Kristin Shaw

From the Guadalupe Mountains to the Gulf of Mexico, Texas offers diverse experiences from tip to tip. With more than 268,000 square miles of wide open spaces, metropolitan cities, and rural charm, there is a little Texas for everyone. It could easily take you two days to drive from Beaumont to El Paso, so we’ve put together a list of top Texas road trips for families that are within a day’s drive from Houston.

Athena Racing gives girls the tools they need to overcome stereotypes, bullying and harassment.

If the idea of hitching up a camper and towing a trailer off into the wilderness seems daunting, you’re not alone. But this first-time camper says it’s a lot easier than it looks. You just need to know the tow trailer secrets to success. Here’s how to tow a trailer.

In the fall of 2008, world champion drag racer Doug Herbert received the phone call that changed his life. His two boys, Jon, 17, and James, 12, had been killed in a car crash.

The police estimated that Jon was driving 80 mph in a 45-mph zone when he lost control of his Mazda and struck a Hummer traveling the opposite direction. Both he and his brother were killed instantly. The passengers in the Hummer were injured, but both survived.

Courtesy Doug Herbert

Devastated, Herbert made it his mis...

Are you ready to go on your next road trip in a well-matched camping vehicle? Pack up your sleeping bag, your tent, your hiking boots, and your camera, and prepare yourself for an epic vacation in the great outdoors powered by one of these, our choices for the best cars and trucks for camping.

Things may seem a little topsy-turvy in teenage NASCAR and Toyota Racing Development driver Hailie Deegan’s world. With four competitive athletes in the family, they are on the road so much that when it’s time for them to take a vacation, they like to stay home. When your home is in beautiful southern California and you have 30 acres with your own track built in, it’s easy to see why home would be an attraction.

In my son’s room, there are two world maps – one large paper atlas of the world, longitudinal and latitudinal lines criss-crossing the flattened globe; and one, a laminated, cartoonish version with small pictures of animals and names in whimsical font. The second one arrived with a dry-erase marker, and my son and his friends have put that to use, “decorating” it with toilet humor words and adding the word “butt” to random locations from sea to shining sea. It’s a map only an 8-year-old could...

Elizabeth Myers-Suarez has had a need for speed since she was old enough to drive.

It wasn’t long before the teenager was racing on the street, challenging other drivers — mostly young men — to a duel.

When she became a mom ten years ago and subsequently discovered her daughter had autism, she put her fast cars and street racing on the back burner. Last year, she heard about a new program called Street Racing Made Safe, and she was intrigued.

Elizabeth Myers-Suarez

Myers-Suarez found her way ...

I had a boyfriend with a motorcycle when I was 19 – it was a blazing red Kawasaki Ninja and it was FAST.

As in, oh-my-stars-this-is-insane fast. Once, he let me drive it and he sat behind me and helped me shift. It was an exhilarating feeling, the wind rushing past me, and I wanted to keep going.

Alas, it was not meant to be –the relationship nor the motorcycle. But I never lost my love for that feeling. As a mom in my 40s, though, my perception was that maybe I should be past the motorcycle ...

No such thing as an accident?
“The DMV estimates there will be 20 million car crashes this year,” says Don Kitch, Jr, former racecar driver and now safe driving expert. Then he pauses: “And there is no such thing as an accident.”
What does he mean by that? Explaining further at a Volvo Advanced Driving Program in Los Angeles, Kitch says all car crashes are a result of some failure to drive defensively. And unfortunately, most drivers in the US don’t know how to drive effectively in challengin...

Bucket List: Drive a Lamborghini! When a public relations agency invited me to an event at the Texas Motor Speedway to drive an Aventador S, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it.

Before I had my son, I escaped from an unhealthy marriage to my first husband. What I learned from that experience are some of the lessons I also want my son to know about his self-worth and how to stand up for others and treat all people with respect.

Comfort, luxury, speed… what’s not to like?

According to Lexus Vice President of Marketing Cooper Ericksen, 80% of the Lexus LS sedan buyers will be men, most in their late 50s. The price tag elicits a vision of someone well-to-do, for certain: base models will be priced around $75,000. This is not a first car, for most. When you check out the design features and feel what it’s like to drive this vehicle, you’ll probably agree that this is one of the best luxury sedans on the market for both ...

When you think of cities with large high-tech and engineering sectors, you probably think of San Jose, CA. Or Austin, TX. Or maybe even Huntsville, AL. But Melbourne, FL, is a powerhouse of its own, with key facilities for Northrop Grumman, Rockwell Collins, L3, General Dynamics, Thales, Embraer Executive Jets, and the world headquarters of Harris Corp.

I will love you as my own daughter, if you will let me. If you're close to your mom, I am not going to try to replace her; you don't need two moms. You might, however, be interested in having a mother-in-law who might be a friend.