First of all, this is both a coffee table book, oversized and full of beautiful photos, as well as a practical road travel book, with entries by state giving you the where and why of what you should see. 

I started my review looking at what they had to saw about Washington, the state that I’m the most familiar with.  Washington has 23 entries, a respectable number for a state that has as much rural area as it does urban.  The expected places were there, in 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 downtown for criminey sake!), it was a fair representation of nature, quirky, and charming.

Still, the book was off to a pretty good start!

Next, it’s time to call in some friends and have them take a look at the states that they’re familiar with.  It was a good way to get additional opinions and reviews, and we sat around having a class of wine playing the “have you been there?” game as we looked through the book.  We looked at Oregon, California, Nevada, Colorado, Arizona, Texas, Louisiana, Ohio, and Massachusetts.  The consensus was a big  THUMBS UP, and that there was a good job of indentifying the hidden gems of nature, science, art, culture, and the unexpected.

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!  You’ll find lots of color photographs, detailed maps, vital details and information, and links to the attraction’s website.  Attractions come complete with a legend of visitor information (camping, swimming, hiking sightseeing, etc.),  and this year three new icons were included – 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.

This book isn’t going to make it to my bookshelf; it’s one that I’m going to keep handy for regular reference.  In fact, I got a bunch of ideas for a road trip, along with spots that show great promise for future blog posts.  And I can just refer to that wi-fi compatible icon, and I’m all set!  It’s a great planner for an affordable family road trip.

Pick up a copy of Off the Beaten Path at your local bookstore.  It is also available through Amazon ($19.80).

Photo credit:  Amazon

Post from: Fly Away Cafe