Let me explain.
So I've done many rather huge road trips in my life. Driving thousands of miles a day used to be one of those things I just did now and then. For most of my life the process worked like this - Pick a few must-see destinations, book hotels, confirm I had maps, start driving. I generally had no idea what was up the road. The trips tended to be in the genre of "adventures of discovery". Radio was usually not an interesting option, and I tend to not talk much, so the trip was either silently alone with my thoughts or listening to the same CDs over and over. Eating was very hit or miss. Before Yelp and such, how would you possibly find a good place to eat in Pocatello Idaho other than random chance?
This trip was nothing like that at all.
For this trip the Droids changed nearly every facet of the experience. With Yelp I can find a great place to eat anywhere any time. Maps? Why do I even need them, when I have full satellite navigation in my pocket? Radio? With the Droids plugging into the car stereo we had endless options to choose from - thousands for songs, hours of podcasts, radio stations anywhere in the world, TV or movies even.
The biggest change is certainly the combination of Google maps and GPS. I'm not even sure if this trip could have been pulled off without those. Many of the taco shops we went to were a real pain in the ass to get to. Trying to navigate around unfamiliar parts of Oakland or LA using paper maps would have driven my copilot to an enraged meltdown. With the Droids I just pulled up taco shop, hit "navigate", and started driving.
The Google sat nav even tells me exactly how long it will take to get someplace. And yes it takes traffic and road conditions into account. Wondering how long it will take to get from Gilroy to a picnic area up in the hills of Berkeley? The Droid tells you, to the minute, and it was always right. Wondering what lane to be in? The Droid tells you. Worried about getting lost? It's not even possible.
And one of the central logistic issues of a road trip - getting gas in the car - now involves picking a nearby station off a list based on user reviews. One is closer, but people say this other one has easier freeway access and clean bathrooms. Oh, here's some pictures. Yes, navigate me to that one.
So is this a good thing, or is the road trip experience now ruined?
Sure, smartphones make it easier, and less boring. But that also removes much of the charm. A road trip used to be a bit scary. Simple things like getting some food in your mouth used to be a bit of an adventure. Getting lost might be a classic story you'd tell people about for years. Potentially running out of gas used to add a sense of danger. The sence of "where the hell am I?", or "What the hell do i do now?" used to be core to a road trip. Now.... not so much.
Bottomline - Not knowing what might be around the next bend in the road used to be a thing that actually existed. But now I have an icon on my phone that will tell me every interesting thing within 50 miles. With reviews and photos.
Ruined? Not for me. In my humble opinion it's much better.
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