Summer is a time of vacation road trips, and when the nice folks at Reader’s Digest asked me to Off the Beaten Path last summer, it was a big hit with me. I’m reviving that review in preparation for the 2010 summer’s travels, because I think it makes a great planner for a road trip. The book promises, and delivers, some great hidden gems that are often missed with air travel, and with the state-by-state entries it makes a practical road travel book. You can use this to plan what you want to see.
Since I live in Washington State, that was the first place I turned. There were 23 entries, a respectable number for a state that has as much rural area as it does urban. The expected places were there: the San Juan’s, Olympic Peninsula, and much in the central part of the state. While I take issue with Olympic Sculpture Park being classified as off the beaten path (it’s in downtown Seattle for pete’s sake!), it was a representative combination of nature, quirky, and charming.
The book was off to a pretty good start!
Time to put it through some additional paces, though, so I called friends in other states and asked for their opinions. I took a closer look at the entries for Oregon, California, Nevada, Colorado, Arizona, Texas, Louisiana, Ohio, and Massachusetts. Like all “list” books, there was lively discussion over what should and shouldn’t be included, but the consensus was that the book did a great job of identifying and mapping out the hidden gems of nature, science, art, culture and the downright quirky.
The book has 50 chapters, one for each state, with a total listing of over 1,000 sites. That’s a whole lot of road tripping to do! There are lots of color photographs, detailed maps, vital details and information, and a listing of important websites. Attractions come complete with a legend of visitor information: (camping, swimming, hiking sightseeing, pet-friendly, accessible, and wi-fi compatible. I liked the “Did You Know” and Seasonal Events sidebars, as they packed in a little more personality about each of the states.
Keep the book handy for reference, use it to help teach the kids about the geography and history of the United States, or incorporate it into your vacation planning. It’s a fun book all the way around.
Pick up a copy of Off the Beaten Path at your local bookstore. It is also available through Amazon ($19.80).
Photo credit: Amazon
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