Tracking your Trip with Google Maps

View Leg Map for Blogs in a larger map
This map is created in google.com -- maps -- my maps

Placing a map in your bolg is easy. It is a two step process

1. create a map in google maps -- my maps
2. copy the embed code into your blogspot blog

A couple interesting things:

1. Editing and pasting the google code with firefox seems to skew the map in the blog. Chrome works well. I haven't tried IE because I'm afraid of failure.
2. Blogspot skews the zoom level. to set the zoom correctly go back to google maps. Edit the map in my maps. Click on the link -- link. Click on the "edit and custom..." link. set the zoom level
   
3. For tracking a journey, stylistically it is best to create maps by each leg of the journey. Start point, end point, as markers, route as a path. Add markers for points of interest with photos and video.

Photos, Videos and Links in Google Maps markers --

Photos in the marker's info-box -- Select the Rich Text option and then click the picture frame icon. Enter the URL of the image you want to include.

Links Highlight the text or image that will be the link with your mouse, then select the chain-link icon from the toolbar. Enter the URL of the link and select "OK" to complete your link!

Video with YouTube as an example. First, find a YouTube video that you want to embed into your marker's info-box. Top right of the screen is a text box labeled "Embed." Copy the embed text:

Second, open the marker. Select HTML editing mode. Paste the youtube embed script into the marker's info-box.

Click "OK" to save your work and the video will appear inside the info-box. Sometime you have to exit out of the map edit mode to view the changes.