Don't Make Me Pull Over!An Informal History of the Family Road Trip
by Richard Ratay
Near the beginning he made a statement about the National Road having its beginnings when President Thomas Jefferson wanted a better route between Monticello and Washington. That seemed like such an interesting oddity of history that I tried to verify it. And I failed. The best I can tell the National Road went across the Allegheny Mountains to the Ohio River.
Other than that I didn't argue with him. He tells all kinds of interesting stories about the "biggest ball of string" and the first motel chain and the rise and fall of Stuckeys. He mixes his social history in with political history--oil embargo, airline deregulation--and adds a very amusing dose of his family's legendary auto trips.
If you lived through the days when seat belts were things to tuck under the back cushion, emergency roadside assistance (and cell phones) didn't exist, and Dad Drivers were nearly universally focused on "getting there", you'll resonate with this book. And most likely start telling your kids, "You don't have a clue what we went through. I had to hold my bladder from Minneapolis to Georgia."
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