Great Gadgets for a Stress-Free Road Trip

Two years ago, our family set out on a two-week road trip of the western United States, focusing on National Parks.  We visited Yosemite, Yellowstone, Sand Mountain, Nevada, LeMoille Canyon, Little Big Horn, and Mount Rushmore.  It was a great trip, and we learned a tremendous amount about our nation's history, and what each of us could tolerate on a long road trip.

Our car has a built-in navigation system, but if you don't have one, think about getting a TomTom navigation system for your dashboard.  The TomTom systems use a unique algorithm that constantly monitor traffic reports to help you select the best route for your trip.  The newest TomTom feature touch screen technology and a docking system for easy installation and removal in any car.   A car navigation system is one item I can't live without, since I get lost on the way to the corner grocery store.

If you don't want to invest in a GPS system, Google Maps has a free downloadable app for your smart phone that lets you map your route, and lets you know how far along you are. Like the TomTom, the app also shows you traffic snarls ahead, so you can avoid them.  Kids (and some adults) don't handle traffic well, so a real-time traffic report is a godsend on trips to urban areas.  The problem with this system is that you have to use your cellphone, so have your navigator or kid do the phone duties if you're the driver.

Speaking of phones, many states have banned talking on your cellphone (or texting) while driving.  The Jabra Cruiser is a great in-car Bluetooth system that clips onto your sun visor.  It can sync with up to five phones, so you can sync up with your spouse and teens phones.  Jabra also works Bluetooth systems downloadable apps  for your phone that expand your phone's functionality in a hands-free environment.  Vlingo does voice that will help you send Twitter and Facebook updates without texting.  Just think of all the fun you can have with hands-free Tweeting from the road.

Our son's most prized possession, especially on a road trip? A Nintendo DSi.  We were an avidly anti-gaming system family for a number of years, but finally broke down and bought the DSi specifically for travel.  With hundreds of games, a built-in camera, and recording device, it has provided endless hours of entertainment for our kid during long car and plane trips. 
When the kids get bored with counting cows, playing handheld games, or listening to Justin Bieber sing "baby, baby, baby, oooooh" for the 10,000th time, why not break out an actual board game?  One of our favorites is the travel version of Mastermind from Pressman Toys.  It's a two-person game for ages 8 and up in which one person sets a color code in a covered spot, and the other uses reason and deduction to guess the colors and order.  It can help kids develop logic and reasoning skills in a fun, unobtrusive way. -- Glennia Campbell

What are your favorite, must-have gadgets for road trips?  Where would you like to take your kids before they're grown?

See more from Clever Girls Collective:

How to Find Great Travel Deals Online
Turn Your Eye Toward iPhoneography
Creating Your Digital Camera Wishlist

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Clever Girls Collective is a social media marketing agency founded by women who wanted to use their deep marketing experience and broad social network relationships for good. We know that women who engage in social media are some of the most authentic, connected, trusted, and vocal influencers -- not only online, but "in real life." That's why we've developed The Clever 1000: an ever-growing, beautifully diverse network of professional, thoughtful social media-connected, natural networkers and influencers who want to engage with and enhance their favorite brands. Glennia Campbell is a lawyer, writer, photographer, traveler and mother from Palo Alto, California.  Her family has traveled the globe since her son (now 10) was six weeks old.  They have journied to twenty-five countries together, hitting such hotspots as Greenland, the Galapagos, Easter Island, and Libya.  She writes about her family's adventures, both foreign and domestic, at her blog, The Silent I.  She is a co-founder of the progressive women's blog, MOMocrats, and a contributor to the Korean-American parenting blog, Kimchi Mamas.  You can follow her on Twitter @glennia for random rants and insights on travel, politics, reality tv, and parenting.