On The Road Again - Part 1 10.3.12

I don't know about you, but Fall always seems like road trip season to me instead of Summer. The leaves are changing and you don't necessarily have to bundle up to get out and enjoy a picnic on the side of the road, but stopping to get pie and coffee at a diner to warm up in the early evening is a welcome break, too. My family was the master of road trips. Granted, there were only three of us, so fighting was often short-lived and I had the backseat all to myself. Most of the time. We sometimes brought friends along, so I would have someone to annoy and ride roller coasters with. As I got older, I still had a thing for road tripping. I attribute it to my younger years and how we learned to make them as fun as possible.

Road trips aren't for everyone, but I just think people hate being trapped in the car with their family because they don't plan, set ground rules or know how to make them fun along the way. Let's talk about how to make them enjoyable and as pain-free as possible.

Don't drive straight through! The number one rule of road trips is we don't talk about road trips! Wait. No. That's another post for another blog maybe. The real golden rule of road trips is that you stop along the way and stop often. Driving for 4+ hours straight is BORING. Even if you play games or sleep, people will get grumpy, your legs will get stiff and you won't be happy. Plan a route that has interesting stops - a funky diner, a cool cave, the largest ball of twine. Something. Your stops don't have to be expensive, just fun and memorable.

On our many road trips, we've stopped at sea lion caves, a gift shop in a tree, oceanfront viewpoints, the world's largest thermometer and a mystery spot where things roll uphill. We never had dull trips, even if we were low on cash.

Bring foods! Eating out frequently is really going to take a bite out of your budget and totally ruin your diet. I don't know about you, but I also don't want to come back from vacation hating chicken strips or cheeseburgers either. Sure, eating out is fun, but choose your stops wisely and bring a cooler stocked with homemade stuffs – like fried chicken, potato salad and muffins – along with fixings for sandwiches, sides, drinks and snacks to nibble on in between stops.

Make reservations. We've learned this the hard way several times. You'd think we would have it all figured out by now and listen to our own advice. Though the fun of road tripping is spontaneity, you can't always just pull over and stay wherever looks good. We have been screwed over by unknown conventions and sporting events more than a few times. Now we plan our endpoints and make reservations for destinations we can reasonably get to each day. Trust me. You do NOT want to end up eating a Subway sandwich in your car in the dark and finally stopping at a campsite at two in the morning because it's your only option for sleep.

If you DO decide to go with the flow, when you get close to when you want to stop and you see an affordable hotel/motel with a vacancy, STAY THERE. Don't listen to the voice that says, "We can make it further..." You may either have to double back or drive way further because there are no vacancies for many miles afterwards.

A paper map is a must. Yes, you have a smarty phone and your fancy GPS, but batteries die and not all roads show up on satellites. (Just ask those kids from Cabin in the Woods - "This road isn't even worthy of global positioning.") You never know what might happen, so an old-fashioned map is great for those unforeseen circumstances. If you don’t buy one before you leave home, pick one up at a gas station, convenience store or rest areas.

Stay tuned for more road trip tips next week where I’ll discuss more ideas to keep you sane and from killing your friends or loved ones. In the meantime, you can read about how to spend 48 hours in San Francisco in our next post from STC editor/proofreader/marketing guru, Nancy, and also give me your best tips for a successful road trip.

Review: Reserve123 Tours

Last weekend we had the opportunity to try a great service called Reserve123. The site provides a long list of tours and activities available in cities across the U.S. You can choose from bus tours to cruises. Reserve123 brings together great tour companies to give you the largest selection of tours in one place. Rates are reasonable and Reserve123 makes it super easy to book your tours.

Before leaving for our LA trip, Reserve123 asked if we might like to go on a tour in Portland first. My husband is a native Oregonian, but I am not. Although I’ve lived in Portland for over fifteen years, I don’t know the history like many people who grew up here do, so we chose a historicalboat tour on the Willamette River that talked about all 9 bridges in Portland.

Reserve123 set up the tour for me and I confirmed with the owner (Captain Seth) where we would meet for departure. On the day we were to take the tour, we met the Captain at the dock and learned about his vintage wooden boat once we climbed aboard the 1961 Tolleycraft. The little jetboat can hold three or four “tourists” and is very comfortable. It was originally sold for family recreation.

Captain Seth, who runs Portland Boat Tours, got started with his tour company this season via Kickstarter. His backers were smart in helping him begin his tours, because Seth is very knowledgeable in Portland bridge history and the past of the city in general. We learned very interesting facts about where we live, like how all 9 bridges over the river are completely different and why each was built the way it was and when. We also learned about the island that is used by the city for rock and gravel, the new construction along the river and the history of our city’s importing and exporting.

Eric and I had a fantastic time on the boat and getting to know Seth and our city better. Captain Seth may be done for the season, but his tours will resume next Summer to take more visitors and locals up and down the river to learn more about how Portland was built from the ground up and developed into the thriving and eco-friendly metropolis it is today. Not only did I find Reserve123 easy to work with, but he let me know how easy they were to work with on the back side. He told me they had helped him get quite a bit of business by partnering with them.

With 11,000 tours and activities to choose from, Reserve123 is as comprehensive as it gets for making your trips the best they can be. They only partner with reliable tour companies and offer insurance and fantastic customer service, so it’s like having a travel agent working for you on your vacation. You choose your tour(s), reserve and pay online and then confirm with the tour company directly if you wish.

The Historical Boat Tour is not the only tour available in Portland. There are many others to choose from, just like there are in other cities. With the holidays coming up, you’ll be spending a lot of time with your family. Reserve123 can help you do some affordable activities either with your whole family or in order to get away from them for a few hours and do something fun and interesting. You can now purchase Reserve123 gift cards as well, for the person who has everything, but loves to travel. Tours make great gifts and you can either choose one as a present or give a gift card where they can decide which activity sounds best to them.

If you want to see the extensive list of tours and activities available for your home area and your vacation destination(s), check out Reserve123’s website. You can also find them on Facebook and Twitter.

Disclosure: I received a free tour for the purpose of this review, but all opinions are 100% my own.

Be Your Own Tour Guide 9.29.12

One of the best ways to see a city is by walking around it, but walking tours can be spendy. You can still take a guided tour without having to book a tour or go with a bunch of strangers. With Stray Boots, you can take tours in the US or UK at your own pace and when you can fit it into your schedule. You don’t need to be on someone else’s time. Not only do you learn interesting things about the city you’re visiting, but it combines education and history with a cool scavenger hunt feel. You play your tour by cell phone text messages. You don’t need a fancy smartphone either.

Right now, you can play in Boston, Chicago, Las Vegas, Miami, Nashville, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington D.C., with more destinations to come. Through clues and fun facts, you can see the city from a unique perspective. This is the perfect way to go on a tour without all the structure and it’s great for kids and adults alike. Each tour can last two to three hours, even more if you choose to spend more time at any of the stops along the way.

This photo of Old Town Trolley Tours of Boston is courtesy of TripAdvisor

Want your children to get a fun educational experience while you’re on vacation? Then you’ll definitely all think Stray Boots’ treasure hunt walking tours are awesome. Put your heads together to come up with answers to questions texted to you and earn points that you can redeem for more fun facts! It doesn’t matter if there are two or ten of you, you can all work on one phone and even switch phones to make someone else “captain”. Each tour is just $12 per person and $6 for kids, though I’m not sure how they regulate how many are in your team.

This photo of Portland Walking Tours is courtesy of TripAdvisor

You have a year to use your voucher, so if something comes up, you can do it some other time. It’s all up to you! Check out Stray Boots now to get started!