Camping is in my blood. I feel it deep in my Soul… Literally. Every summer my friends and I get together for a girls camping weekend in Forestport, NY. The 4 of us went to college together and have remained very close since those college years. While we don’t see each other every day, we still work hard to keep in touch as often as possible. The annual camping trip has become something of a staple in our lives. We look forward to it every year and it gives us a chance to really catch up, put our phones down and really take a break from our lives which have become increasingly busy.

When we started this tradition about 5 years ago everyone shared 2 tents, but I have a bad back so sleeping on the ground wasn’t exactly something that worked for me. After a while, I ended up sleeping in my car, which at the time, wasn’t that much of a step up from the ground, but it worked. From there I have developed a better system to actually set up a mini campsite in my car. When I got my Kia Soul last year from Destination Kia, my camping experience improved drastically! It took a few tries and engineering prowess that I acquired from Youtube, but I finally have a quality setup that works for me.

Here is what I did:

• 1 –  board of plywood cut 51″ Wide X 42″ Long – Then cut in half so you end up with two 25.5″ x 42″ boards. (they do this free at most lumberyards / home depo)

• 1 –  30″ Piano Hinge

• Some foam pipe Insulation

• Coleman Single High Quickbed – Full Size (not twin, queen, or king)

• Air pump

When it was all said and done, it cost $90 for everything, including bed and pump. Not bad for a make shift car bed. What you’re going to want to do is take the hinge and attach it to both halves of the plywood so that you have 51” wide x 42” piece that can fold and be stored easily. I then wrapped pipe insulation around the edges of the board and secured it with duct tape to keep the wood from scratching the interior. Make sure the driver and passenger seats are upright and pushed completely forward. This gives you about 5′ 11″ of room with the rear door shut. The sleeping board rests perfectly on the middle arm rest. No need for additional support, and you have a nice little storage space for your bags and things that you may need under the board. I then cover the sleeping board with a cushy comforter to protect the air mattress from the wood. Add the air mattress and blankets and you have a bed fit for a good night’s sleep!

Now that I have this magical camping Kia, I have to say I actually enjoy sleeping in a car more than a tent. For one thing, it keeps you off the ground, and thus away from creatures and moisture. Another thing, it protects you from the wind, rain, and other elements. For example – even better, this past year when it started to rain and hail outside, I ended up with 4 friends squished in a Kia because my sleeping option was safer! Finally, it’s just easier to pull into a parking lot, or off the road and have everything ready to go for spending the night without drawing attention to yourself. So when I go on long road trips, I have a simple and cheap bed option right there in my car!
So there you have it! Now you can camp in your Kia at your leisure! Enjoy!

Uber has finally made it to the Capitol District and I am PSYCHED! Who is with me!? I am someone who has done a lot of traveling and, particularly when I was in D.C., I was so amazed by Uber. Like, it really changed the game for me. You can request someone to arrive by way of an app. That’s awesome! But do you know what is even better about Uber arriving up here? It has opened up a whole other avenue of employment opportunities for people around here to make a little extra cash, or make a lot of money driving around all day. Just as Uber has opened up opportunities for the community, we at Destination Kia want to provide an awesome opportunity to the Uber drivers out there!

Now, at Destination Kia, Uber drivers can save THOUSANDS on a NEW Kia! It’s a crazy concept, right? Well, it’s true! But hurry, because this offer only extends to September 5th! What does this mean, well if you are an Uber driver and are looking for a new, sleek ride, we have a whole selection of options you can choose from including the Kia K900, Cadenza, Optima, Sorento, and Sedona. That’s a pretty wide variety of options so that you can really find the right match to your personality.

Let’s look at the math here for a second. You will save THOUSANDS on a new car, that you may have already needed or even wanted anyway. The vehicles available in the promotion are pretty awesome vehicles too. These are some vehicles I would be super stoked to be driving. To make things better, with your amazing new Kia you’ll be MAKING money with Uber. So, what’s happening here is you are saving money on something that will be making you money! What? Sounds like a win win to me, friends!

Remember, this promotion on extends to September 5th, so stop by Destination Kia today to start your journey with Uber!

