sign up for Wendy’s weekly newsletter to stay in the know. And read real travelers’ reviews of Wendy’s WOW List and use it to plan your next trip.

Unclaimed Baggage Center Wendy with wedding gowns

Your Lost Luggage Is For Sale in This Store in Alabama

I can hear the screams of agony. I can see the tears flowing. I see the bridesmaid left out of the wedding photos because her dress never made it to the wedding. I see the road warrior shaking with rage because his laptop has disappeared forever. I see the zombie stares from the airline reps who don’t really care.  I hear them parroting the company policy you agreed to in the fine print on your airline ticket.

That’s what fills my mind as I walk through what is, for travelers like Wendy and me, the creepiest store in the world. Even though we drove several hours out of our way just to see it. Even though the place is light and airy—even cheerful. The merchandise, though used, is practically new and includes many top brands and designers. The store is as tidy as Grandma’s house, and the employees greet you with a genuine welcome and the hospitality that the South is famous for.

This is the Unclaimed Baggage Center in Scottsboro, Alabama. It’s 40,000 square feet of your stuff, bought in bulk from the airlines’ baggage equivalent of the dead letter office.

Unclaimed Baggage Center laptops

The laptop section is scarier than a Stephen King novel.

Unclaimed Baggage Center swimsuits

The swimsuit section scares too. For most women, a flattering swimsuit is one of the toughest items to replace when you’re traveling.

Think of the Unclaimed Baggage Center as a nice-smelling Salvation Army or Goodwill thrift store, full of stuff you had no intention of selling. In fact, probably some of your best stuff. Remember what was in your suitcase the last time you traveled? That’s what you’ll find in this store’s aisles and racks … along with displays of bizarre keepsakes discovered in lost luggage over the years.

Unclaimed Baggage Center religious objects

These precious religious objects, found in lost luggage, are on display but not for sale.

The Unclaimed Baggage Center started in 1970 when Doyle Owens bought a pick-up truckload of “unclaimed baggage” from Trailways Bus Lines in Washington, D.C., and brought it to Scottsboro for resale. Today, the store’s stock comes almost solely from the airlines. After an airline has spent 90 days attempting in vain to reunite passenger and bag, and after restitution has been paid, the Unclaimed Baggage Center buys the unlucky luggage sight unseen and hauls it to Alabama. The contents of each bag are triaged into 25 sub-categories: sell, donate, launder, trash, etc.

No different than any big department store, the facility is divided into sections such as men’s, women’s, and children’s fashion; jewelry; shoes; formalwear; swimwear; sporting goods; electronics (laptops, cameras, cell phones); office equipment; etc. Naturally, there’s a suitcase department too. Prices seemed a tad higher than thrift-shop prices, but good values were easily found. Camera equipment and sporting-goods prices seemed fair. All computers’ files have been deleted, and the software has been restored to operating systems only.

Unclaimed Baggage Center paddleboard

Passenger to baggage services staff: “Well, it’s a paddle board, it’s blue and gray, it’s 12 feet long…”

Unclaimed Baggage Center cell phones

Here’s a quick way to get over your smartphone addiction.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, fewer than three out of every 1,000 bags checked on domestic flights were lost last year. But the Unclaimed Baggage Center stocks 7,000 new items every day.

In a daily event promoted as “The Unclaimed Baggage Experience,” a lost suitcase gets “processed” in front of an audience. One lucky customer is picked to be the first to open it, with everyone else watching. It’s part archaeological dig, part gift-opening time at a birthday party, part slowing down to see an accident on the freeway. Items in the suitcase are divided into four categories, with the event emcee and the audience helping to make decisions to sell, launder, donate or trash.

The Unclaimed Baggage Center even offers a free personal shopper service: “Our top notch personal shoppers will help you build your summer wardrobe, spruce up your office style or create a look for a special event!” reads the sign. You can even become an “Unclaimed Baggage Insider.” Just text “UBC Insider” to 33233, and you can be the first to know about “Roll-out Tuesday Highlights” and more.

Unclaimed Baggage Center formalwear

The Formal Wear department

Unclaimed Baggage Center bridalwear

Bridal accessories

Unclaimed Baggage Center shoes

Formal shoes too—at a steep discount

I can understand the attraction of this store to non-travelers. The Unclaimed Baggage Center claims to get a million visitors per year. I’ve heard about this place for decades, and it was well worth the visit. If only I didn’t know the backstory.

