This summer my parents are planning to travel from their home in Tucson, Ariz., back east for a weeklong vacation in Stone Harbor, N.J., with my sister, myself and our families. Rather than book flights, as they have many times in the past, they had an interesting thought: What about a road trip? Having run a horse farm for most of their careers, they rarely were away from the farm for more than a week at a time. So they decided to take advantage of their new freedom and plan a road trip across the United States. As they looked at the map and the list of destinations grew, the trip became a month-long excursion from Tucson all the way to Maine, through Canada and south through Minnesota, with stops along the way to visit family, friends and some new places. They came to me for input, as of course travel is my very favorite topic. My first stop was Google Maps, where we laid out a general route, with key stops in San Antonio, New Orleans, Stone Harbor, Boston, Popham Beach in Maine and Montréal. Then we filled in a few overnights in between these destinations. After that, I went right to Global Traveler’s website to check out articles and reviews on these destinations and then on to TripAdvisor and other booking engines to find the best prices. The itinerary is not totally complete, but we have a good outline started. I am excited to share this experience with them through the planning and hope some time to have a similar adventure. I wonder where I would go. — Danielle Hudena Pitonyak, executive vice president