By the time you finish reading the title of Robert Sullivan's new book, you may decide to stay home this summer. It's Cross Country: Fifteen Years and 90,000 Miles on the Roads and Interstates of America With Lewis and Clark, a Lot of Bad Motels, a Moving Van, Emily Post, Jack Kerouac, My Wife, My Mother-in-Law, Two Kids, and Enough Coffee to Kill an Elephant. Tips for travelers:

So how do you survive a family road trip?

We drive as long as we possibly can, starting as early as we can, even though we inevitably end up driving late after stopping for something we hadn't planned on-like a presidential birth site or a place with really good pie. We stop for food in the middle of the day. Once you pull over in the evening, it's tough to start over again.

What if your kids just don't wanna go?

Show you're interested in spending time with them, even if they don't overtly indicate they want you to. Enthusiasm is contagious.

Where are you headed this summer?

I'm hoping to visit the Grand Canyon in northwest Pennsylvania. It's the other one!