Roadtripper

I’ve got a good reason for taking the easy way out- lately I’ve been in the car and on the turnpike more than I’ve been home. And let me tell you- it can be harrowing for a gal who likes to take the scenic route and gets noticeably agitated if someone offers her fries in a holster. It took me so long to find out about cool stuff along the way, but I found out. And I’ll take you all the way there- to the rest stops along the information super highway that can make your next roadtrip more imaginative and less insipid.

My first stop for roadside info is the website for By The Way Magazine (http://www.btwmagazine.com). Founder Randy Garbin has been a champion of the quintessential American eatery known as the diner since he began publishing Roadside Magazine over ten years ago. BTW picks up where Roadside left off (for the dish on that check http://www.roadcide.com) and expands the scope of both the magazine and the website to include topics such as ice-cream parlors, cafeterias, downtowns, sprawl, streetscapes and where to find a good cuppa coffee along the way. Updated weekly, this site is a good place to learn about interesting destinations, and their links page is a great place to check out cool road related websites. We have promised that we will recite the BTW credo as a mantra the next time we are looking to move: “Eat in Diners/ Put a porch on your house/ Ride trains/ Shop Main Street/ Live in a walkable community”.

I think we can all pretty much agree that, on a long car ride, where you eat when you eat and what you eat become major points of interest and conversation. When I just can’t stand the thought of ordering some number-named jumbo meal I turn to Roadfood (http://www.roadfood.com) to show me the way to some Realfood . Named after the caloric car bible written by Jane & Michael Stern, the meat and potatoes of this site is the Roadfood Forums. Here you can get wonderfully lost in recommendations for almost any food type under your sunroof. From where to eat along I-95, to who has the best hot-dogs, these recommendations and tips come from regular folks who also know that sometimes a meal is more than something to quell your hunger. Be warned- visiting this site will make you very hungry!

Like all good roadtrippers I know that sometimes roadfood comes in a pretty package- wrapped up in shiny stainless steel of a vintage diner for example. Diner City (http://www.dinercity.com) is a great resource to check when you want to bring your camera along for the ride. Ron Saari has posted information and often striking photos of diners in almost all of the states. Keeping in mind the old “don’t judge a book” adage, I know that a pretty diner does not guarantee an exquisite meal, but is sure can make some simple comfort food more memorable.

Want more cool retro photos for your roadtrip scrapbook? Take a look at the collection amassed by the folks at Roadside Peek (http://www.roadside peek.com). If you are looking for vintage neon, googie architecture, tiki villages and the like, this is the place to get your inspiration overload.

If your dulling commute is in need of a side order of wackiness the gang at Roadside America (http://www.roadsideamerica.com) will fill your order. Organized by state it also has a great search feature- type in “twine” for example, and you will be led to the page for “the world’s largest ball of twine”. This is my favorite place to poke about and daydream about taking to the road, sleeping in a concrete wigwam on my way to Route 66, or if I just want to know what is going on in Collinsville, IL (the celebration for the world’s largest ketchup bottle, natch)

Before I have to hop behind the wheel, a last suggestion: if you have the urge to roadtrip but your leash is short, take a drive over the Delmembr after visiting our last site- Weird New Jersey (http://www.weirdnj.com). Trust me, the name says it all.