A Word From The Publisher
Traveling By Car, With Kids

Having spent close to 20 hours driving in four states last week during our annual vacation, we have a few suggestions for any other families facing the prospect of many hours together in a car.

First, audio books are a wonderful way to pass the time for everyone in the car, including the driver. Although our long distance vehicle has a DVD player, we have found that a good long audio book is even more entertaining. We downloaded "Eragon" and "Eldest", two books by Christopher Paolini which are young adult books about dragons and magic and were very entertaining. Books can be borrowed from the library, bought or downloaded from an internet service. (We downloaded them from Audible.com and burned them to CDs.)

Second, for multi-day trips plan at least one fun activity per day. We managed to fit in several side trips this summer including the Franklin Institute to see the King Tut exhibit, as well as the roller coasters at Hershey Park. Other years we have taken side trips to visit Howe Caverns and Ausable Chasm in upstate New York.

Third, pack a picnic lunch for eating in the car. Without sounding too much like Mitt Romney, keeping the stops to a minimum really helps during those long car trips. Having a cooler stocked with lunch and drinks can cut down on the amount of time searching for a place to eat as well as the time to stop. Packing something special such everyone's favorite deli sandwiches can add a little festivity to the ride as well. Pretend it's a real picnic. (Mr. Romney's views on car rides can be found online by Googling "mitt romney car ride")

For those Garden City families who are planning an August getaway, enjoy your trip. Remember, getting there can be half the fun.

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Thanks to all our readers who have submitted items in the past few weeks. This is the time of year when we have plenty of space, so keep them coming.

Meg Morgan Norris

Publisher