Road Trip Summer 2008

My kids are really good travelers. We trained them early on. Once each child celebrated their 1st birthday they were ready for their first camping trip. Not just a local one but a family road trip. When our oldest was just one we traveled to the Grand Canyon. When our daughter was about two we traveled to Lassen NP, Crater Lake NP and Redwoods NP. For our youngest we returned to the Grand Canyon once again and the following year we went to Yellowstone and the Grand Teton NP. Each year or so we try to visit a different National Park with the kids. Our family enjoys camping when the opportunity arises.

Sadly on this family vacation we were not able to camp. If you live in Washington state you will totally understand..the weather is unpredictable. Since our trip was so long packing possible wet gear was out of the question.

Back to traveling...friends have asked me if we have a DVD player in the car. My answer is no. My kids have plenty of opportunity to watch movies at home I don't want their attention taken away yet again to miss seeing what life is like outside their own state. Here are a few hints and tips I have gathered through the years of traveling with kids and it varies from age to age with each individual child.
When our children were young we would break up the long drives. We would try to limit our drive down to 200 to 250 miles in the car with a break for lunch at a kiddy park or fast food restaurant climbing gym. Now that they have gotten older our largest day was over 6 hours in the car. Yes, they probably could be traveling longer ( we had in fact our Mexico Mission car ride was longer) but nasty tempers was parents and kids soon follow. I bring lots of snacks and drinks for fussy tummies. We have books on tape, radio shows or I read to them out loud in the car. They enjoy this!! My oldest can read in the car on his own without getting carsick but my daughter can't. He also enjoys playing a hand held game of baseball or basketball. She enjoys playing with her dolls and chewing bubble gum while looking out her window. For my youngest this year I rented some books on tape for him from the library and hooked him up with his own cassette player and headphones. He also loves to draw, doodle and snooze. Sometimes we play games in the car. This year we brought battleship in the car for fun. Another thing my kids enjoy is that I find a few points of interest along the way to break up the trip. Hope this ideas you can use and don't fall victim to needed a DVD player in your car. You don't!!!