The Mission: Return a Lost Item to Its Owner

Just a few minutes into the Unclaimed Baggage Center, I realized what I had to do: Sleuth out an item and glean enough evidence to help me return it to its rightful owner.

I found the sort of thing I was looking for in the Sporting Goods department: a lacrosse helmet bearing a Zurich Lions decal. That decal was a huge clue. Lacrosse is a North American sport. There couldn’t be too many Swiss lacrosse players. How hard could it be to track one down?

Unclaimed Baggage Center sporting goods

Tim found what he was looking for in the Sporting Goods department.

Unclaimed Baggage Center helmet

How hard could it be to find a member of a Swiss lacrosse team?

Standing in the Sporting Goods department, I did a quick Internet search on my phone and found an email address for the Zurich Lions lacrosse team in Switzerland. The tag on the helmet said it had arrived at the store on March 29, 2018. It was initially priced at $69.95 but had been marked down twice. I bought it for $35 and sent an email to the Zurich Lions.

The president of Zurich Lacrosse was amazed and connected me with the helmet’s owner, Johannes Lohner, now living in Vienna. Johannes had played for the Zurich Lions while studying in Switzerland—he got the helmet when playing at the European championship—and, after returning to his native Vienna, he played for Austria at the world championship.

The helmet was actually never in his checked luggage, Johannes says: He unintentionally left it at the gate in Vienna when boarding a Lufthansa flight to the U.S. (He’d spent the previous night celebrating his army promotion, so that may have been a factor.)  United Airlines took over the hunt for the lost item and never found it. Johannes, who also played for the U.C. Berkeley lacrosse team while pursuing his master’s degree there, says he’s been playing with borrowed helmets ever since.

So I shipped the helmet to Johannes … and, a couple of weeks later, received an ebulient thank-you note.  “I really enjoyed my time in Berkeley,” Johannes writes, “and your gesture is the best example to show how great and open you Americans really are.”  He also sent a photo of himself reunited with his helmet.  And my boys and I have been invited by the Zurich Lions to play lacrosse with them the next time we’re in Switzerland.

guy with lacrosse helmet

Here’s Johannes reunited with his lacrosse helmet in Vienna.

But Wait There’s More in Scottsboro, Alabama

Scottsboro, which sits an hour southwest of Chattanooga, Tennessee, and two hours northeast of Birmingham, has a charming, historic town square that looks like a movie set, with the county courthouse right in the middle. The town is known for the landmark “Scottsboro Boys” legal case: In 1931 nine African-American teens were falsely accused of raping two white women on a train passing through town. After several trials, the Supreme Court threw out the convictions— because African-Americans had been systematically excluded from the jury and the boys had not been granted due process—thus setting landmark legal precedents.

We visited Scottsboro in the early morning, so many shops were not open yet, but the Variety Bake Shop was. The shop is a blast from the past, and the maple glazed donut was the best I’ve had in years. Maybe ever. The Variety Bake Shop had no iced coffee for Wendy, though, so for that we went to Pine Bros. Coffee Co., a local hangout with an indie vibe.

Scottsboro’s other must-visit is Payne’s Sandwich Shop and Soda Fountain, which opened in 1869. Talk about a throwback movie set, complete with black-and-white floor and red-vinyl-covered counter stools. It’s the kind of place my buddies and I used to ride our bikes to.

How Not To Lose Your Luggage in the First Place

A trip to the Unclaimed Baggage Center will convince you to take extra precautions the next time you entrust your luggage to an airline.

* Make sure your name, mobile phone number, and email address are attached to the bag in a way that can’t get caught and removed in the machinery of the baggage systems.

* Put the same information on at least one piece of paper taped inside the bag too, so that it is the first thing someone will see when opened. I always put my name and mobile number on our kids’ carry-ons too, as well as on electronics and other valuables inside the carry-ons.

* If your luggage is the same color as everyone else’s, then affix something to your bag to differentiate it—say, a red ribbon, or a purple handle—so that other passengers don’t mistake your bag for theirs and run off with it.

* Use your smartphone to snap a quick photo of each bag you check. If the airline loses it, a picture of your bag will be worth a thousand words.

* Get to the baggage carousel before it starts disgorging bags. If you’re not there when your luggage comes out, it’s more likely to go astray.

