In our first year of marriage, we were blessed to be able to
travel quite a bit. Our camping trips
were always an adventure (taking an 8 mile hike that we thought was only going
to be 4 miles, jumping over a snake, & freezing to smithereens, to name a
few). We traveled to New York and Japan
twice (northern island in the snow & Okinawa in the summer). Those were special days… Now traveling has taken on an entirely
different meaning.
We’ve tried camping with our older two, which is why we only
camp in the backyard now. When it takes
a day to load up the van, three hours to set up camp, and then you’re
unexpectantly rained upon (I should say, stormed upon) at 2 am, you immediately
decide that the backyard is a perfect campground for the future. Traveling with children can be quite
challenging! But it can also be a lot of
fun if you plan well and let go of expectations.
This is an area that I am always looking for new ideas and
strategies to make traveling easier and more enjoyable for the whole
family. A few ideas that I have gleaned
from other mothers include:
o
Lists, lots of lists!! (If I don’t write it down
to pack, then chances are, I’ll probably forget it.)
o
Plenty to do for the kids (books, clipboards
with “The License Plate” game, Adventures in Odyssey & other books on tape,
Leapsters)
o
DVD player (Can I hear an Amen?!) We try to go for at least an hour into our
trips before we allow a movie, but honestly, having a DVD player has saved our
sanity more than once on road trips.
o
Snacks & drinks (I would much rather have
snacks on hand than have to stop and pick up something. We love crackers from Trader Joes, raisins, apples,
grapes, etc. We mainly stick with water
in the car, but will splurge on juice boxes here and there.)
o
Sing!
(Even on Wednesday nights on our way home from church, singing has been
a lifesaver when little ones start to whine and need to be distracted from
their own exhaustion.)
There are so many wonderful ideas out there, so please share
any that have been helpful to you as a mom or something that you remember as a
child while traveling.
My mother always said they would travel long trips at night so my sister and I would sleep.
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