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American Morning
Interview with Mark Orwoll
Aired August 06, 2002 - 07:53 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEVERLEY D'ANGELO, ACTRESS: What's the matter?
CHEVY CHASE, ACTOR: Oh, nothing, I just spent $500 on four bald tires and a tow. How much do you have, Audrey?
DANA BARRON, ACTRESS: 35.
ANTHONY MICHAEL HALL, ACTOR: She has $40, dad.
BARRON: How would you know, unless you went in my purse, you rotten sneak!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, yes. See, that's a really funny clip from the Chevy Chase movie, "Family Vacation." Trust us, it was funny.
Now, sometimes it's not so funny, though, to be traveling with the kids. It's not really relaxing and reinvigorating. Those long trips with your kids can be difficult, but if you hit the road prepared, we are told it could actually be fun.
This morning, we have some strategies -- this is a survival story by the way -- Mark Orwoll from -- he is the managing editor for "Travel and Leisure." You are a survivor. You are just back from your own road trip with your own kids.
MARK ORWOLL, MANAGING EDITOR, "TRAVEL AND LEISURE": We've got -- my wife and I have three kids, and we just go back, and we did manage to survive it and had a great time, too.
KAGAN: Good. So you are going to give some tips to some families that perhaps still have some family vacations or maybe getting back from family vacations ahead.
ORWOLL: That's right.
KAGAN: The No. 1 tip I think that I picked up in there, be responsible and be practical in how you structure it. Don't drive more than four hours. ORWOLL: Oh, it's a real good idea. I mean, look, there are -- kids are not going to be able to sit for more than that long without getting completely bored. There are ways to keep them amused. And one of the things -- my wife came up with this idea -- bring along a lot of games, but distribute them like every half hour, and that will help keep the kids amused, and talking about some of the old-fashioned kind of games, for example.
KAGAN: Old fashioned. Well, first of all, a lot of people have resorted to the VCR in the back seat.
ORWOLL: Oh, yes, indeed. That's one of the...
KAGAN: Right.
ORWOLL: Actually, that's one of the great options in minivans these days. If you don't have one and you wanted to get one installed, you can do it for like $1,500 parts and labor. That is a great way...
KAGAN: The portable ones, but make sure it's safe and strapped in, because that could be a danger in an accident.
ORWOLL: You can actually have them actually built in, you know, permanently, but you're right. The ones that are portable can be dangerous. But high-tech ways of keeping your kids amused are certainly one of the best ways of doing it. Not even necessarily high-tech, books on tape, for example, a wonderful...
KAGAN: I like that idea...
ORWOLL: We...
KAGAN: ... because you're using your imagination a little bit.
ORWOLL: We brought along a couple that we picked up at Barnes and Noble, and they range from -- I paid $10 for the "Corduroy" one, $25 for the "Charlotte's Web." Buy inexpensive tape players for the kids, so mom and dad don't necessarily have to listen, you know.
KAGAN: I like that.
ORWOLL: But as I said, that's one of the great ways of keeping kids amused. But even more high-tech, you know, all kids love GameBoys. There is a new generation now...
KAGAN: This thing called the Flipster.
ORWOLL: ... the Flipster.
KAGAN: What does this thing do?
ORWOLL: This thing actually plays -- well, it plays MP3 audio. It plays MP4 video. It plays games, or that is, you play games on it.
KAGAN: Yes. ORWOLL: It acts as a recorder. There are add-on options like getting television...
KAGAN: How much? How much out of mom and dad?
ORWOLL: $399 for this, which is inexpensive.
KAGAN: See, for a kid in the back seat.
ORWOLL: Yes, but on the other hand, if you're making a lot of car trips, or if you have a really good kid who deserves it, it's called...
KAGAN: For a really bad kid who drives you crazy.
ORWOLL: ... Pogo Products makes this. It's a great idea.
KAGAN: OK. On the opposite end of the spectrum, this is why I got in trouble. I've been sitting here in the studio, I am playing Auto Bingo. I spy a boy.
ORWOLL: Well, this is...
KAGAN: I spy a girl.
ORWOLL: This is a -- this is a sort of a retro game. We bought these for -- these bingo cards for $2 a piece at Restoration Hardware. You can even make your own. You don't have to go out and buy them. But it's the old, you know, I am spotting something on the roadside, you check it off, the first person that makes the row across shouts out "bingo." But there are plenty of other things, the "Name that Tune," "I went on a vacation," so much that you can do...
KAGAN: All that kind of stuff.
ORWOLL: ... that will keep your kids occupied. Just be smart about it.
KAGAN: Dole them out in time, not all at once.
ORWOLL: That's right.
KAGAN: And when all else fails, bribes and threats.
ORWOLL: And (UNINTELLIGIBLE) healthy food, this is like soy beans in the pot.
KAGAN: Yes.
ORWOLL: Don't give them candy bars all the way. That's just going to keep them hyper.
KAGAN: Like I said, there are bribes...
ORWOLL: That's right.
KAGAN: ... in the end. Well, a man who has survived his share of Hemmer family trips...
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, baby.
KAGAN: ... I can only imagine, there must be some great stories.
HEMMER: Yes...
(CROSSTALK)
KAGAN: Lots of Hemmer kids in the back seat.
HEMMER: There was one piece of music we could settle on among the seven of us.
KAGAN: How many?
HEMMER: Neil Diamond by 8-track. We used to count VW bugs, too, by the way.
KAGAN: Slug bugs.
ORWOLL: I'm glad I didn't travel along with you, Bill, on those trips. Neil Diamond is not one of my favorites.
HEMMER: Yes, since 1974.
Back with more in a moment here on AMERICAN MORNING. Thank you, Mark.
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