Unclaimed Baggage Center Wendy parking lot

The Unclaimed Baggage Center can make for an interesting detour on a Deep South road trip.

Unclaimed Baggage Center store exterior

Be a smarter traveler: Read real travelers’ reviews of Wendy’s WOW List and use it to plan your next trip. You can also follow her on Facebook, Twitter @wendyperrin, and Instagram @wendyperrin, and sign up for her weekly newsletter to stay in the know.

The Mount is edith wharton's home in lenox massachusetss

Quick and Easy Weekend Getaways for the Summer

How is it that summer sneaks up on us every year? It was just winter, and then all of a sudden the warm weather is upon us and we’re scrambling to plan some quick-and-easy summer getaways. The good news is it’s never too late. Here are eight ideas for short, fun road trips and big-city escapes that work just as well for families as for solo travelers.

Find Your Inner Writer

You’ll have plenty of time this summer to spend reading on the beach (we hope!) but for now, get your book fix by road tripping through our nation’s literary past in New England. Wendy, who majored in History and Literature at Harvard, has designed this two-day itinerary, starting and ending in Boston, that takes you through Louisa May Alcott, Emily Dickinson, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, Henry David Thoreau, and Edith Wharton country.

Find Your Inner Food Critic

Put your GPS and your stomach to good use on a road trip focused on your favorite regional foods. For a Southern barbecue and soul food feast, for example, you could start with hickory-smoked ribs in Blue Ridge, Georgia, and continue sampling the country’s best barbecue on this itinerary through Nashville all the way to Kansas City. Or rate lobster rolls along the Northeastern coast, from Captain Scott’s Lobster Dock in New London, Connecticut, to Red’s Eats in Wiscasset, Maine. Find a few lauded spots with the TripAdvisor or LocalEats apps and you’re good to go. Of course, you could also just eat your way through the nearest State Fair.

See Spectacular Coastline

BlackSandBeach Lost Coast California

Drive Route 1 to Black Sands Beach on the Lost Coast in Humboldt, CA. Photo: Visit California

“One of my all-time favorite adventures along the northern California coast is to drive the one-lane, unpaved road off Route 1, just west of Leggett, to Sinkyone Wilderness State Park,” says Sheri Doyle, an expert planner of California road trips. “It’s a white-knuckle trip that will have you praying you won’t meet anyone coming the other way, and you’ll need a four-wheel-drive vehicle to do it, but the reward at the end—a black-sand beach out in the middle of nowhere—is fantastic. If that’s too daunting, the drive to the ‘Lost Coast’—the stretch of coastline from Ferndale to the Avenue of the Giants, just south of Eureka—is paved and not quite as difficult, but also leads to fantastic beach views that you’ll share with more cows than people.”

Discover Geological Wonders

Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument in Utah

Utah’s Highway 12, which runs alongside the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, is a spectacular drive, but few take the time to do it.

Make one of Utah’s gorgeous national parks your goal for the weekend, and turn the drive into part of the experience by driving Highway 12, which runs between the Utah towns of Tropic and Torrey alongside the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument.  It’s one of the world’s most spectacular drives, yet few people know about it. Learn more about Highway 12 in The American West You Don’t Know About, But Should and bookmark our calendar guide to the best national parks for every month of the year.

Delve Into the Heartland

Mississippi River runs through Minneapolis Minnesota

Mississippi River runs through Minneapolis. Photo: Billie Cohen

America’s Great River Road runs along the Mississippi, all the way from Canada to the Gulf Coast, passing through country dotted with historic villages, wineries, wildlife, and sweeping vistas. Wendy recommends this two- to three-day itinerary that takes you along the Minnesota/Wisconsin border, starting in Minneapolis and ending in Madison, Wisconsin.

Pursue Your Passion

world's largest pumpkin roadside attraction

Pumpkins, petrified trees, yo-yos, balls of twine—the world’s largest anything is worth a stop, just for the sheer goofiness of it. Photo: Flickr/Loozrboy

Remember that you don’t need a bucket-list destination to make a road trip memorable. Just think of something you love and string together a few spots related to it. Are your kids die-hard baseball fans? Plan a route that connects minor-league stadiums. Do you swoon over lighthouses? Maine and North Carolina are just two states for you. If botanical gardens are more your thing, set your course for the Southwest and the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. Or go all-out quirky and seek out three of the world’s largest anything—apps such as Roadside America and Along the Way will help you track them down.

