Recently we attended a family wedding out West at a location that involved multiple plane rides and several hours in the car to get to. My daughter was asked to be a flower girl. This is a beautiful part of the country. We’d never been there before. Most importantly, my cousin was getting married, and all of my extended family was going. And oh yeah, it was also REALLY FAR AWAY. My husband and I decided if we were going to go, we were going to go all out and make it our trip of the decade.
But. Did I mention we have an 18 month old boy whose idea of torture is to be strapped down, whether that is a car seat or a high chair? Or in a stroller? On an airplane or in a backpack carrier?
So here’s what I learned on this trip – the trip of a lifetime, really. I’ll skip tips for keeping your kids amused on a four hour airplane flight and just wish you good luck with that (drink coupons?), and just share how I worked out the actual planning of the trip. Because really, whether you go far or just away for the weekend, traveling with children is never easy!
1. Flying
This was both of my kids’ first airplane trip. I surveyed my Facebook friends and hands down, shorter travel time won over flight schedules. For example, we could flown back at 8 a.m., arriving in Jacksonville at 6 p.m. (that’s a long day, but at least it is not bedtime). The alternative flight was leaving at 3 p.m. and arriving in Jacksonville at 10:30 p.m. — waaaay past bedtime but much shorter travel time.
I went for shorter travel time and since my son had an epic meltdown the last 30 minutes of every one of our four flights, a shorter travel time was a huge check in the “win” category.
2. I Researched (and researched some more).
I Googled “Kid Friendly things to do” in Jackson Hole, in the state of Wyoming, in Salt Lake City, in Montana, at the hotels we stayed at and the towns we visited, even if just for a night. I made sure I had a list of parks, children’s museums, museums with kid sections, stroller friendly locations and playgrounds – especially ones that were free or good for rainy days.
3. We Stocked Up
After we landed and got our rental car, we hit Target for diapers, wipes, water, milk, snacks, peanut butter, yogurt, etc. That way we could feed our kids on the go, or give them a pre-breakfast snack when they got up at 5:30 a.m.
4. Give Each Other a Break
Traveling for even a weekend with young children can be exhausting, and gets even more so when you are all sharing a hotel room. My husband and I often snipped at each other over things that wouldn’t even be a blip at home. It got better when we realized we needed to each take one for the team and give each other time to do something – anything – without the children, even just a morning walk.
5. Have a Picnic
Traveling often means eating out, and this can be really hard with kids. We often chose the buffet option and asked for our check as soon as we had ordered. Or we hit the grocery store for a quick take out meal, or ordered food to go from whatever kid friendly restaurant we could find. And then we took our food to the park or playground.
6. Lower Your Expectations
As in, don’t even have any. Sure I had plans for things I wanted to see (and I am such a planner!!). But I gave up after the first day or two. Have the things that are nonnegotiable that mom and dad really want to do, and then know that doing everything kid friendly as possible the rest of the day is a good call – including some down time.
7. Try to take a lot of holiday card pictures…
And then laugh at your failed attempts.
This trip wasn’t easy on us as parents, as amazing as it was. By the fourth plane ride we were hugely relieved to be home. But I am so glad I was there for my cousin’s wedding and that I got see a part of the country I’ve never been to (and probably won’t get to see again!). I know soon I’ll forget how hard it was to travel with an 18 month old, and only be happy he was there. Because the pictures are, well, priceless. It was a great trip.