Even though the summers here are HOT there are lots of easy weekend get-aways where the temperatures are cooler – its about a 5 hour drive to San Diego. Or staying within Arizona, Prescott is about 1 and 1/2 hour drive or Flagstaff is about 2 hours away.
We try to get to San Diego a few weekends every summer. We spend most of the day at the beach – my son loves to boogie board and is just starting to surfing. I like to just relax on the beach with a book or magazine. We also like to explore the tide pools and visit Sea World or the San Diego Zoo.
I recently purchased a new phone that uses Walmart Family Mobile. The plan is only $29.88/month which includes Unlimited Talk, Text and Data (up to 1G of 4G LTE data). The plan is post paid with no contracts which is awesome. Saving money, means more play money for vacations!!
I purchased the Alcatel One Touch Pop Astro plus Walmart Family Mobile Starter kit. Once at home I signed up for Walmart Family Mobile online – so easy, and no contracts (I love that part).
I’ve gone paperless as much as possible which is why I love having a smart phone. Its so great to have all your information in one place – no worries about leaving important reservation information at home. With all these apps is is great to have the Walmart Family Mobile plan the includes up to 1G of data.
A few of my favorite smartphone apps for road trips
- Contacts – standard on most phones but so useful for storing family and friends addresses and phone numbers. I add hotel contact information for vacations so I can easily call the hotel or map directions.
- Weather – I always check the weather forecast before packing for my trip. Rain, cool nights – its always best to be prepared.
- Maps – The best way to get there and check on traffic. Also gives the answer to the questions “are we there yet?”
- TripIt – coordinate all your reservations in one place. Hotel reservation. This app is even more useful for bigger trips to track plane and car rentals too.
- TripAdvisor – This app is great for planning out your entire trip itinerary. Lots of resources including reviews.
- Messaging – Another pretty standard app but so useful for keeping in touch with family and friends when planning your trip.
- Yelp – This is my favorite app when deciding where to eat – so easy to search what’s nearby and what’s good.
- Swarm and Foursquare – Don’t forget to check in at your destinations – great to see what your friends are up to and if any are nearby.
- Notes – another standard app and so useful. I like to create my packing list so I don’t forget anything.
- To do – I also have a million things to do before leaving on a tip and its great to have them all in one place. Buy snacks for the car, arrange to have someone feed the pets, get an oil change – I love to get everything in a single list so I don’t have to worry about forgetting something critical.
- Instagram, Facebook and Twitter – My favorite social media apps important, of course, so I can share photos of my trip to all my friends and family.
- A selection of games, music and books for entertainment for the entire family! Games for the kids to lay in the car. A good novel for mom to read on the beach.
And don’t forget to pack your cell phone!
Off to the beach,,,
What’s your favorite weekend road trip destination?