This weekend is Memorial Day weekend, and you know what that means: the beginning of road-trip season! Seems like a good time to check out Sago Mini's Road Trip app (Sago Sago, 2014; iOS and Android) — especially since it's currently free.

You play as Jinja the cat, off to visit one of three friends (a dog, a bird, or a bunny) in locales (beach, big city, mountains, pyramids) which rotate with repeated uses. Pack clothes and travel necessities such as a dino inner tube, a goldfish in a bowl, a treasure map, wellies, a chocolate cake — you know, the essentials. Then choose your ride from a wide range of serious (racecar, the just-added school bus and fire truck) and silly (bathtub, sneaker on wheels, pickle car) vehicles and hit the road.

Drag your finger on the screen to direct the vehicle along the road — or through the sky, if you prefer. Although the basic route is similar regardless of which vehicle or destination you select, every trip has a slightly different mix of real-life road-trip sights — such as wildlife ("TURTLE XING"), gas station (stop to fill 'er up) and car wash, billboards, stoplight, tunnel, and ramp — and whimsical surprises (giant presents and cupcakes to blast through, puddles to splash through, a beach ball to bounce along the road, fireworks). Jinja responds to your driving abilities with funny facial expressions and cute vocalizations. The vehicles are equally responsive: a bumpy road (or reckless driving) causes ice cream and popsicles to fall out of the ice-cream truck; the bathtub-mobile trails pink bubbles in your wake.



Upon arriving at the destination, Jinja and friend, excited to be reunited, take a photo together.



Bright colors in rounded shapes, amusing sound effects, and upbeat music extend the app's friendly tone.

There's not quite as much to discover here as in Ocean Swimmer, but the fun of the exploratory play extends through multiple repeat uses, and the adorable animal characters are good company. Why not let your toddler take it out for a spin during this long weekend's travels?

Available for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch (requires iOS 5.1.1 or later) and Android devices (requires Android 4.0.3 and up); free for Apple devices for a limited time and $2.99. Recommended for preschool users.