Planning a Map Attack

David Shaw’s article (“Stretching a Trip by Leaving Nothing to Chance,” April 8) struck a familiar chord. My wife and I have found that the carefree joys of living and eating well without reservations have become impossible, even off-season.

Not only do we endorse Shaw’s approaches, but we go further. After determining primary and alternative places we want to visit, we study all necessary maps and write out driving instructions for each day in detail, giving directions, route or highway numbers and all other pertinent data including in-city directions.

This enables us to: 1) realize the deficiencies of maps before leaving (and maybe buy more to plan better), 2) synthesize instructions from several maps, 3) select the vital maps to take and 4) make driving decisions before being confronted with major problems on the road we might have foreseen and eliminated.

This preparation doesn’t take much time, whets one’s appetite for the trip and avoids fiascoes while ensuring many fabulous experiences.

DAVID W. HARLOWE

Tarzana