Our kids are fantastic travelers. They may not be great at keeping their rooms clean or making their beds every morning. 2/3 may hate tomatoes when they are cold. But they are amazing travelers. I chalk this up to the zillions of eight-hour roadtrips we took between Tampa (where we lived) and Pensacola (my hometown) when they were small. They got good at traveling because… well, they had to. For years we made the trip home to visit family nearly monthly. I nursed the twins in parking lots. We mastered the art of prepping my minivan for the adventure. And I memorized the interstate exit numbers of every Starbucks (with a clean bathroom) on I75 and I10.
It’s been thirteen years since that first roadtrip with a kid and we’ve learned a lot. Bryan and I have always subscribed to the idea that we’re raising our kids to be adults (not to be eventual children) — a line my dad passed on to me. So, we try to put them in situations where they’ll have to learn how to function as an eventual adult: having dinner in nice restaurants, going to an appointment at the bank, and traveling here and there and everywhere in between.
We’ve taken our kids to Turks & Caicos, Paris, Canada, Mexico, and Jamaica and have travelled all over the U.S. Here’s what we’ve learned:
Pack a stellar Just-In-Case bag.
Be prepared. Yep, just like a boy scout. As my dad always says (he’s full of great one-liners), “If it can happen, it will, and at the worst possible time.” Prepare for THAT. This means any number of bodily function accidents and issues, sickness, and inclement weather. Whether it’s a giant cut on a leg in Canada, a lost cell phone in New York, or a high fever in Negril, if you’re prepared, you can handle it. (Yes, all of those things happened).