Once upon a time, preparing for the great American road trip was all about packing the right books: a road atlas to tell you where you’re going, travel guides to tell you where to stop, an owner’s manual to tell you what to do when your engine starts smoking and maybe some Mad Libs to keep the kids distracted.
Today, a new generation of technology is making it possible to leave the books at home and take your cross-country jaunt to the next level. With that in mind, here are some of the biggest questions likely to crop up on your road trip – and the apps that will give you the best answers.
Where am I?
Replacing your old road atlas is easy enough: chances are, your phone already has Google Maps loaded on it. But when it comes to knowing the history that is waiting at the next exit, a couple of apps can supercharge your road trip.
If you want to travel through time, the History Channel’s History Here app offers a stream of trivia tied to your location and a host of historical tours covering topics from Al Capone’s Chicago to Marilyn Monroe’s Los Angeles.
If you don’t want to plan your entire vacation around historical trivia, take a peek at FieldTrip. It notifies you whenever you get near a historical attraction, top-rated restaurant, quirky store or other can’t-miss side trip. And, since it’s partnered with top travel and hospitality guides like Atlas Obscura, TimeOut and Zagat, you can be sure that you’ll be getting access to far more than the run-of-the-mill eateries and museums.
Where can I eat?
For years, dedicated food tourists kept a copy of Jan and Michael Stern’s Roadfood in the backseat; the bible of truckstop cuisine, it has remained consistently in print since 1977.
In 2000, the Sterns launched a website; recently, they joined with Fexy Media to put together a revamped site that is maximized for mobile. The new Roadfood alerts users to the best independent restaurants around them – and can even help travelers build entire road trips around regional foods like barbecue or lobster rolls.
Cliff Sharples, CEO of Fexy Media, sees the app as a tool for discovering not just food, but also culture. “The whole idea of Roadfood is that you’re getting a mile or two off the highway, into a local town,” he says. “We’re pulling you into the small communities of America and helping you experience their distinctive culture through local dishes.”
Finding hidden gems is all well and good, but if you prefer to have someone else do the discovering for you, try TV Food Maps. It lists some 4,000 restaurants from more than 30 food shows, including Bizarre Foods America and Best Thing I Ever Ate. If you want to take the Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives tour of America, you can organize listings by show. Or you can arrange them by location, if you just want to see what’s around the corner.
Who’s going to see my vacation photos?
There’s a lot to be said for sharing your life with family and friends on social media, but there’s also much to be said for keeping things under wraps. If you’d like a little more control over who shares your vacation memories, Cluster lets you create specially curated lists of people who can see your pictures.
That way, you can let Grandma and Grandpa enjoy shots of your kids at the beach – without having to explain to your co-workers why you forgot to bring back saltwater taffy.
Where’s the culture?
The American road is big and exciting, but it isn’t always tasteful. While some people bemoan the giant tipis, dinosaur parks and wax museums that litter US highways, others know that our nation’s excesses can also be its greatest wonders. For the latter group, Roadside America, available as an iOS app or as a mobile-optimized website, is a treasure trove of the country’s weirdest attractions.
“People tell us that a trip that might have been uneventful ended up opening them to a world of obscure landmarks and museums that they might never have found,” says Doug Kirby, one of the site’s founders. “We help them find the obscure artisans and folk artists that break up the trip and make it really meaningful. And, when they get home, those are the things that they talk about.”
As an added plus, Roadside America offers Over Here/Over There, a glimpse of America’s version of Europe. “Why go to Europe when we have 20 Stonehenges and eight Eiffel Towers right here in the US?” Kirby asks. “Best of all, ours are made with good old-fashioned American ingenuity!”
If you’ve ever wondered why you can’t get Yelp reviews for street corners, Christmas decorations or the best TV scene filmed in an area, Findery is for you. It allows users to post stories, reviews and advice about whatever area you happen to be visiting.
Want to hear about the pizza place where John Travolta had a slice in Saturday Night Fever or the street corner where a stranger had a world-destroying breakup? This app can help.
Where’s my car?
In between gawking at roadside attractions and searching for the best piece of pie, chances are you’ll find yourself asking the most important question of all: where did I park? Automatic can give you the answer. The app, which connects to a sensor that you can easily install in almost any car built after 1996, can tell you where you parked, how far you’ve driven and what that irritating “check engine” light means. If you’re on a business trip, it can even tally up your expenses and work out your mileage deductions, all at the touch of a button. The sensor costs $100, but the service is free, and Automatic doesn’t share your data or information.
Damon Lavrinc, head of outreach for Automatic, sees it as a way of connecting your car to the rest of your life. “We make your car another node on the network, another place for data to come through,” he explains. Automatic also connects your car to parking apps such as SpotAngels, car repair sites like YourMechanic and dozens of other resources.
What’s that knocking sound?
Even on the best road trip, there often comes a time when you need outside help. That’s where OpenBay comes in. The site connects you to a network of mechanics located across the country who will give you quotes on the cost to diagnose and repair your problem.
CEO Rob Infantino emphasizes the quality of OpenBay’s mechanics. “We interview owners and general managers to screen for their automotive service certifications, warranties, customer ratings and reviews, insurance, and much more,” he says, noting that several major companies use the app to help their customers. “The service providers we present have the highest standards and deliver the highest quality of service.”
This content is paid for by Cadillac
