For whatever reasons, sometimes armchair travel will have to do.
Traveling vicariously through stories, books, videos and online courses can be the default if time, responsibilities, health, mobility or money are a problem.
No, armchair travel is not as good as the real thing, but it can take us there, and like the real thing, it also requires a curiosity about what lies beyond the front door.
Among my favorite transport vehicles are “Travels with Charley: In Search of America” (1962) by John Steinbeck, who chronicled his 1960 road trip with his poodle, Charley, to rediscover an America he felt was changing; and “Blue Highways,” written two decades later by William Least Heat-Moon about a similar journey for different reasons. (How surprised was I when one of the characters Heat-Moon encountered in New Hampshire was the same woman my father had met a few years earlier and the subject of one of our dinner-table talks.)
As a longtime travel writer, I’ve received dozens of travel books for review. Some of my favorites are these road-trip guides:
-
To celebrate the Mother Road’s centennial, author and lifestyle blogger Linda Ly compiled “The Route 66 Cookbook: The Best Recipes from Every Stop Along the Way.” Recipes, listed according to state, include American classics as well as German, Mexican, Asian, Indigenous and fusion foods. Courtesy photo “The Best Hits on Route 66: 100 Essential Stops on the Mother Road,” by Amy Bizzarri. Features “the 100 iconic stops that you cannot miss” along the nearly 2,500-mile historic road that runs from Santa Monica to Chicago. Includes eight themed itineraries for those with special interests like Native American history, Hollywood lore, natural wonders, the supernatural and more.
- “The Route 66 Cookbook: The Best Recipes from Every Stop Along the Way,” by Linda Ly. Celebrates the centennial of the Mother Road with recipes from each state through which it passes: Illinois (apple strudel); Missouri (blackberry wine cake); Kansas (egg cream); Oklahoma (späetzle); Texas (Elvis Ugly Crust Pie); New Mexico (posole); Arizona (halibut ceviche); and California (spicy seafood soup).
- “America’s Greatest Road Trip! Key West to Deadhorse: 9000 Miles Across Backroad USA,” by Tom Cotter and photographer Michael Alan Ross. The pair drove across the country from Florida to Alaska in a Ford Bronco/Airstream combo, making the longest-possible road trip within the U.S.
- “Road Trip USA: Cross-Country Adventures on America’s Two-Lane Highways,” by Jamie Jensen. Full-color, 900-page encyclopedia of maps and info on routes, themes, roadside curiosities, histories and experiences the author has gleaned from the half-million-plus miles he has traveled in 35 years.
- “It Happened Right Here: America’s Pop Culture Landmarks,” by Chris Epting. Lists with detailed history and directions to the location of hundreds of buildings, streets, alleys, churches, homes, parks, beaches, theaters and businesses where icons and the esoteric were born, died, arrested or changed the world.
For those who want to go a step beyond the written word, Road Scholar, a nonprofit that provides travel experiences primarily for older adults, offers its Adventure Online program. The multi-day, remote courses ($349-$499) take participants to European and Asian countries and to the Arctic. There also are topic-related courses in photography, World War I and II, British murder mysteries and more.
Born of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 when most travel ceased, “We needed to continue engaging with our participants and providing both educational content and social connections,” said Kelsey Knoedler Perri from Road Scholar. “So, within two weeks of the pandemic shutdown, we broadcasted our first virtual lectures.”
Apparently, the courses have sticking power.
“We weren’t sure if we’d see the interest wane after the doors of travel reopened, but happily, that hasn’t been the case,” Perri said. “Not only (are the courses) a great option for people who cannot travel, but it’s a great supplement to travel — a great way to sample new destinations you’re not sure about or revisit destinations virtually that you’ve already been to and loved.”
For more photos and discussion, or to share an adventure, email [email protected] or visit www.facebook.com/elouise.ondash.
