Have technology, will travel

The modern marvels of travel these days are nice. I have no idea how people survived previously. They must have talked to each other or something.

This past weekend (Thursday to Monday) we made a 2,000 mile round trip to Florida and back in our little Mazda. (Zoom Zoom Zoom) I was a bit anxious about the trip, given the age of our children (well, mainly Nico) and the distance and time involved. Heck, I wasn't particularly excited to drive that far either. But given that the alternative was to fork over $1,500 to an airline, plus rent a car on the other end...the decision wasn't that difficult to make.

Now, in the "old days" (i.e., when my wife and I were kids), things were a lot different. Her family's trips often involved kids playing games together, talking, co-operation dollars, family sing-alongs, and driving while the children slept. My own experiences were different as a kid (having only one sibling, and not making too many long drives). My options were talk, sleep, or look longingly out the window.

Given our love for sleep, we ruled out driving at night. And given the current laws governing safety belt usage, it's not like we could just let them play together in the back. Thanks to an assortment of technological devices, we were able to keep everyone mostly happy:

The Portable DVD Player:

We're fortunate to have two of these (one was a gift) so each of the boys could use them. We packed 10 DVDs, and let the kids pick. Nico chose to watch "The Incredibles" three times during the trip, but that's ok.

The Nintendo DS (Dual-Screen):

Thurman mostly chose to play his portable Nintendo when he could. His current favorite games are Mario Cart DS and Super Mario Brothers. We expect him to learn other aspects of Italian culture later. Given the ethnic culture in Hoboken, that shouldn't be difficult. Just as long as he doesn't join the Mob.

The iPod:

I've been reading the Harry Potter series with Thurman, sometimes getting through a half-a-chapter a night before bed. So, we thought it'd be good to get the audio version to listen to during "breaks" from the DVDs/Nintendo. We got quite a ways into Book 5. Thurman does seem to prefer me reading it to him (which makes me feel a little loved) opposed to the audio version. However, Carma got hooked on it and will listen to the rest on her commute. (I must add that I love the audio version, Jim Dale does such a fantastic job with all the voices.)

The iPhone:

I'm going to try to not make this sound like a gushing love-fest commercial for the iPhone, but it will be difficult. So perhaps I will just list all the different things we used our iPhones for on the trip (while in the car):

• To check email, and respond to emails (very critical for Carma at the time)
• To locate a hotel, call to make a reservation, and then get directions to the hotel (twice)
• To find an Ihop (iHop?) near our hotel
• To check the weather for different towns/days
• To estimate where we would be when we ran out of gas, or where we should stop next
• To see if we could find ourselves. "Yep, here we are, on I-95 just north of Billy-Bobsville."
• To find a better detour
• To read other people's blogs and check other websites/news/sports
• To find a Pizza Hut/Godfather's Pizza nearby
• To listen to music
• To text and/or call people
• To find a lost pacifier in the back seat (as a light source)

So, we made it. 2,000 miles there and back again. Only to find at home, technology had completely failed us. Our elevator was broken.