Road trips have come a long way

"Staycations" notwithstanding, most Americans still take to the road for their family sojourns. Brigham Young University history professor Susan Sessions Rugh, author of Are We There Yet? The Golden Age of American Family Vacations, discusses the rite of passage with USA TODAY. Q: How and why did the road trip become the emblematic American vacation? A: Car manufacturing started resuming after the war, and as cars became affordable for almost every household, there was this dramatic rush to own one. It was also a cultural decision: Families chose road trips in part because the whole family could be together. The car became an extension of home — a comfortable, almost living room on wheels. Q: You also write about development of the interstate highway system in the 1950s. Was speed the primary emphasis? A: As Calvin Trillin... [read full story]