We have taken our sons relatively few places out-of-town in their three years of life. The reasons for this are primarily that I don't get much time off; my inlaws live locally, my mother is here for a few months each winter, and my father and stepmother have visited us more than vice versa historically, since they are retired and we both work full-time; and neither MM nor I would consider traveling to a vacation destination with two toddlers much of a vacation.
We spent this past weekend visiting my father for his birthday. He lives a 6-hour car trip from us, so we spent a total of 12 hours in the car in less than 48 hours. I had also traveled 3 1/2 hours away from home for business during the week, so I spent approx. 19 hours in the car over the past week.
MJ said "it's too far, Mom" about 10 times on the drive home yesterday. I agree, buddy. I could never be a long-haul trucker, that's for sure.
Yesterday's drive made MM actually bring up the possibility of flying to my father's in future. (My father's health will no longer permit him to readily travel to us, but prior to yesterday, MM had been firmly set in the belief that he did not want to fly with the boys until they were "at least 5.")
Glad to be home.
We're going on vacation to Florida this summer ... it would be a 2-day car ride, or a 3 hour flight with the hassle of getting a ton of medical equipment and liquids though security. Rock and hard place.
ReplyDeleteKids and travel just don't mix!
Glad you survived it intact. (DVD players and headphones make it better.)
Can I say, while I don't relish the idea of a destination vacation with two little kids, we went to Mexico for 8 days with my in-laws when our twins were just over 2, and it was AWESOME. But the caveat here is that it was only awesome because my in-laws were there. They basically entertained the twins at least 50% of the time, allowing my husband and I to relax, read, lounge, etc. We stayed at an all-inclusive resort, so we didn't need to worry about going anywhere or paying for anything. It was not the kind of vacation we would have enjoyed before having kids, but I look back on it as a very happy memory. The trick of course is to have someone there who is thrilled the spend time with the kids, and who you enjoy spending time with as well.
ReplyDeleteAlso, we fly with our kids regularly, since my husband's entire family is in Italy. It honestly isn't fun, but it's pretty manageable. Airport people tend to be pretty kind, and after spending 11 or 12 hours on a flight (not to mention layovers, multiple times through security, passport controls, jetlag, etc.), I tend to scoff at short domestic flights these days. I actually flew back from Italy with the twins by myself last summer, when they had just turned 4, and it went really well. I think they were old enough to understand that they needed to behave and help out, and that I was all alone and didn't have any recourse if they behaved terribly. That being said, two things were pretty hard to manage by myself - 1) meals on the airplane, since there really is no extra space; and 2) taking the kids to the bathroom. There was no way for us all to fit into one of those tiny airplane bathrooms. Luckily we had the last row right by the bathrooms, but my daughter still freaked out when I left her in her seat to take my son. In retrospect, maybe I should have asked a flight attendant to wait with her. I don't know.
Congratulations on making it back home.
ReplyDeleteI travel with the twins a lot, but I think they roll with a lot because they're accustomed to the long drives, etc? Maybe it's also just their personalities. They like to stare out the window and listen to music.
Vacationing and toddlers do not mix well... That being said, we have made several trips to Wisconsin (12+ hrs) and Iowa (14+ hrs from home) and went to Charleston (6 hrs) once. The trips to the Midwest have been to visit family. The drive is often the easiest part! It's the sleeping in different places/time change/all new environment stuff that have gotten us. The last trip we just made was awesome!! I think we can finally travel with them and have fun. We'll find out this summer when we head to the Gulf for a beach vacay.... I have lots of travel tips if you are ever interested!!
ReplyDeleteYou are very brave! 6 hours in the car is a long time for me, let alone for a toddler!
ReplyDelete