Filling Time on a Boring Drive: Road Trip Games

by Martha Edwards on

I spent the last 5 days driving across the Canadian prairies with my friend Sarah. We drove about 2800 km in total (about 1740 miles for you non-metrics), entertained only by a few CDs randomly chucked into the car in haste, one gossip magazine and about 50 country music stations per town. Oh, and a few road trip games made up for such purposes, such as:

Cows: My friend Alissa taught me this. Whenever you pass a field of cows, you yell cows and quickly count the number of cows in the field, to a maximum of 17.You can then bank that number of cows and at the end of the trip, the person with the most cows wins. The catch is cemeteries. If one of your opponents sees a cemetery, they can get rid of all of your cows by yelling cemetery! It’s pretty thrilling when you’re surrounded by pretty much nothing but cows. Though don’t play it on a bus — people will think you’re strange for being so happy to see a cemetery.

License plate: The object of this game is to make the best word or phrase out of the letters on a license plate. For example, a plate that reads JXT 986 could be Juxtaposition 983! (with exclamation mark because you must yell it out.) Or UKJ 123 could be Ukulele Jingle or Yukon Jack 123! The judging part can be a bit tricky, but I guess there are no real winners — it’s about bringing creativity to the car.

Cars: Each person picks a color. Say you pick Blue and your opponent picks white. You count the blue cars that you see, and your opponent counts the white cars. Whoever gets to, say, 15 first wins. Yay!

You know, when you write them down, they sound pretty dull. Here’s a list of some more interesting games that I will bring next time I spend so much time in the car.

One for the Road: Dr. BBQ’s Big Time Barbecue Road Trip

by Kelly Amabile on

Need some help planning your big July 4th barbecue? Never fear — Dr. BBQ is here! Ray Lampe’s latest book serves up a selection of regional specialties from around the USA: Dr. BBQ’s Big-Time Barbecue Road Trip is a collection of mouth-watering recipes gathered from his travels around the country. The grilling guru offers up the usual cooking tips and tricks, along with featured recipes like Kentucky Barbecued Mutton and Kansas City Style Brisket.

Dr. BBQ gives hungry readers the real deal on where to find barbecue to meet every craving. (We know you’re just dying to try those Smoked Cornish Hens!) See how easy it is? Hit the road with the Doc’s new book and get grilling. If you want to see the grill master live in action, you’ll have to wait till after the 4th though — he’ll be doing cooking demos in California, Illinois and Tennessee later this summer.

One for the Road: The Short Bus – A Journey Beyond Normal

by Kelly Amabile on

Author Jonathan Mooney was a short bus rider–a derogatory term used for kids in special education and a distinction that told the world he wasn’t “normal.” Along with other challenged students (in his case, dyslexic and learning disabled), he grew up amid unfair labeling and skepticism surrounding his ability to succeed.

Mooney went on to graduate with honors from Brown University, but could never escape the pain from his past. What better cure than a road trip? To free himself and to learn how others had moved beyond labels, he decided to buy his own short bus and set out cross-country, looking for kids who had dreamed up creative and magical ways to overcome the obstacles that separated them from the so-called normal world.
The Short Bus is Mooney’s humorous and poignant record of his four-month, 35,000-mile epic journey. He meets thirteen people in thirteen states, including an eight-year-old deaf and blind girl who likes to curse out her teachers in sign language; and Butch Anthony, who grew up severely learning disabled but now owns the Museum of Wonder. Mooney learns from these folks that there’s no such thing as normal and that to really embrace life, each person must find their own special way to stay the course. He’ll be reading at NYC’s Half King on Monday night, June 25 at 7 PM.

One for the Road: Route 22

by Kelly Amabile on

Here’s a new book that just screams road trip. Well, maybe it’s more of a gentle awe-inspiring hush, but there’s an obvious undercurrent of energy here that may soon motivate you to hit the highway. New York-based photographer Benjamin Swett has created a photo essay of Route 22, the 350-mile highway that connects Manhattan and Montreal. More about this unique travelogue and “Autobiography of a Road” from the Quantuck Lane Press:

While driving along this road one day, Swett was struck by the contrast between the landscape he could see through his car window and the more romantic one he remembered from his childhood. Without any particular plan, he set out to discover how the upstate New York of James Fenimore Cooper and Thomas Cole became this other place-a seemingly lost, untended region of Off-Track Betting Parlors and Tattoo Emporiums, abandoned diners, and ancient buildings crumbling into forgotten canals. The result of his exploration is this book-an insightful and deeply personal meditation on this complicated and beautiful landscape, accompanied by ninety evocative photographs.

Swett is the former director of the Parks in Print program at the New York City Parks Department, and has also produced Great Trees of New York City: A Guide in addition to several other books. Photos from Route 22 can be seen here.

