For many families, road trips can be the least expensive way to travel. And nowadays, parents have to go beyond just bringing extra snacks and think in terms of tech entertainment in order to have a chance of having a peaceful and harmonious trip.

I personally love road trips. Both my husband and I feel this is the best way to show our boys the world beyond New York City's bridges and tunnels. And using technology, for us, is an excellent way to provide them creative ways to catalog their journey while learning.

Don't get me wrong, simply equipping your vehicle with essential gadgets like smartphones and tablets is not enough.  Engaging, interacting kids during long trips provides the opportunity for everyone to learn something from each other in a way we normally wouldn't due to being knee deep in routine and daily responsibilities.

So keep in mind, a little bit of technology during long road trips can go a long way. Here are some simple ways to capture those moments than with gadgets can make your road trip more enjoyable for everyone.

Tune Into the Moment

Bring your entire music library on the road with you and turn your tablet or smartphone into an entertainment hub for the entire family.   Aside from your personal library, Google Music, Pandora, Spotify, and Audible are excellent resources for music and books.

Also, if you have a young reader in the car, encourage their reading by having them read out loud with either a traditional book or eBook or you can read a classic story to them. My son is slowly getting into non-picture books and was excited to have me read The Sword In The Stone to him.

Capture the Moment

My son is extremely visual and LOVES taking pictures.  He has a SMART Samsung point and shoot which is just the perfect size for his little hands.  We have equipped it with a nifty Eye-Fi SD card which automatically transfers, organizes onto any mobile device. Allowing him to freely capture images, lets him tell his own story of our family trips.

Tell A Story

Have your kids creatively express themselves and share their own road trip experience. Using writing apps like iDiary for Kids ($1.99 iTunes store) is a great way to keep your kids learning while allowing them to write about their special moments and even include images to create a scrapbook of their trip.