How often are you on the road and have to resort to Google Maps or another application that only gives you half the experience you wish you had? And while your phone may have a mapping app and your car may have a navigation system, but neither can compare to the look and feel of a real map.
For those who really love maps, no digital substitute can take the place of a pinpricked map, riddled with past and future destinations. Minneapolis-based Map Your Travels founded by Nancy Spangrud and David Hellstrom has created a very cool app to help you navigate digitally but with the feel of a real map.
Their framed travel maps display where you’ve been and where you want to go. You can choose world maps or US maps, or select a hobby-themed map if your travels revolve around sports or camping.
A baseball lover can track road trips and stadium destinations with the Major League Baseball map, for instance, and the national parks version is perfect for camping enthusiasts.
Each map is printed on archival paper and mounted on a foam core with a mahogany-stained wood frame (a couple of laminated unframed poster maps are also available). Sets include pins and flags to track your journeys, and you can make yours personal with a customized plaque, too.
The above photo shows national parks map framed. Image other cool venues you could pin, prick and frame, such as major league baseball stadiums and national golf courses. Price for the app ranges from $8 to $169.
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.
