Why I travel with kids

With fair regularity, I get asked why I travel so much with my kids. Isn’t it exhausting? Will they even remember it? How do you make the time to get away? I could give the stock answers, and I sometimes do: I travel with my kids because I want them to have first-hand knowledge of their country and world. I travel with them because I hope that in so doing, I will create life-long learners of them. I travel with them because I enjoy it, and yes, I travel with them because I can.

But the more I journey with my children, the more I realize that travel isn’t just about the big picture. (Ironic, no?) For us, it’s about those singular moments that shine in the spaces between the major stops on the itinerary: the surprise glimpse of a sailboat from the window of the train, the unexpected enjoyment of the emptiness of a cathedral on the historical tour, the temporary camaraderie between the siblings stuck together in the back seat. It’s the anecdotes that become family lore: the missed turn on the interstate that leads to the missed flight (and longest stint in an airport ever), the rodeo that turns Toby into a hero when he announces he’s ‘an American’ to a crowd of cheering cowboys, the subway conductor who delays his train to give us directions to Penn Station. (Most of our anecdotes include navigational error.)

subway-nyc

The secret (which isn’t a secret at all) is that these moments can’t happen without the big events that frame them. Had we not planned a trip to New York City and put everyone on a cross-continental plane, I’d never have seen Calvin enter Central Park on a muggy June evening and confidently join a pick-up game of soccer, or Toby volunteer as a sidekick in a street performer’s act in the Battery. Had we not mapped out a five-state road trip to four national parks, I’d have missed Nate’s sheer joy upon zip-lining through Montana’s Big Sky wilderness and Toby’s scream of delight upon seeing a bear with her cub. (He scared them both.)

Bousquets-adventure-course

These moments are captured and surrendered in the space of minutes and hours, and some will be remembered and some will not. But as a traveling parent, I have to believe that the lasting impression created by these moments will be much more wide-sweeping. I have to believe that the confidence born of knowing their place in the world (which is everywhere, anywhere, and anything in-between) will enable them to always say I am capable. I am compassionate. I have as much to learn and as many experiences to have as there are places in this world, and I know not one definition of beauty, of history, and of humanity, but many.

 

Boston with kids: Boston Duck Tours

Before visiting Boston, I kept hearing about Boston Duck Tours, and how it was a must-do with kids. Turns out, their reputation precedes them for a reason! This tour is the perfect way to gain an overview of the city while the kids (and adults) are highly entertained. The fun begins as soon as you board your ‘duck’, a W.W.II style amphibious landing vehicle, and are introduced to your ‘conDUCKtor’, who both drives the vehicle and narrates the tour.

boston-duck-tour

The tour takes visitors throughout the city while the conDUCKor points out sights such as the Public Garden, points along the Freedom Trail, Copley Square, the State House, various museums, and historic buildings. Then, well before even young kids can get squirmy, the vehicles drives straight into the Charles River where it floats downstream. The views are wonderful, but even more fun is the amazement of the kids, especially when they’re all given turns at the helm of the ‘boat’.

duck-tour

Our tour, aboard the red, white, and blue (and aptly named) ‘Liberty’, was conducted by ‘Captain Foghorn’, who was lively, funny, and friendly throughout the tour. We were taught how to ‘quack’ at game passersby on the street and other tour vehicles, and the kids were free to blow their ‘quackers’ (duck whistles), which were less annoying than you’d think (but still $4 each). Captain Foghorn peppered his narrative of the city with personal anecdotes, jokes, and current events, keeping adults as entertained as the kids. The total time for the tour is 90 minutes (though a shorter version is available) and all the kids in our group, from age 2-12, called it one of their favorite activities in the city.

duck-tour-quacker

Tip: Plan to arrive at your tour 1/2 hour before departure time, and bring sweatshirts or jackets, as it gets cold on the river!

Date last visited: June 2011

Ticket prices: Tickets are $32 for adults, $22 for kids 3-12, and $10 for under 3. This price seemed steep to me, but after experiencing the tour, I can say it’s worth it! Be sure to get tickets ahead of time online, as they do sell out.

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Hours: Tours depart seven days per week, rain or shine, from mid-March through November. See website for more information or details about the abbreviated tour departing from the New England Aquarium.

Website: www.bostonducktours.com

Directions: When purchasing tickets, visitors have two options of tour start locations, The Museum of Science (1 Science Park) or the Prudential Center in the Back Bay (53 Huntington Avenue). We choose the Prudential Center, and easily found the duck tour booth upstairs, then boarded our vehicle one block away.

As I disclose whenever applicable, our party received complimentary tickets to experience the Boston Duck Tour. While appreciated, this compensation came with no expectation of a positive review.



Standing Alone

Inspired by our travels to Arches National Park.

