Earlier this week, we talked about vacation travel by air. Today we look at travel by car.

First, make sure you have a map. A real paper map. I know you have smartphones and GPS, but if you are in heavy traffic or if you get lost, it's sure to be in a dead zone. Having a map gives you a way out.

Car travel gives you more control over your meals. You don't need to eat fast food all the time. You can go a bit away from the interstate to find a local restaurant that cooks from scratch. Or a farm stand for fresh fruits and veggies. Or a grocery store. Make sure you pack your picnic plates, napkins, and utensils. Then there's nothing to stop you from grabbing a rotisserie chicken and a salad from the grocery store for a healthy lunch. You can pack a cooler with bottles of water or juice, slices of watermelon, and string cheese. That plus other fruit and crackers are great travel snacks.

Cars nowadays come with DVD players. Plus, tablets and the like makes it easier to entertain kids on long rides. Unfortunately, it also means that they can travel across country without ever looking out the window. Make sure that every ride includes some time to look out the window. Games of spot the license plates and "I spy" are far more engaging than still more angry birds.

If you are on a multi-day car ride to get to a destination, keep one bag as the hotel bag that goes in with you every night. This bag would hold all the toiletries and other basics. You don't want to have to dig through every bag to find the toothpaste.

And this is a time to use those smartphones. If you don't do it ahead of time, use the smartphone to make hotel reservations once you know how far you will get each day. Try to make the night's reservation by 2 pm. That way, if you can't find an available room in one location, you'll have time to drive to Plan B. You don't want to be looking for a room at 9:30 pm with a car full of hungry, tired kids.

What do you do to make car travel easier and more pleasant?