See How It’s Made

Jelly Belly factory samples

The Jelly Belly factory has a free sampling station where you can try three choices of jellybeans. Photo: Tim Baker

Many candy, ice cream, and food companies offer kid-friendly tours of their facilities—but you definitely don’t need to be a kid to enjoy them. In most cases you’ll get to see some behind-the-scenes manufacturing, learn about the company and the product, and (best part) get to taste the final product. Hershey’s Chocolate World in Pennsylvania and Ben & Jerry’s in Vermont are pretty well-known, but you can find more unusual ones like Tabasco Pepper Sauce in Louisiana and the Celestial Seasonings Tea factory in Colorado. Wendy’s husband, Tim, took the boys to the Jelly Belly jellybeans factory in California one year.

Find Peace in a Big City

little red lighthouse in fort washington park new york city

Try something different in New York City: a picnic near the city’s only remaining light house, known as the Little Red Lighthouse, at the foot of the George Washington Bridge. Photo: Malcolm Pinckney, NYC Parks

You won’t be the only person thinking about hitting a big city on a summer weekend, but that doesn’t mean you can’t avoid the crowds. Washington, D.C. is beautiful in the spring, before the summer heat and humidity roll in. While everyone else is piling into the various Smithsonian museums, head away from the Mall to Dumbarton Oaks, an eclectic museum with gardens tucked away in a residential neighborhood, a mile and a half from the closest Metro stop. Owned by Harvard, the former mansion features world-class pre-Columbian and Byzantine art and artifacts, impressive architecture designed by Philip Johnson, and a beautiful 27-acre garden and park. It’s rarely crowded, and as a bonus, it’s a short stroll away from an outstanding small museum, Tudor Place, as well as the Georgetown commercial district. In New York, leave the sunbathing hordes of Central Park behind and instead spend the weekend exploring the city’s other parks. Plan a picnic in Fort Washington Park, near the city’s only remaining beacon Jeffrey’s Hook Light House (also known as the Little Red Lighthouse) at the foot of the George Washington Bridge. Or head to Brooklyn’s Prospect Park, to climb Lookout Hill, the highest point in Brooklyn with views of the second park designed by Olmsted & Vaux (famous for creating Manhattan’s Central Park; legend has it they said Prospect was the design they liked better).

Be a smarter traveler: Use Wendy’s WOW List to plan your next trip. You can also follow her on Facebook, Twitter @wendyperrin, and Instagram @wendyperrin, and sign up for her weekly newsletter to stay in the know.

car with person using phone gps app

10 Apps That Will Improve Any Road Trip

Old-school as it may be, we still say that a paper map is an essential on any road trip packing list, and that putting down your phone might just be the smartest thing you can do with it on a vacation. But we’re not exactly Luddites here either: A smart digital toolkit can lower stress, ease planning, and even enhance a road trip, and these days you’ll benefit greatly from stocking up on a small collection of apps before you hit the highway. The following apps were all tested by Wendy and her family on recent road trips. Add your own favorite road trip apps in the comments below—and see Wendy’s full list of recommended apps over at TripAdvisor.

Waze

This one is a no-brainer and many of you probably already have it on your phones: Waze. The real-time traffic app will clue you into the least congested routes, collisions or road blocks, even police speed traps.

Around Me

Driving through unfamiliar territory can get very stressful very quickly if someone has to use the bathroom, the gas tank is hovering on empty, or worse, one of the kids is sick. Wendy uses Around Me to discover nearby hospitals, pharmacies, ATMs, even grocery stores.

Gas Buddy

She recommends GasBuddy for info on fill-up stations and their gas prices.

Sit or Squat

For the other kind of emergency, download Sit or Squat (by Charmin) and you’ll always know where to find a clean public restroom.

Roadside America and Along the Way

The best road trips have nothing to do with your final destination. The journey is the point, and the stops you make, make the journey. In addition to Wendy’s advice on the three things you should always stop for on a road trip, she recommends the Roadside America and Along the Way apps to ensure that you don’t miss quirky fun attractions, interesting parks and landmarks, or the world’s biggest anything.

