Long story: Read on.

Note: This is not a sponsored post!

I’ve been seeking some kind of cell phone mount or speaker phone attachment for about a year now. (Yes, it does take me a long time to make my shopping decisions!). I couldn’t find the “perfect” one and the ones that I really liked were extremely expensive ($50 and up). So I kept putting it off. But last week, while surfing eBay, I found the Canada Drive Safe Portable Car Mount w/Vent Clips. It was very inexpensive (about $9 with free shipping) and while it wasn’t “perfect,” it looked pretty close. I especially appreciate the web page and how-to video that the company has on their website (I embedded the tutorial on this product, see below).

Here in New York State, it is illegal to text while driving and talk on a cell phone while driving. The penalties are pretty high, and I can only assume that other states will be adding similar laws and penalties, as well. Besides, it is downright dangerous to fanagle a cell phone while driving. As a traveling mom, I need to maintain contact with the family at home, but it is not always possible to pull over to the side of the road to answer or make a call. Enter this little device.

As you can see from the photo, the mount attaches to the car vent slots. There are several pros and cons to this kind of mount (which I list below), but I preferred the car vent mount. I have seen another kind of mount that uses a flexible arm with one end inserted into the cigarette lighter, but this kind of mount interferes with my transmission stick, since the lighter is near the stick handle.

The Canada Drive Safe mount is sturdy and is well designed. I have seen some pretty flimsy car vent mounts that try to balance a heavy phone on two skinny clips. Not so with Canada Drive Safe– the mount has two sturdy clips AND a thick plastic stand that supports the entire phone and mount. I trust this mount to hold my phone at all times.

The mount also has two soft rubbery pads on each side that extend to fit any phone. I love this! I don’t have to remove my phone from the case to use this mount. That’s probably the winning factor for me. The mount also gives you the opportunity of inserting your own small photo on the back panel, so you don’t have to stare at a blank black panel when you’re not mounting you phone. Cute.

Pros:

• Very sturdy with an extra stand to hold phone in mount.
• The mount fit perfectly in my little car vent slots.
• The mount arms are expandable, so I don’t need to remove my phone case. Terrific design!
• You can remove the mount by taking the pieces apart. This helps prevent the clips from breaking when you want to remove the mount from the vent slots.
• Did I say I love the expandable arms so I don’t have to remove my phone case?
• The bottom shelf supports my thick phone with its case, and gives me sufficient room to plug the phone into the charger.
• It’s very inexpensive!

Cons:

• You can’t use the heat through the vent to which the phone is attached, or you risk overheating the phone. During the winter, I usually don’t use the upper vents, anyway– I use the defrost vents or the foot vents. So this issue us a minor inconvenience for me.
• The mount is difficult to remove the vent. Yes, you can disassemble the device to access the slot holders, but it’s still a pain in a cramped space. So once the mount is on, expect it to stay on.
• The mount holds all sorts of cell phones but not a larger GPS. I have a 5-inch wide GPS and it wouldn’t fit. It’s not a big deal, as I already have a dashboard mount for the GPS, but I was hoping it would fit. The vent mount arms extend to 4 inches, wide enough for cell phones.
• The bottom shelf has two small legs that cover the iPhone speaker and microphone. There are ways around this (set the phone in upside down), but I thought I’d mention it here.

Overall, I think the mount is terrific. It’s well-designed, sturdy, and it looks very nice. It fits all phones — even with the case on! — and sets nicely in the car vent area. I love it!

I include the video from the Canada Drive Safe site. I thought it was pretty cool and it helped me put the device together.

In case you haven’t heard, Zenni Optical is the Number One online store for prescription eyeglasses. They were also the only company that was able to handle my high prescription! I shopped around at several stores before finally choosing Zenni. I can’t tell you how impressed I am, seriously.

Zenni offers low-cost glasses because they eliminate that expensive middle man. You can get bifocals, progressive, sunglasses, reading, ANY kind of glasses. You do need to have your prescription and pupillary distance measurement (obtained from your optometrist). Zenni also offer tinted glasses, too. So you can pick up a nice pair or two of regular prescription glasses and get a swanky pair on prescription sunglasses for free!

Note: I have the iPhone so I am especially interested in iPhone apps– but realize that many of these app creators have made compatible apps on other phones, such as Android and Blackberry. Therefore, I link to the main app website where possible so you can check out the full app no matter what phone you use.

NYC Way
NYC Way is my new favorite app. Wow! The description says, “Get the app that is endorsed by the Mayor of New York City!” Yeah, no kidding. I could probably write a shorter review of what this app does NOT do…

Here’s a very brief breakdown of all the things this app has:

Locate restaurants by neighborhood, cuisine, GPS location, menus, and more.
Locate coffee shops the same way.
Find nearby Banks and ATMs.
View the list of nearby attractions.
View lists of free attractions.
Find restrooms.
Check out local deals and offers by stores.
Find museums, hotels, places kids like, and more!

What I like about the app is the ability to find things either by browsing or by viewing that’s nearby by GPS. This is definitely a must-have app. And it’s free!

HopStop

HopStop is a city transit directory. While i have many NYC transit directories on my phone, I always go back to HopStop. It’s so easy to use, it’s so versatile, and I can save my future trips so easily, too! Believe me, the last thing you want to do when you climb out of Penn Station is try to locate a subway station while masses of humanity swirl about you.

