Why the moon?

Almost every long trip we've made in the car started by first going to the local quick stop to fuel up, clean windows, get snacks, and make sure we had everything before the long journey. The moon is Earth's quick stop. Anything we need for the moon we will need on Mars, and asteroid or or another moon. It makes sense to do the planning and testing just a couple days out than to just set off and hope for the best. I love the idea of Mars Direct but can't see a future in space without a vibrant moonbase. Rather than competing for the same dollars, we should all work to get new dollars from private industry and investors.