One evening a few weeks ago, I was relaxing at home, minding my own business, when my wife entered the room. The hair on the back of my neck stood up — a sure sign of danger. She sat down next to me and said, "You know, it's about time we got out of town for a while, don't you think?"

And there it was, the reason for my instinctive fear reaction: summer vacation. Carefree fun and frolic, getting away from it all, long "never look back" road trips. With two young kids. Forcibly restrained in car seats for hours on end. My sons are well-mannered and reasonably well-behaved, but at ages 2 and 4, even their good natures are quickly put to the test after about 30 minutes on the highway.

I very much agreed that we were overdue for a vacation, but I also understood that, from a survival standpoint, I needed a secret weapon. Immediately the Pioneer RSE-SYS500DVH mobile video package came to mind — well, not the model number, but the image of that cool headrest mounting bracket and LCD monitor. That image gave me the courage and serenity to return my wife's loving gaze and actually mean it when I said, "Yes dear, you're completely right."

Apparently the stars were right for vacation-success. A few days later, I suggested a Crutchfield review of the Pioneer mobile video system and soon found myself on the way to mobile video bliss!