Weird Campers, Unusual RVs, and Other Bizarre Rolling Rooms

by Willy Volk on

Hotels are nice. Motels are cheap. Earth ships are, well, you know earthy. But for real travelers — the wanderers with a lust for wheels — there’s nothing more intoxicating than traveling the countryside in a camper.

Watching the scenery glide past; getting a sunburn on the arm hanging out the window; reveling in the freedom to stop anydamnwhere you please…ahhh, this is when traveling becomes adventure.

There are many different kinds of mobile living quarters: campers, RVs, and mobile homes are for the common person. For the true wandering spirit, only a unique rolling room will do. What qualifies as a “unique rolling room”? From the Train RV, to the Little Bugger Mini Home, to the ass-kickin’est overlander imaginable, here are 10 of the most unusual rolling rooms on the planet.

Road tripping is nothing new, of course. If you think about it, the exploration of the Old West was just one long, nation-wide road trip. Covered wagons, though, were not the ideal medium for cross country caravanning. Therefore, since the earliest days of travel, clever wanderers have longed for their own portable space on the open road.

For example, one of the oldest known campers is this converted Model T from 1920. Part house and part car, this novel cottage on wheels — complete with its own sunroom and back porch — gives a new spin to the term “life on the road.”

The guy who converted the Model T didn’t corner the market on wooden campers, though. Check out this truck-slash-log cabin. It doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere soon, but it’s nice to know that whereever you’re parked, you’ve got a window to throw trash out of and a tiny stove for cookin’ up some grits.

In stark contrast to that wobbly-looking log cabin camper, this mighty behemoth oozes testosterone and sweat. Fit to tackle all manner of terrain, but homey enough to receive all your favorite episodes from the Travel Channel, this camper — dubbed the Train RV — is the little camper that could.

Okay, so maybe the Train RV is a little big. Fair enough. Maybe you’re more into this completely stylized, totally tricked-out, all-season Vanagon. This particular Vanagon features:

  • a Thermal Systems 6000 BTU Platinum Cat power vented catalytic heater
  • Warm Window insulated curtains and a uniquely designed self-supporting awning
  • a Sony SAT-B3 DSS receiver; a portable, collapsible Winegard satellite dish; a Sony Trinitron AC/DC color TV; front & rear Boston Acoustics Pro Series speakers; an Alpine AM/FM cassette receiver with wireless remote control; and a compact disc changer
  • a 90-watt roof mounted BP solar panel; a Morningstar Sunsaver photovoltaic controller; an Exeltech XP125 true sine wave inverter; and a power distribution panel with the meters and switches to monitor and control it all.

Yes, this Vanagon is THE camper for the wandering geek.

Vanagon isn’t the only cool VW camper. Haven’t you ever heard about the Little Bugger Mini Home? This 1967 Little Bugger Volkswagen Conversion Camper is one of only 200 made by a shop in Irvine, California — and it can be yours, if you win the eBay auction.

Volkswagon clearly manufactured the most hackable vehicles of the 1970s and 1980s. Disagree? Check out this Hybrid RV, featuring a bus with a pop-out and a Vanagon with a pop-up:

Switching gears slightly, designer Kevin van Braak has figured out a way to bring a little countryside into the city. Essentially a trailer that unpacks into a thriving green space, the crafty trailer easily unfolds, allowing you to camp in a camper, on some grass, in the city. For more images — or to see how van Braak built this concept car — check his website.

Urban camping takes on a new meaning with Michael Rakowitz’ P(Lot) project, which we mentioned recently. Grab a sleeping bag; find a parking space; and you’re good to go.

Hit the brakes! Before we spend too much time getting INTO the city, let’s remember what campers and RVs are for: getting the heck outta dodge! Were I to get the chance to travel the world, this may be the overlander I’d choose to do it in. Sturdy, compact, and complete with a map in case I forget where I’ve been, this rugged little piece of machinery can take you almost anywhere you want to go.

And for the places that this overlander CAN’T take you — you can always rev up this bad boy. Owned by Zulu Overland, this overlander is typical of the vehicles I saw zooming through Zambia. With space below for food and gear, and plenty of seats above for convenient game-viewing, these monsters were notorious for screaming over potholes as though they were pinholes.

UPDATE: Our good buddies at Autoblog recently pointed out some other cool campers, including:

The one-of-a-kind, Wothahellizat (say it out loud…):

The sleek, Euro RV, the Knauss V-Liner:

The Terra Wind, a floating motor home:

And a custom-built 1958 Edsel Ranger Motor Home:

Can’t afford one of these campers? No worries. Just take a road trip and see some countryside for yourself.