The Yellow Pages

Yup, this old standby has been updated for the mobile age. The YP app will help you find automotive repair shops, health and wellness facilities, and more—all with contact info, address, and websites—but what Wendy’s family uses it for is to punch in the type of food they’re in the mood for—say, Southern fried catfish, or peach pie—and find out the closest restaurant that’s serving it.

TVFoodMaps and LocalEats

Ever seen some delicious dish on a travel TV show and wish you could try it yourself? With TVFoodMaps, you can search for restaurants featured on food shows. You can either search by show title (Adam Richman’s Man vs. Food or Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations, for example) or even search by route: Type in your starting point and your destination and it’ll serve up a list of interesting eateries various hosts have visited. LocalEats has a similar mission: to help travelers discover insider favorites. Search by city, browse a calendar of state-by-state food events, or scour appetite-inducing lists like Best Breakfast Places in America.

Urgent.ly 

Urgent.ly is an on-demand roadside assistance service. No AAA? No problem. Download the app, and if you ever get a flat, need a jump, or—d’oh!—locked your keys in the car, contact the service and they’ll send help. They’re on call 24-7, every day of the year, and you only pay for the services you use.

For more road trip intel, see Wendy’s series at TripAdvisor: How to Plan the Ultimate Road Trip Itinerary, Packing List: Essential Gear for a Road TripHow to Make Family Road Trips Fun and Stress-Free;  and 15 Simple Hacks to Make Any Road Trip Better.

 

Be a smarter traveler: Use Wendy’s WOW List to plan your next trip. You can also follow her on Facebook and Twitter @wendyperrin, and sign up for her weekly newsletter to stay in the know.

world's largest pumpkin roadside attraction

Three Things You Should Always Stop for on a Road Trip

Wendy and her family are big road-trip fans and have become experts on sussing out the stops that elevate any old long drive into a memorable adventure. Here are three things they suggest always stopping for on a road trip.

Don’t miss Wendy’s full list of 15 ingenious road-trip hacks over on TripAdvisor.

Quirky attractions advertised on billboards

State fairs and world’s largest anything are the sorts of attractions you’d expect to find advertised on the highway (and those are worth stopping for as well), but keep your eyes peeled for unexpected or goofy-sounding sites too. Wendy’s kids spotted a sign for OstrichLand USA in California and are still talking about feeding the oversized birds.

Full parking lots in the middle of nowhere

If you’re driving on a lonely road and suddenly encounter a lot packed with cars, investigate! The locals are probably onto something you’d have had a hard time finding out about as a drive-through tourist: say a pancake breakfast, outdoor concert, firemen’s carnival, or wildlife spotting. Wendy’s clan saw a packed rest stop on California’s Highway 1, and when they got out to see what all the hoopla was, they found a herd of elephant seals playing on the beach.

Small-town picnic spots

Not only is it an adventure to browse unfamiliar supermarkets for regional foods and brands, but a grocery-store stop is also a smart way to save money on lunch. Pick up food for a picnic, then look for a town square, park, or scenic spot where you can refuel while you people-watch or meet other local families. Wendy always packs a soccer ball so her boys can run off energy or start pick-up games with other kids they meet. See the rest of her road trip packing essentials here.

 

For more road trip intel, see Wendy’s series at TripAdvisor: How to Plan the Ultimate Road Trip Itinerary, Packing List: Essential Gear for a Road TripHow to Make Family Road Trips Fun and Stress-Free;  and 15 Simple Hacks to Make Any Road Trip Better.

Be a smarter traveler: Use Wendy’s WOW List to plan your next trip. You can also follow her on Facebook and Twitter @wendyperrin, and sign up for her weekly newsletter to stay in the know.

volkswagen van driving on a road trip

Road Trip Hacks: 5 Things That Will Come in Surprisingly Handy

We all know the no-brainers to pack for a road trip: Snacks, maps, phone chargers…. But there are other items you’d never think to bring along that will save you a lot of hassle. Here are a few of Wendy’s problem-solving road-trip essentials. Don’t miss her full list of 15 ingenious road-trip hacks over on TripAdvisor:

What would you add to Wendy’s list of surprising road-trip must-haves?

Small overnight bag

Pack it only with what you’ll need for one night: toiletries, pajamas, and the next day’s clothes. By keeping those essentials separate from the rest of your luggage, you won’t have to unpack the entire trunk every time you stop for the night.

