Ridin’ Nerdy: The Roadside America iPhone App
Roadside America is the online mother-load of weird and wonderful kitschy destinations. Categorized by state, the website can help you punctuate a ride or a trip with some super funky spots to stop at along the way.
If this isn’t your first time reading this blog then you are probably well acquainted with the fact that I often stop to see roadside gems in my travels. Well, thanks to the iPhone and Roadside America’s forwarding thinking – there is an app to make ridiculous road tripping even easier. Now you can have listings of muffler men, giant fiberglass gorillas and giant balls of twine right in your tankbag without any pre-planning.
Just like the website, the app attractions contains a description, photos, a rating, any contact information and a link to Google maps to pull up directions. What more do you need?
Access Plans:
Single Region – $2.99 Pick one region of the US: California, Northwest, Southwest, Midwest, Southeast or Northeast
50 States – For and additional $5.99 you can have access to all 50 states for 1 year.
Feature – Near Me
Using the iPhone’s location service, you can see the 25 closest attractions to you. So, if you find yourself in a coffee shop in an unfamiliar town, you can just poke a few buttons and 1-2-3… start riding towards a giant mechanical eagle that just happens to be a hop, skip and a jump away.
Feature – Themes
Feel like finding the closest Muffler Man? How about dinosaurs, UFOs or a zombie army? Well then, just give the Theme button a tap and voila! You’ll get a topical listing of your desired weirdness. This can make for a nice theme-based ride if you’re looking for something different to do.
Feature – Submit Tip
Whoa Nelly! Did you just stumble upon something that isn’t already listed on Roadside America? Well, hot damn! Go ahead and submit a tip to the site right from the app.
What Else Is There?
Search, Cities, Random, Been There, Share on Twitter or Facebook – All good stuff.
My Verdict
I bought the Northeast region. For $3, I’m happy to have a database of silliness in my pocket. I probably wouldn’t spring for the whole US unless I was planning on taking a big trip.
Using my phone as a guide, I took a ride to see Long Island attractions and marked them as “been there” in the app. That was pretty fun. I really like that it can take away the need to plan in advance and I’m all for doing less work. Would I recommend the app to other roadside lovers? You betcha!
How Do I Get It?
For more info on the app – visit Roadside America or iTunes.
Can’t wait for the Verizon iPhone to show up!
I know, D. I was in the same boat then just said.. ah the hell with it and bought one on AT&T anyway. We seem to have really good coverage out here on LI. I find myself on wifi very often though.
If I only had an iPhone… I would subscribe to this application immediately. But my cell is a crappy Blackberry…
i’m a recent iphone convert, Sonja. I absolutely HATE talking on the phone, so the only thing I ever really needed was something to read my work email on the go. A Blackberry fit that bill just fine.
But, i got sucked in with the “fluff” of the smartphones. I need to be honest here. It was mostly the camera apps that sucked me in. In 2 months, I’ve made 2 phone calls on my iphone but.. i’ve taken countless photos, read a bajillion emails and posted photos and discussed the state of my bruised ass at great length on facebook.
It’s really just a fun toy – i’m really happy with it. The roadside america app is icing on the cake 🙂
Oh, I have to have this one. I love the weird and wonderful. This is definately for me. Thanks
Very cool sounding app, thanks for sharing! I have an iPod touch and LOOVE it, though it doesn’t help me in between wifi hotspots..