SAVING CENTSABLY: Using apps to save time and money
As you can tell from my previous columns, our family loves to learn about history. I really believe that without a firm grasp on what has happened in the past -- why it happened, etc. -- history will repeat itself.
I was talking with a new friend at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center about how much I like taking my kids to places that are off the beaten path. While we enjoy a trip to Six Flags or to Disney, more often than not you can find us “field-tripping” at a state or national park or historic site. These places are typically free of charge so they fit our “likes” and our budget.
However, I explained in the last two columns that several of the places we found during our trip to Alabama were almost coincidental. We would never have known about these places if not for brochures or the website www.roadsideamerica.com.
It turns out that Roadside America has an app! You can download a region of the U.S. for one fee or purchase the entire United States’ unique roadside attractions for another price.
The friend I met at the Space & Rocket Center encouraged me to check out the “Field Trip” app. I looked it up in the App Store and downloaded it immediately. As we drove home after my son’s Space Academy graduation, the phone kept giving us alerts about where we were and all the historical significance of the places we found ourselves.
For example, when we got to Fort Payne, Alabama, we used the Field Trip app to drive straight to the bronze Alabama (the musical group) statues. We saw that Fort Payne was once the home of the Indian Sequoyah -- you should know him because he developed the Cherokee syllabry, a written alphabet to help his people.
We also learned that at one time, most of the socks the people in the United States wore were made in Fort Payne; it was considered the Sock Capital of the World. They even have a Hosiery Museum there. We didn’t stop -- because at that point we were pushing to get home -- but I know we would have driven right through without learning much of anything about the history that happened right there.
If you like exploring, want to avoid u-turns (or at least a few of them), and want to learn things about where you find yourself, this app would be a great time-saver and money-saver. The Field Trip app compiles information from hundreds of groups, so the information you get is not just historic. You can “Select Your Interests” from areas such as architecture, historic places, lifestyle, food, unique attractions or arts and museums categories.
If you remember, I told you at the beginning of the year I was determined to use my phone for more saving -- these apps are just one way I am reaching that goal!
Contact writer Rachael Mercer at savingcentsably@gmail.com.
This story was originally published September 15, 2015 at 10:25 PM with the headline "SAVING CENTSABLY: Using apps to save time and money ."