Cheap beach towels

If you’re flying to your road trip, don’t take up precious space in your luggage with a towel. Buy one when you get to your destination; you can usually find them for five bucks or less. They’ll serve as picnic blankets, a cover for your valuables when you leave the car, seat protectors for messy activities or on-the-go eating, makeshift pillows and, of course, as towels if you make a pit stop at a lake or a pool.

Permanent marker

No matter how organized you start out, the car is going to get messy, and everyone’s stuff is going to get mixed up. Bring a marker to label things, especially if they look alike (say, when four passengers with iPhones have brought identical white power cords and charging blocks).

A roll of quarters

Even in this age of credit cards and pre-purchased toll passes, you still need an old-fashioned handful of change on a road trip. Throw a roll of quarters in your glove compartment for parking meters, vending machines, and laundromats.

Garbage bags

They have endless uses in addition to the usual one: storing wet bathing suits, serving as emergency rain gear, protecting cameras in the rain. You can even twist one into a rope and use it to tie things together.

For more road trip intel, see Wendy’s series at TripAdvisor: Packing List: Essential Gear for a Road TripHow to Make Family Road Trips Fun and Stress-FreeHow to Plan the Ultimate Road Trip Itinerary, and 15 Simple Hacks to Make Any Road Trip Better.

 

Be a smarter traveler: Use Wendy’s WOW List to plan your next trip. You can also follow her on Facebook and Twitter @wendyperrin, and sign up for her weekly newsletter to stay in the know.

young boys in backseat of car family road trip

Family Road Trips: How to Eliminate Stress and Bickering

Mom, he’s on my side! She won’t stop touching my stuff! I have to go to the bathroom! I’m hungry! Are we there yet? If you think family road trips are all sing-alongs and car games, you’ve never been on a road trip. Maybe it’s the cramped car, the sitting still for hours on end, the long stretches between meal stops. Whatever the reason, road trips seem like the vacation most likely to inspire bickering and stress—but all those other moments in between are golden. Luckily, it’s easy to ensure more of those memorable family bonding times with a few simple strategies. Based on her own family’s experiences, Wendy has put together a surefire list of methods for making a road trip stress-free. Here’s a preview, but don’t miss the full list over at TripAdvisor.

And, for more road trip intel, click to Wendy’s essential packing list, and her Keys to Planning the Perfect Road Trip.

Let each kid play navigator.

La Jolla Cove seals in California

Let each kid pick an attraction or two during your trip. Wendy’s son chose La Jolla Cove as a pit stop, to see the seals.

Give your kids a map of your route before you leave and let each one pick a stop or an activity each day. You’ll give them a sense of ownership over that day’s events that will keep them energized and interested all day.

Make the trip a treasure hunt.

do not disturb sign

Create a fun trip challenge or goal to make stops more interesting. Wendy’s kids collect Do Not Disturb signs.

On Wendy’s trips, the family picks something to search for at each stop, creating an easy scavenger hunt: maps, magnets, Do Not Disturb signs from hotels…. Or try giving the kids a camera (nothing fancy needed) and turn the game into a photo-taking mission.

Give each kid his/her own space.

If you are able to set up each kid in a separate row of the vehicle, great. If not, try crafting a divider between them (even if it’s just out of colorful tape).

Agree on how long you’ll drive between stops.

family road trip California

To prevent kids (and adults) from going stir crazy, put a time limit on how long you’ll drive between rest stops.

It’s nearly impossible to make sure everyone is on the same schedule during a road trip. Someone is going to get tired before everyone else; someone else will get hungry; someone else will get restless. And if the driver is feeling good, he or she may want to push through…stretching everyone else’s patience. To avoid arguments and meltdowns from stir-crazy kids, set a limit for how long each leg can be.

Whenever there’s a world’s biggest, longest, or quirkiest something on your route, stop and check it out.

Nighttime minigolf at Chuckster's, home of the world's longest mini-golf hole. Vestal, NY

Wendy’s family seeks out quirky roadside attractions, like Chuckster’s in Vestal, NY, home of the world’s longest mini-golf hole.

Rest stops are more than just a chance to stretch legs and burn off energy. They can be the source of fun memories and even funnier pictures.