I’ll admit it. I messed up. I was stubborn and ended up making a foolish road trip error. This all happened a few years ago. My family and I went to Boston for the 4th of July. The trip there was absolutely lovely. We weren’t in any kind of rush, so we were able to really take our time getting there, enjoying the ride with the family in our Kia Sorento, which was great for a nice leisurely drive. Lots of space for all of our things and plenty of leg room for the adults and kiddos. Mind you, that was a few years ago! Imagine how awesome the 2018 Sorento must be. Anyway, I’m getting sidetracked.

We didn’t really hit all that much traffic and everything went smoothly. This is not an easy task when you have a 4-year-old and a 7-year-old. One false move and the perfect homeostasis in the car we had achieved could be COMPLETELY ruined. We almost gave our youngest the wrong snack, but we narrowly avoided an incident because, fortunately, this isn’t our first time at the rodeo and had duplicate snacks for both kids. The weekend was wonderful, only having a few minor incidents that honestly can’t be avoided when small children are involved. The trip home, however, was an entirely different matter.

My husband suggested we leave a bit earlier and perhaps avoid I-90. Being the stubborn woman that I am, thought “no no, we’ll be fine.” We don’t have to leave so early. Taking back roads would take longer than I-90 would. Surely I-90 can’t be that bad. Looking back now, I can laugh, but as I was driving through it I kinda wanted to cry. Because we were starting the trek home after an already long day, by the time we got to the car to head home, the little ones were cranky. The 1st hour was non-stop fighting. The 4-year-old kept poking the 7-year-old. “Mommy he stole my pillow.” “Mommy he got Cheetos all over my leg.” I had perhaps 1 unfrayed nerve left by this point, so you can imagine my emotional state when we happened upon every single traffic incident on I-90.

As we sat for our 2nd consecutive hour in bumper to bumper traffic, having moved about 4 square feet, it happened. “Mommy, I have to go potty.” No. No no. No nooooo. Not 5 minutes later the 4-year-old also needed a potty. Let me break down the situation for you. We were in the left middle lane of 4 lane bumper traffic. Both small children need a bathroom that simply does not exist and I’m just sitting here accepting my fate and trying to figure out how to best limit the pee smell for the remainder of our journey. Even the strawberry field air freshener wasn’t going to make this situation better.

Without missing a beat, my husband simply leaned around into the back seat, held out an empty Gatorade bottle and told them to do what he needed to do. This idea had never even occurred to me. Frankly, it blew my mind a little bit. How could I have missed the most obvious solution?! Well long story short, the kids settled back down and we made it home 5 1/2 HOURS of travel time, but we made it. What we learned from this experience is that 1.) leave early when you need to drive home on a major holiday. 2.) Avoid main roads when traveling home on a major holiday. 3.) Never underestimate the value of an empty Gatorade bottle.

You’re on your way home from work, you’ve rewarded yourself for a hard day with a delicious cupcake from Coccadotts, everything is going swell. Then you see it… the sinister orange-red glow of the check engine light. MISERY! DESPAIR! SUFFERING!!! THE UNADULTERATED HORROR!!!! *Starts ugly crying*

Hold up!

There are NUMEROUS reasons your check engine light may have come on, but the good news is that there’s typically no need to panic. So let’s wipe those tears away and take a few deep, cleansing breaths. Good good. MUCH better. Now that we have all taken a collective chill pill, we can go over why there is no need to panic.

1. It might be your gas cap

DID YOU KNOW that a loose, cracked, or faulty gas cap can cause fuel to evaporate, which could totally result in your check engine light coming on? I feel ya. This would be a silly reason to get all worked up. It feels oddly similar to when you are desperately looking for your glasses, but it turns out that they are on your face. *Face Palm* So as a first order of business before you panic, check the gas cap. If this was indeed the issue, your check engine light should go off within 10 or 20 miles once you’re back on the road.

2. A certified mechanic should be able to diagnose the problem easily

No need to sit and wonder what is wrong with your vehicle. You can stop by Destination Kia, where one of our certified mechanics can help sort out what’s caused the light to go on and what can be done. These folks are the SUPERHEROES of automotives. But like…no capes, because that would be SUUUUCH a hazard.

