Seven days after we returned from our two-week California road trip, my six-year-old son reminisced: "Morro Bay was so-oo... refreshing." His elder brother agreed.
Quite frankly, our two sons spent a total of more than 21 hours curled up in the back seat of a rented Toyota Prius MPV as we made our way between cities. So I fear, "refreshing" might not quite be an apt description.
Yet, the boys must have remembered all the good parts. Such as the overnighter at the town of Morro on the way to San Francisco where we ran with seagulls and combed the beaches for stranded giant jellyfish. They must have recalled the icy Pacific winds that blew our cares away, making us kick off our shoes and indulge our feet in the silkiest icing sugary sand.
They definitely remembered the scrumptious fish and chips and steaming clam chowder at the pier-side fish market we happened upon.
Thankfully, there was never a time that we couldn't find our hotel and we didn't get hopelessly lost in San Francisco.
You see, we had in our possession God's gift to parents bent on having an unforgettable family-friendly road trip - the super-duper Global Positioning System (GPS) in-car unit. Thanks to it, we ma naged to get to all the places we wanted to go on time and on the first try, with no fear of frayed nerves.
Even in the charmingly small community of Morro Bay, the GPS proved worthy. Unfamiliar one-way streets and nameless road bends were easily negotiated.
We knew exactly where our hotels would be, how far away the next meal or toilet break was and best of all, we we re abl e to drive off and explore places we probably would otherwise never have (like a side adventure to a prehistoric garden of Sequoia trees that have been around since the dinosaurs).
At San Francisco city, having pre-entered the addresses of desired locations such as the famous Painted Ladies traditional townhouses, a chocolate factory, the "crookedest street in the world", and of course the legendary Golden Gate Bridge, we managed to cover all the sights we set out to see in minimal time.
All smiles in front of the "crookedest" street in the world - Lombard Street in San Francisco.
Spending less time getting lost and frustrated meant more time to do more unforgettable stuff.
There were brief periods, though, when we were literally going around in circles. As we found out in the thick of Chinatown, GPS devices receive signals from satellites in the sky and these celestial transmissions can be blocked. Not uncommon in big cities with lots of skyscrapers like San Francisco.
At such times, we did not panic. Instead we fell back on our common sense of direction, aided at times by the good old map.
Detaching the GPS from the vehicle, we used the unit as a hand-held navigator as we roamed on foot through the rolling streets of San Francisco.
To decide on the best routes to take anywhere, we referred to Google Maps, a free service at www.googlemaps.com. We could see all the available routes and pick the best that would optimise our travel time without missing the good stops. It helped us to scout out rest stops and restaurants.
So, yes we will definitely take the unit when we embark on our next family road trip.
Hey, we should think about doing a trip together, with both our families. What fun it'll be.
Crystal
This article is part of The Straits Times Feb 28 supplement, "Natas Travel 2008", which is published by the Special Projects Unit, Marketing Division, Singapore Press Holdings.