Wendy’s family seeks out quirky roadside attractions, like the world’s biggest ball of twine in Cawker City, Kansas, or the world’s biggest yo-yo, in Chico, California—or the world’s biggest anything, really. School playgrounds and children’s museums not far from the Interstate are other kid-friendly pit stops. That said, even “boring” rest stops can be amped up: bring a tennis ball, inflatable beach ball, or a Frisbee for games. Keep a few picnic basics in the car too so that you can make a rest stop double as a food stop. (For more info on what picnic essentials to stow, see Wendy’s road trip packing list.)

Prioritize pools.

When choosing where to bed down each night, Wendy recommends finding motels with pools. The end-of-day swim will help kids work out any pent-up energy and can even serve as a reward after a long day of driving. A reinvigorating dip can be just as rewarding for tired parents.

Be a smarter traveler: Use Wendy’s WOW List to plan your next trip. You can also follow her on Facebook and Twitter @wendyperrin, and sign up for her weekly newsletter to stay in the know.

road trip on a winding desert road

Don’t Take a Road Trip Without Packing These

Some road-trip packing essentials are no-brainers: rocking music, tasty snacks, and a whole lot of patience. But there are plenty of additional items that you might not realize you need…until you need them. Luckily, we’ve got your essential road-trip packing list right here. These items will help you save money, stay healthy, and stay sane during those long hours on the road. (You can also click over to TripAdvisor to see Wendy’s full list.)

Save money with a cooler

Pack your own water and snacks to save money and calories. The cooler (either the old-school kind that you fill with ice from the hotel, or the electric kind that you plug into your cigarette lighter) will also come in handy for picnic lunches. Which reminds us: Toss a picnic blanket in the back seat.

Save your skin with sun protection

For you and for your car. For you and the kids, we’re talking about the SPF kind, and not only for the times when you get out to stretch your legs. If you’re riding with the windows open, slather some on arms and faces—especially the driver’s left arm. Wendy also recommends bringing a windshield sun blocker; the steering wheel and seats can get very hot after a few hours in the sun while you’re all off hiking or seeing the country’s largest peach pit. A blocker will keep the car cooler and cut down on how much you need to blast the A/C once you pile back in.

Save your sanity with emergency kits

You’ll need three kinds to be prepared for just about anything: a first-aid kit, a roadside emergency kit, and a roadside assistance plan, either through an automotive club or an insurance company.

Save your back

In addition to regular stops to stretch your legs, Wendy likes to take along a lumbar support pillow to help prevent back pain from long stretches of driving. (Pro tip: a rolled up towel works in a pinch too.) Then each night at the hotel she likes to use rubber massage balls called T Spheres to roll out cramps and kinks.

Stay on track

Getting lost can be maddening, especially if everyone is tired or hungry and ready to get out of the car. If you’re using the GPS on your phone, be sure to bring a USB car charger so that you always have power (better yet, get a charger with multiple ports so other passengers can charge their devices too). Don’t forget a smartphone mount for your dashboard either, as they make looking at the phone for directions and playlist changes much easier—remember both of these tasks are for your copilot, not the driver! Wendy also recommends a paper map for road trips. Not only are they handy if your devices do run out of juice, but they provide a big-picture overview of the trip and can be used as a roadside-stop journal and kept as a memento of your adventures.

Stay connected

Whether you have to work during your road trip or just want to post pictures of your trip on Facebook, you’ll need to bring a few pieces of tech gear if you want to get online on the road. A portable Wi-Fi hot spot can be invaluable; or you can talk to your cell phone carrier about turning your phone into a hot spot (sometimes this incurs fees, so be sure to check). Finally, pack a voltage inverter; these are special chargers that plug into the car’s cigarette lighter one end and have a three-prong A/C outlet and USB ports on the other.

See Wendy’s full list of road-trip essentials and her tips for how to plan the ultimate road trip itinerary on TripAdvisor, where she’s TripAdvisor’s Travel Advocate, and follow her on Instagram for postcards from the California road trip she’s on right now.

Be a smarter traveler: Use Wendy’s WOW List to plan your next trip. You can also follow her on Facebook and Twitter @wendyperrin, and sign up for her weekly newsletter to stay in the know.

The Columbia River in Oregon

6 Great American Road Trips

The end of summer is the perfect time for a road trip. They’re the ultimate feeling of freedom: just you and the open road, and maybe some friends and family in the backseat.

Over the past few weeks, Wendy has been hand-picking the coolest American road trips, so that no matter where you are in the country, it’ll be easy for you to get in the car and drive.