3. It’s typically not an urgent situation

While you 100% should not just ignore your check engine light, there is no need to freak the second that light comes on. You will have plenty of time to drive yourself safely to Destination Kia where we can get you situated. You can let out that breath you’ve been holding. It’s all good. We’ve got this!

4. There are numerous reasons the light may come on

Other than the quick fix of the gas cap, the other potential issues would be a little bit more challenging to diagnose yourself. Some causes include, but are not limited to damaged vacuum hose or ignition coil(s), a failing catalytic converter, or even worn out spark plugs. I’m gonna be real, I knew maybe 4 of those words. Which is why I trust all of my diagnostics to the certified mechanics at Destination Kia. They’ll tell you what’s up and have you back on the road in no time.

So if your check engine light has been a source of distress in the past now you know that it’s not something to be ignored, it definitely doesn’t mean that the end is near. It’s ok to keep going, just make sure you have it checked out as soon as you can.

Modern technology has made so many advances, especially over the past few years. With so many of these awe-inspiring technologies, it is starting to feel like the future we all imagined. Kia has definitely been stepping up its game so let’s take this time to go over some of the awesome features you’ll find in your new Kia vehicles.

An option that makes life infinitely easier is the UVO eService. It’s a subscription-free information system for your Kia. This service comes with a variety of features including Parking Minder, Maintenance & Diagnostics, Emergency Assistance, and a bunch of convenience features.

Parking Minder – Some of us have a bit of trouble locating where our car is parked in a parking lot. Honestly, I try to remember, find some kind on landmark only to get horribly lost and having to use my car alarm to find my car. With Kia Parking Minder you won’t have to search to find your Kia. The Parking Minder feature saves the location of your Kia and, with the assistance of the GPS guidance on your compatible smartphone, helps guide you back to it.*

Maintenance & Diagnostics – Regular maintenance is just a part of having a car, so being able to stay up to date on what maintenance your car needs is as simple as touching a button. For example, with your compatible smartphone and the eServices mobile app, you can program UVO eServices to run regular diagnostic checks and then schedule a service appointment if necessary.* Keeping your car running smoothly is just that easy.

Emergency Assistance – Things happen, and more often than not those things happen when you are least prepared to handle them. With 911 Connect – Help is on the way when and wherever you need it. “In the event, the airbag deploys, 911 Connect can initiate a call to 911 Emergency Services. It can even transmit your vehicle’s location to 911 Emergency Services in some situations.*”

My POIs – I am the kind of person who LOVES to try new things, so a helpful feature in my Kia is My POIs (points of interest) where you can preset your own places you’d like to visit, find places you’d like to visit on Google Maps™ via the free UVO eServices app, and then send them to your UVO eServices system for future routing.* You use your car to get to the new destinations, but now your car can guide you there!

Voice Commands – When you’re driving, focusing on the road should be your main priority, and on occasion, you’ll want to do something that would ordinarily require you to take your eyes off the road to accomplish. In an effort to minimize the occasions in which your eyes are not on the road you will have the ability to use Voice Commands in you Kia. Hands-free calling, turning on the radio. Press the “talk” button on your steering wheel and a wide range of voice commands are available through UVO.

Rear-Camera Display – When you engage the reverse gear in your Kia, the Rear-Camera Display appears on the UVO screen, displaying a wide field of vision at the rear of your Kia.

Additional safety features that are helpful for all the parents out there include Geo Fence, Curfew Limit, and Speed Alert. Having a new teen driver in the house can be a bit scary for parents, so having these safety features that allows you a bit of control over the situation can be comforting. Geo Fence allows you to set a predetermined area in which your Kia needs to stay. It will alert you when your car goes outside of those parameters. The Curfew Limit and Speed Alert, as their names suggest, will alert you when your Kia is driven past a set time and a set speed. Your teen is gaining their independence, but you’re still their parents and just want them to stay safe, and now keeping your teen safe in a Kia is easier than ever.

Any time you drive, you need to be focused on a multitude of things, in addition to being constantly vigilant of everything happening around you. You are only one person, and can only do so much, so Kia is making life just a little bit easier, and safer too. To see any of these awesome features for yourself, stop by Destination Kia today and take a test drive in any one of our new vehicles!