I grew up in Colorado and while there is definite beauty out there, the history and fun destinations just aren’t the same as living on the east coast.  When we moved to New Jersey, we didn’t think we would stay for more than a year.  So we took advantage of that time and every weekend would look up a new place to explore and head in that direction. Eleven years later, we are still here, and believe it or not, there is still so much for us to see and do! Summer time with my family is all about time together, so we love to take this time to hit the road and make some memories.

However, driving for me is a scary thing when I don’t know where I am going.  It is so helpful to have a navigation system that will help me get where I am going, give me the confidence to know that if I make a wrong turn it will help me find my way back to where I am going, and help me get my family out exploring all of America’s hidden treasures.

But, living on the east coast also has its downside–lots of people equals lots of traffic!  I don’t like traffic, and I doubt anyone does, so I was thrilled to be sent* a new TomTom GO 500 to help me get where I wanted to go. One of the advertised features is a lifetime of TomTom Traffic, which keeps you up to date on any traffic along your trip and helps you figure out where to go to avoid it.  This past weekend was the perfect opportunity to try it out, as we had a weekend packed full of fun planned in New York City and the Jersey Shore.

When you are driving with kids, the last thing you want is to spend unnecessary time in the car waiting in traffic.  Adults hate it, but I think kids hate it even more.  Getting caught for a long time can definitely impact the mood of the trip, so I appreciate that using the TomTom 500, I can be warned and avoid it, enabling me to spend more enjoyable time playing with my kids than grumpy in traffic. TomTom uses real-time traffic data to inform mom where there may excessive traffic, or a road block, and suggests an alternate route to expedite the trip TomTom helps mom (and her kids) get places she knows faster and safer with the TomTom GO 500/600.  This is particularly great because both of our destinations over the weekend are notorious for heavy traffic–especially over Memorial Day Weekend!

Setting up the TomTom was a breeze (which is essential!) and setting up the MyDrive Mobile App on my iPhone was also simple and necessary to run the real-time traffic updates. Once I was able to get it set up, I easily found our destinations and set it up in the car and off we went!

So there are some great features that every mom is sure to love.  I love that you can use voice control.  For example, I can tell it to “go home” and it will calculate my route.  Awesome!  Let’s say I am driving and happen to witness something like an accident or a police officer, I can also report it to let other TomTom users know.  This type of reporting helps enable the real-time traffic reports which are oh, so beneficial to parents everywhere.  Really, I can’t rave about the MyDrive App enough because it  saves so much time and frustration.  Using  the TomTom Go is so great because has one of the world’s largest databases of real-time traffic intelligence with the most up-to-date, accurate information on traffic anytime, anywhere so you can truly get to your destination faster. Real-time instant traffic navigation alerts you to the fastest route before you go as well as on the road. It covers 99.9% of the roads, which is more than any other traffic service available. The TomTom MyDrive allows you to plan your route before you leave the house and send it to your device so you are ready to go once you get in the car.

The search feature is super easy, which makes trying new destinations that much more appealing. Another thing I love is that there are 3D images on the map as you are driving, which help point out landmarks.  This is so incredibly helpful for me to  recognize where I am as I am driving.

So even though it was a super crazy traffic weekend, we were able to avoid it all and get to our destinations.

We spent so little time in traffic, my kids are thrilled and jumping for joy!

See what I mean about the East Coast being so incredible?  We are planning lots more excursions this summer and I know that the TomTom Go will help me take my family to each one in safety! For more information on how the TomTom Go 500, visit www.tomtom.com.

A 2013 study said that the average mom drives her children around for 1,248 miles per year, or the equivalent of two weeks … and that’s not counting the added hours spent in traffic. How much time do you spend on the road and what would you do with the time you would save not stuck in traffic? Time is valuable and traffic is the worst culprit of stealing it away from you.  What would you do with the extra time TomTom can save you on the road by navigating around traffic? Share your favorite thing to do with extra time by emailing me at themommyavenger@hotmail.com with TomTom in the subject line or by leaving a comment below for your for a chance to win a TomTom GO 500/600 to help you take back your time and #GetHomeFaster! Please like The Mommy Avenger on facebook, pinterest and twitter for an additional entry (but leave a comment telling me you did!). Winner will be selected on or about June 20, 2015 by random via qualified entries and notified by email at that time. Open to US  residents only.

*I received the product to facilitate a review, all opinions are my own.