One notable thing about blogging is that people frequently send you things to try out, review, or just read and possibly relay to interested readers. We don’t do much of that at Strollerderby. We’re more scoop than stuff.

But then again, it’s not often that someone sends you a link to a website that does exactly what you’d always wished there was a website to do, and tosses in an iPhone app for good measure. A Day’s Outing is the website and iphone all I’ve been looking for ever since websites and iPhone apps began. (Which, if you think about it, really isn’t that long…)

Sometimes it happens the night before, or the morning of, or even in the car. You’ve got a day. A free day, maybe on summer vacation, maybe on a trip, maybe because somebody somewhere cancelled something. Anyway, there you are, all revved up. Wouldn’t it be fun to find somewhere new to go, no more than an hour’s drive away, for a real family excursion? A state park, an outdoor museum, a petting zoo or blueberry farm.

Just try doing that with Google. About 12 results into searches like “fun stuff to do within 30 miles of my sister’s wedding, you’ll be asking yourself why somebody—Mapquest, Family Fun, anybody—hasn’t figured out a way to get all this stuff into one place, and preferably a place you can access from the car. With A Day’s Outing, somebody has. And with the A Day’s Outing iPhone app, they’ve taken it on the road.

You can enter your location online, or just let your iPhone find it for you, and then choose what you’re looking for (Fairs and festivals? Farms, food and wine?), how far you’re willing to drive, and when you want to go. You get options, each with a listing, a map and a link, if there is one. You can choose as many possible categories as you’d like.

The website is free (it’s supported by discreet ads). It’s also charming, as is the $2.99 iPhone app, which will pay for itself the first time you use it from, say, the parking lot of hotel when it rains on your beach vacation. It’s excellent for packing the kids off with grandparents, too. What could be more fun than a craft fair with their darling grandchildren. You know better, but they won’t (and when they call and demand a destination without so many breakable items available for purchase, you’ll have alternatives at your fingertips.

It’s August. It’s day trip season. With A Day’s Outing, I feel like I’m that much more likely to get in the car and try somewhere new.

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