All-American Road Trips

Introduction

20 years from now, families will be gathered at a family reunion, reflecting back on the Covid-19 pandemic. There will be tragic stories of illness and death. There will be sad stories of job loss and loneliness. And there will be inspirational stories about family bonding and hope. About new directions in life that were hatched.

For my family, it will be stories about our dinnertime chats. With three school-aged children thrust into e-learning, our objective as parents was to provide educational stimulus, but in a fun way. Each day we picked a new state and our kids came to dinner that night with three unique facts and a list of things they wanted to see and do there. From Maine to Hawaii and every place in between, we uncovered details about our nation that would impress even Alex Trebek! The ultimate purpose of this exercise was to get our kids thinking about the future—that there was more to life than our four walls. We wanted to get them excited about a post-Covid-19 world and based on their enthusiasm for the project, I think we succeeded.

It was also the inspiration behind this guide. The entire All-American Road Trips project was conceived and published in less than 60 days, unheard of in the publishing world.

It is brought to you by the entire team at Premier Travel Media who worked under tremendous pressure and reduced resources. All told, over 25 writers, editors, designers and marketers lent their talent to produce this guide.

Our goal is to offer inspiration and guidance to families seeking to hit the road again this summer, fall or winter. After all, you haven’t been out in a while! Not to worry, though, as these talented writers reflect on some of their favorite family vacation destinations and lend inspiration and advice on how to “road trip” better. Our editors hunted down photos and fact-checked from their spare bedrooms in this all-hands-on-deck project.

I hope you enjoy the debut of All-American Road Trips and that you’ll share it with your family and friends so they too can experience the joys of travel once again.

Jeff Gayduk, Publisher