If your road trip takes you past Zillah, Wash., check out the 90-year-old Teapot Dome Service Station—erected as a reminder of the Teapot Dome Scandal that marred Warren G. Harding's presidency.

If you’re taking a road trip this holiday weekend and want to work in detours to a few presidential landmarks in honor of Presidents’ Day… There’s an app for that.

The Roadside Presidents app is now available in the iTunes store for $2.99 from RoadsideAmerica.com, a website with videos, news, maps and free tools to help travelers plan their own road trips. It allows travelers to find historical sites, from traditional ones like graves and birthplaces, to the more offbeat.

“We’ve discovered so many bizarre presidential sights out there,” says Ken Smith, senior editor of RoadsideAmerica.com. “By visiting conventional landmarks, but also the hidden treasures, you get the broader, nuttier picture of America’s history. You’ll never think of George Washington quite the same way after you’ve seen his whiskey-making still—or of Ronald Reagan after seeing a statue of him eating a potato pancake.”

Travelers can search for sites along their route, or search by president. In addition to driving directions, the app gives opening hours, phone numbers, photos and irreverent write-ups for each site. First ladies, vice presidents, first pets, assassination and scandal are all in the app.

The Roadside Presidents edition is the second app from Roadside America, following the original Roadside America app, introduced in 2010.

Photo: Public domain, National Park Service

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A customer survey conducted by B2B deal provider RapidBuyr has found that travel services and mobile technology top the list of purchases small business owners plan to make in 2012.

Sixty-two percent of respondents plan to purchase airline tickets, while 55 percent will need hotel rooms. Restaurants and rental car demand came in at 38 and 34 percent, respectively. Following close behind travel is a desire for electronic devices on which travel purchases increasingly can be made. A full 49 percent of respondents plan to purchase a tablet computer, such as the iPad, within the next 12 months, while 44 percent plan to buy a new mobile phone.

The survey results indicate that travel-service providers would do well to consider outlets such as RapidBuyr to better target deals to the small-business market (SBM).

“The small-business market is often overlooked by major vendors because it is highly fragmented with little potential for the bulk buying power that makes big businesses so attractive to vendors, says Pete Angus, director of marketing for RapidBuyr.

RapidBuyr offers local and nationwide daily deals to nearly 40 million U.S. SMBs, with discounts of up to 80 percent on products and services including electronics, general merchandise, local services, travel and sporting events.

More than 2,000 customers responded to the survey, which was conducted in November and December 2011. RapidBuyr plans to repeat the survey every few months.

Photo: MarkHillary (via Flickr CC2.0)

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JetBlue Airways is starting off 2012 with a new web and mobile strategy. The Forest Hills, N.Y.-based low-cost carrier just debuted its native iPhone app, along with redesigned web and mobile sites.

JetBlue is late to the game, but it has rolled out an app with high functionality despite its clean design. The airline developed its new digital strategy with the help of digital agency Rokkan, app developer DoubleEncore and the input of more than 15,000 customers.

The new app, available for download at the iTunes store, offers all the basics—booking, check-in and flight-status monitoring. Other features include weather reports for destination cities, and easy organization of past and upcoming trips. It also includes a virtual postcard tool and connectivity to social networks so users can share their travel experiences. In addition, travelers can scout in-flight amenities like snacks, beverages, movies and DIRECTV schedules.

JetBlue aimed for more personalization in designing its new platforms—what a user sees will depend on geo-targeting, booking history and any preferences they have entered into the TrueBlue rewards program. The website also includes a feature called “Pick Me Up” that allows users to not only share their itinerary with a friend in their destination city, but also to send that friend maps and traffic reports.

Travelers can expect to see better apps soon from other airlines, predicts Colleen Taylor writing at Gigaom.com. She points to a CNN story from last fall highlighting an Airline IT Trends Survey that found that more than 90 percent of carriers plan to increase their investment in mobile.

Photo: JetBlue

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