In recent years, vacations have become jammed in when we could find the time to get away from work. This trip is unique in that we actually have time! But, alas, we also have kids. That means the rules of long-term travel must shift a bit. Now that we are veteran travelers with our offspring in tow (nearly two weeks!), I share with you our strategy for maximum travel enjoyment and even some productivity.
- No really nice restaurants. We are not going to drag our kids to a fine dining experience. That is not fair to us or to those trying to enjoy their Michelin stars in peace. I will take this moment to say that in Scotland we have been complimented twice (in pretty nice eating establishments) as having the best behaved kids they have ever seen. Perhaps the Brit kids are particularly poorly behaved.
- Siesta every day. We may have liked to go to one more whiskey tasting room (still don’t like it). But, the kids need downtime.
- Need some semblance of schedule/goals. The kids have to do 20 minutes of either reading or math a day. We are currently into the multiplication tables. We have homemade flash cards made on bright orange index cards. Josh and I study Italian every day.
- Keeping in touch with parents is a must. They might not care as much about us, but they definitely want to hear from/about the kids. That means making sure that there is time for FaceTime or a phone call.
- Guided tours must remain under one hour. While it might be interesting to hear a detailed history of fill-in-the-blank castle or museum, the kids are not quite up for that. Focus is more on hands-on exhibits or interactive tours. At Mey Castle, the kids got to spin yarn and feed baby sheep.
As we continue to morph as a family amoebae, still figuring out how we work as a 24-hour together family, it has been fun to see what resonates with us as a unit. We are sleeping more than we have in years and the kids seem to look forward to the call for siesta. And we really feel like we do stop to smell the roses more on this trip than any other, because the kids are reminding us to. We travel at a slower pace, take more pictures and do less stuff every day. So far, so good.