After spending a day on the lake last summer pretending to be pirates, I was inspired to write an article about playing pirates on the road.

The time will pass quickly if you and your crew carry out your travels with pirate personas. Use your creativity and make every aspect of the trip pirate related. Speak like pirates. Sing pirate songs. Tell pirate jokes. Watch pirate movies. Wear pirate garb. Make pirate accessories. Basically, make like Roger and have a jolly good time in the car!

See the full article: "Pirates of the Caravan" for a bounty of ideas to get you started. If you know any good pirate jokes, please post them here and I'll add them to the article!

Who knew there was treasure hidden in the Land Between the Lakes!?

The ship: A pontoon boat from a resort at Kentucky Lake.

The crew: Five adventurous moms (former college roommates), and 9 swashbuckling children (ages 3 to 13).

What's more: A real message in a bottle. A treasure map. A secret treasure chest!

Read the entire tale and see pictures of our family's adventure on the high seas: Pirates of Kentucky Lake. ARRRH!

I love my Dodge Grand Caravan. It's silver. So we named her Silvia. She speaks to us via the built in navigational system when we are on the road.

Silvia: "Exit freeway in 1 mile"

Mom: "Thanks Silvia!!"

Kids: "Who are you talking to, Mommy?"

No more missed exits due to excessive Car-i-oke singing or intense Licence Plate hunting. Sylvia tells me where to go and when to go there. She also tells me the answer to a popular question, "How much longer?!"

If you aren't lucky enough to have a navigational system built into your vehicle, you can still get a portable navigational device. These have become hugely popular recently. Tip: Makes a great gift for dads (guys love gadgets) and then you can "borrow" it whenever you like.

It tells you where to go, and if you go the wrong way, it just re-calculates some new directions for you to get you back on track. Just think, it solves the problem many husbands seem to have regarding not wanting to stop and ask for directions. You can even change the voice on some of them. My friend Devra has the Garmin Nuvi 350 Pocket Vehicle GPS Navigator. She calls it "Lee". He speaks to her with an Australian accent.

Last summer Lee and Sylvia got to meet at the beach. How sweet. (Oh great, now I think I hear the soundtrack to Grease playing in the background). I only wish that Silvia could help me navigate through my teenager's bedroom....