In case you missed her all-American itineraries, we’re sharing them again here. Find your route and hit the road!

Midwest
America’s Great River Road will steer you all the way from Canada to the Gulf Coast, passing through country dotted with historic villages, wineries, wildlife, and sweeping vistas. Wendy recommends the section that runs along the Minnesota/Wisconsin border, starting in Minneapolis.

Northeast
Pop in an audio book and cruise through the country’s literary past. In New England you’ll find historic sites related to some of our best writers and philosophers, including Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Louisa May Alcott, Henry David Thoreau, and Emily Dickinson.

Northwest
Drive through Oregon and you’ll get the best of two trips all rolled up into one: a relaxing meander through the Willamette Valley’s wine country, and an invigorating exploration of the natural beauty —and adventure sports—of the Cascade Mountains.

South
You can’t explore the South without stopping for some good BBQ. So why not make that the theme of your next road trip? Start in Blue Ridge, Georgia, for some hickory-smoked ribs at Joe’s BBQ, voted the No. 1 BBQ joint in America by TripAdvisor readers. Then stop frequently to fill up (and nap) as you eat your way through Nashville, St. Louis, and Kansas City.

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park California

The drive through California’s Anza-Borrego Desert is beautiful in February and March, when the wildflowers bloom. Photo: Visit California

Southern California
Summer isn’t the ideal season for every road trip. The drive through the Anza-Borrego Desert’s buttes, canyons, and badlands is best in February and March, when the wildflowers bloom, and is also great in November, when deals abound.

Southwest
Make a loop from Albuquerque back to Albuquerque, stopping in Santa Fe and Taos, and you’ll hit the best that New Mexico has to offer—mesas, museums, margaritas, and art markets, as Wendy puts it. Check out her full itinerary and start planning!

What’s your favorite American road trip?

9/11 September 11 Memorial’s South Pool

5 Free Things to Do in America’s Cities

You know who loves free stuff? Everybody. Especially when you’re traveling. So whether you’re taking a summer vacation across America or enjoying a staycation in your hometown, you’ll be happy to know that some of the coolest and most iconic attractions are no-cost.

So put your wallets away and bookmark this list of free worldly pursuits from New York City to Los Angeles and many cities in between. You can see my full list over on the TripAdvisor blog, but here’s a sneak peek so you can start checking these American must-do’s off your travel bucket list asap. After all, it’s not like you’ve got anything to lose.

 

The Freedom Trail, Boston
Many Boston neighborhoods feel like outdoor museums, but the Freedom Trail is the ultimate. Follow the red line and you’re on a 2.5-mile historic trail that leads you past unique historic sites from the American Revolution. The Freedom Trail app isn’t free, but the $4.99 price tag goes to preserve the buildings you’ll see.

The Getty Center, Los Angeles
This complex of art, architecture, and gardens is rated the #1 thing to do in L.A. by the TripAdvisor community. In summertime on Fridays and Saturdays it’s open till 9:00 pm so you can enjoy the sunset and twilight views. The Getty Villa, the collection of Greek and Roman antiquities, is free too. There’s a parking fee of $15 per car, but that fee covers parking at both sites, and the sites are also accessible by public transit.

The National September 11 Memorial, New York City
Entry to the September 11 Museum costs $24, but you can take in the Memorial for free. #4 on TripAdvisor’s list of the most popular landmarks in America, it’s an eight-acre park with twin reflecting pools that sit within the footprints where the Twin Towers once stood and feature the largest manmade waterfalls in North America.

New Orleans Jazz National Historic Park, New Orleans
This is the place for free live educational jazz performances, presented both at the Old U.S. Mint and at the Park’s French Market Visitor Center. Even the park rangers perform! Concerts are live streamed; listen in here and you’ll be itching to book a trip to NOLA.

The Smithsonian Museums, Washington, D.C.
Is there any U.S. city that’s a better bargain for museum lovers than Washington, D.C.? The National Gallery of Art (rated the #1 thing to do in D.C. by TripAdvisor travelers), the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum (rated #5), the National Air and Space Museum (#10), and all the other favorites on the National Mall are free, as are top landmarks such as the Lincoln Memorial (rated #2), the Washington Monument, and much more.

Read Wendy’s full list of outstanding free things to do over on her blog at TripAdvisor.