In the course of logging about 60,000 travel miles with my kids in the past eight years, I've found that most complaints from the backseat can be tempered with simple solutions that can actually make it fun to travel as a family. A good game, for example, makes the miles fly by. In addition to games, I've developed many activities and strategies designed to amuse the most bored backseat passengers (click on the following links to see them all: audiotapes for the road, car-ride treats, classic road-trip games, getting-to-know-you games, inventing, finding and counting games, scavenger hunt for the plane, tray-top games and the ultimate travel activity bag). I hope they'll help smooth your own family's journey.

FIND IT ON THE ROAD

Test your skills of observation. Compete against each other or work together as a team to spot all the items below. Look for one or two at a time and work your way down the list. Each time your team finds something, everyone gets a treat, such as a coin. When you're finished spotting as many items as you can, make up your own list. Make sure the items are challenging, but not too difficult to find.

•Dog in a car
•Light-blue pickup truck
•Sign with the word "welcome" on it
•Ambulance
•Statue
•Flag without stripes
•Crane
•Sign with the word "no" on it
•Somebody wearing a hat
•Car with big dice hanging from the rearview mirror
•Somebody singing in a car
•Boat
•Bus stop
•Car pulling a trailer
•Motor home
•Truck pulling two trailers
•Baseball diamond
•Tennis court
•Farm animal
•Skyscraper
•Bridge
•Swimming pool
•School
•Mountain
•Water tower
•Tractor
•Bird of prey
•Cemetery
•Detour sign

When she's not involved in scavenger hunts with her backseat passengers, Susan Fox is a freelance writer in Palo Alto, California.

Please keep in mind that phone numbers, addresses, and prices are subject to change. Updated August 2005.