Book Review - Road Trip Survival Guide by Samantha Brown

If you're planning any type of road trip, you'll want to read through this book. Even if you're not going on a road trip, there is plenty of information and inspiration to get out of this book.

The first chapter focuses on planning your trip - researching your destination, making your trip more green (environmentally friendly), and some inspirational trips.

Chapter two has lots of good advice for packing and vehicle organizing plus packing lists.

The next chapter offers suggestions on snacks to make and bring with you (and thereby saving money and time).

I found the "Safety" chapter useful for any trip with tips on vehicle safety and road conditions, night driving, and other safety resources.

Chapter five has some great itinerary suggestions for road trips in the United States as well as Canada and Mexico.

Overall, this is a great book. Try to find it in your local library.

Title: The Road Trip Survival Guide: Tips and Tricks for Planning Routes, Packing Up, and Preparing for Any Unexpected Encounter Along the Way
Author: Samantha Brown
ISBN: 978-1982177072
Pages: 204

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Book Review - Muleshoe and More: The Remarkable Stories Behind the Naming of Texas Towns by Bill Bradfield and Clare Bradfield

If you've ever driven through Texas, you no doubt passed through towns with the most unusual names. That must have inspired this guide which details the naming of Texas towns.

Interestingly, the study of place names is called toponymy. And the person who studies them is called a toponymic expert.

This directory is listed out alphabetically, A through Z, followed by two indexes - one of counties and one of names.

Place names came from all sorts of origins - religion (like the Bible), mythology, foreign languages, family names, geography, botany, names of places in foreign locations, and more.

Each place listed also contains general location, county, population (at the time of this publishing, 1999) and for many, a pronunciation key.

This is a fun read. Try to find it at your local library or used bookstore. Since it was published so long ago, some of the information might be outdated or incorrect now.

Title: Muleshoe and More: The Remarkable Stories Behind the Naming of Texas Towns
Author: Bill Bradfield and Clare Bradfield
ISBN: 978-0884158653
Pages: 218

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Book Review - Lonely Planet Montreal and Quebec City by Steve Fallon, Regis St Louis and Phillip Tang

This summer I am hoping to make a trip to La Ronde, the Six Flags owned amusement park in Montreal, so I picked up a few Canadian tour guides. It's been over twenty years since I'd last visited Montreal and I can't wait to go back. Just FYI, Quebec is pronounced kay-BEC and people from Quebec are called Quebecois or Quebecoise (kebekwa).

I like how the Lonely Planet guide books are broken into four main sections (with color-coded tabs) - Plan Your Trip, Explore, Understand, and Survival Guide. Lots of full-color photographs and maps. At the end of the book after the index is a tear-out section of useful maps.

The first section, Plan Your Trip, includes the following: Montreal's Top 10, Need to Know, Top Itineraries, Monthy by Month festivals, Travel with Kids, Visiting Quebec City, Eating highlights, Drinking highlights, Entertainment, and Shopping.

The next section, Explore, is broken out into the following chapters: Neighborhoods at a Glance, Old Montreal, Parc Jean-Drapeau (where the La Ronde amusement park resides along with some other family-friendly places to visit), Downtown, Rue St Denis and the Village, Plateau Mont-Royal and the Northeast, Little Italy and Outremont, Lachine Canal and Little Burgundy, Day trips from Montreal, Accomodations, and Quebec City.

Understand Montreal and Quebec City section contains chapters on the history of Montreal and a separate history for Quebec City, People and Culture, Music and the Arts, and Architecture (a brief four page chapter on some key architectural points to visit).

Survival Guide is a chapter of interest to visitors - Transportation, Directory A-Z, and Languages (a very handy pull-out guide on some basic French)

This is a wonderful guide to this area. The walking itineraries with detailed maps and points of interest are great. Just a note, I saw on Amazon there's a newer edition coming out this year. Always be sure to validate operating hours and days as well as costs before heading out.

Title: Lonely Planet Montreal and Quebec City
Authors: by Steve Fallon, Regis St Louis, Phillip Tang
ISBN: 978-1788684507
Pages: 288

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