HopStop doesn’t just cover the subway– it will check the MTS bus schedules, taxi routes, bicycle trails, and pedestrian paths. It’s an excellent app. Again– free!

NYC Mate

The NYCMate shows all the subway routes in one easy map. I LOVE that I can pinch the screen to zoom in close on the map.

The app also has a NYC street map with icons showing stations for transit. While this app is not for scheduling routes like HopStop is, it’s great for viewing the subway routes and getting an idea of where you are.

MyBus

MyBus is kind of like HopStop for the city bus. Technically, the subway is the fastest way to travel Manhattan’s busy streets, but the bus is much more enjoyable because you see more of the city this way (albeit, through tinted windows). The bus and subway fare, according to this writing, remain the same charge so it’s not any cheaper to ride the subway. When I have a long way to travel, I take the subway. When I only need to travel a few blocks, I take the bus. This app helps you find the best bus to get to where you need to go!

iPhone Compass

The Compass app comes preloaded with the iPhone. I include it here because it can be very, very helpful when you need to find your way around the city. For example, your HopStop instruction may say, “Get out at Penn Station. Walk 1.2 blocks southwest.” Ummm…. where the heck is southwest?! It’s very easy to get discombobulated when you come up from a subway station– it’s like walking into a human tornado. Cars, buses, people, lights– all swirling around you! The compass helps you get an idea of where you are and where you need to go.

Onavo

Onavo isn’t a travel app, not exactly. It’s a wireless-bill saving app. Onavo compresses wireless data, saving you bucks on your wireless plan. When visiting New York City, you will no doubt be using up a lot of data just to get around. Onavo helps condense the data and thus the bill. I have been using Onavo for about a year now, and I never go over my data plan anymore. I think it works great.

Thus completes my “best of the best” New York City apps. I have loved these apps and they work well for me. What apps have you found useful for travel? Please share!

March:
Alexander Hamilton National Historic Site, Manhattan
Metropolitan Museum of Art/The Cloisters, Manhattan

April:

May:
Fort Stanwix National Historic Site, Rome
DeadApple Tours, Manhattan
Other touristy things in Manhattan

June:
Philip Schulyer House, Albany, NY
New York State Library and Museum, Albany, NY

July:
Erie Canal Boat Museum, Chittenango, NY

August:
Lake Placid Olympic Center, Adirondacks
Whiteface Mountain, Adirondacks

September:

October:
Plymouth, Massachusetts

November:
Lake George, NY
Trip to Vermont?

As you can see, the itinerary needs some fleshing out. Two trips per month is enough for the spring and late autumn months, but I’d like to have a few more activities for July, August, September, and October. If you would like us to visit a certain place, feel free to use my contact form for suggestions. I’d love to hear from you!

As much as I love traveling and exploring new places, sometimes I really need a familiar “face” or place to ground me. If you have ever traveled extensively or have ever needed something very important while traveling, you know what I mean. Earlier last year, we traveled out of state, to Virginia, for two weeks. My daughter became very ill while we were there. We took her to the emergency room, and it was a very scary time. I knew no one and was not familiar with any of the hospitals or stores or anything. My daughter was fine (it was an allergy to some medication she was on) so thank God for that. But when it came time to get some medical supplies, we were lost– until I spotted a Walgreens! I can’t tell you what a comfort it was to walk into a familiar store and encounter some of the most amazing and helpful people I’ve ever met. The pharmacist there was so helpful. He came out from behind the counter to show me some over-the-counter medications for my daughter and explained to me why certain supplements (such as potassium) were prescription only. That guy was the epitome of terrific customer service, and such service seems to be status quo for Walgreens in general.

I love my local Walgreens and we get our prescriptions there. The people there are simply stellar. I feel like I have made a few new friends there, that’s how friendly they are! The company focuses on customer service and excellent prices. Perhaps you heard about the recent Walgreens/Express Scripts dispute. It was in the news and on the radio, and affected tens of thousands of Americans (especially military families). In a nutshell, Express Scripts didn’t renew their contract with Walgreens because they wanted more profit and more control. This left scores of people high and dry, forced to find a new pharmacy for their medications.

In response, Walgreens turned around and has been offering their Walgreens Prescription Savings Club at a deep discount. The annual membership fee for an entire family– including the pets!– is $35 a per year. Membership for an individual is $20 per year. That is an incredible deal. Membership includes savings on generic medications and over 8,000 brand name prescriptions, discounts of medical supplies such as nebulizers and diabetic supplies, pet prescriptions (that alone makes the Walgreen’s plan worth it, have you seen the cost of pet prescriptions?!), flu shots, and more. As if that wasn’t enough, you get bonuses on Walgreens-brand products and on the photo-finishing services.

I give Walgreens a lot of credit. They made lemonade out of lemons AND turned everything around to help the customers. Combined with their outstanding customer service, it’s no wonder so many of us are devoted to Walgreens, no matter where we go. I am so thankful for the care I got at Walgreens in Virginia. It was such a relief during a confusing time.

So check out Walgreens on Twitter and Walgreens on Facebook. I have “liked” them through my personal Facebook page and my NewYorkTraveler.net Facebook page. I recommend Walgreens as a comfort zone of familiarity and excellent customer service wherever we travel. Thanks, Walgreens!