The only downfall of Moab, Utah? In summer, it tops 100 degrees by 11 am.

But during our visit, we got a fairly early start and hit Arches National Park before ten. I’d never been here before, and I can say with solemn reverence that it was nothing short of stunning. I’m not usually the type to ohh and aww over geological wonders (I’d much rather learn about the people of a place, for instance, than how old its rocks are), but Arches certainly accommodated me in keeping with my recent travel theme of perspective and scope.

Walking through its canyons (or scrambling up them, as the case may have been as I chased after errant children), I was once again made painfully aware of my insignificance. Just as I had felt inside the vast caverns of Great Basin a week prior, staring at stalagmites millions of years in the making (quick, are those the ones hanging down or the ones pointing up?) Moab’s arches reminded me that the universe does not care that I, a random human being, chose the 23rd of July, 2009 to tread upon these particular coordinates of earth. Or any other, for that matter. The arches were there countless years before me, and will likely be there countless after me.

I think, if only for my own benefit, that I need to repeat that: does not care. That’s hard for us to grasp, isn’t it? I think this may be why time as a concept feels so elusive to us, and distance, for that matter: earlier in this road trip, I could barely wrap my mind around The Loneliest Highway in America, let alone the distance between a single star above my tent’s canvas and the path of its light to our planet. Our entire perspective is limited to such a tiny pin drop of experience.

We’re so self involved, the human race.

So in keeping with that theme as well, I can only offer these words. Of mine. And these photos. Of my family. On this date. In this place. Where, for the briefest of moments (brief to the universe, anyway…long as only a car trip with a four-year-old can be to me), my microscopic blink of an existence made contact with the impossibly long span of earth’s history, touching ground upon the smooth desert sandstone of dusty Moab.

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Disney done right: Dining in the ‘World’

Healthy? No. But they'll burn it off in the parks!

If you’re looking for tips on how to save money on meals in Disney World, this is not the place. Nor will this article tell you where to find the best fries, best pizza, or best cinnamon roll (although that would be the Main Street Bake Shoppe). Instead, this article is all about how to make dining in Disney easier…on you, your kids, your schedule, and your sanity. Because let’s face it, during a Disney family vacation, sometimes a meal feels less like a welcome repast and more like one more line to wait in, one more crowd to fight, and one more battle to get your children to behave. If you follow the tips below, it doesn’t have to be that way!

1. Opt into the Disney Dining Plan if you qualify. Will the dining plan be the cheapest way for your family to dine in Disney World? Perhaps so, perhaps not. It really depends on what type of meals your family enjoys. But that’s not the point: even if it costs you a few extra dollars when compared to dining out-of-pocket, we believe it’s worth it. Why? Because every time you order a burger at a counter service restaurant or the kids beg for a $5 tub of popcorn, you won’t feel ‘nickel and dimed’. You’ll be able to say ‘yes’ more often than ‘no’, and you won’t have to worry so much about each drink that comes with each meal and the price of that side dish of mac and cheese your kid had to have but never touched. You will have to pay attention to your number of counter service and table service credits, but Disney makes that easy for you by including a running tally on every food receipt.

2. If your kids are character crazy, reserve Character Meals. That’s right, I said ‘reserve’. Disney calls it an ‘AR’ (Advanced Reservation), and even if you’re visiting in the off-season, you’ll need one. Different restaurant venues will showcase different characters, so find the one (or more) that fits your family and plan to spend an hour or so with the characters while eating and relaxing in the air conditioned indoors instead of sweating in lines in the parks. Our favorite is the Pooh and Friends meal at Magic Kingdom’s Crystal Palace. (Bonus tip: reserve a table at a park-venue restaurant before park opening; you’ll be allowed to enter early for great photo ops by near-empty park attractions.)

Pit Stops' Grandpa becomes part of the act at Hoop-Dee-Doo!

3. Schedule your day around lunches for before 11:30 am or after 2 pm. It really does make a huge difference: not only will eating during off-peak hours save you time and hassle at the service windows and ensure you get a table, but it will free you up to tour the park while everyone else is eating. (Bonus tip: this works at ski resorts, too!)

4. Save buffets for the end of the day. Unless you were blessed with super-bionic angel children, your kids (and you!) are worn out by the end of a Disney day. Instead of asking them to sit still and wait for their table service meals, consider scheduling buffets for this last meal of the day. Everyone gets fed faster, has more choices, and can move around. Our hands-down favorite was Animal Kingdom Lodge’s Boma (easy to access via Disney transportation after a day at Animal Kingdom).

5. Enjoy dinner and a show. This tip goes double if you’re on the dining plan, since you’re able to use your points even for bundled dinner events such as the Fantasmic or Candlelight Dinner packages. Doing so allows you to relax and enjoy your meal without worrying about getting a good seat for the show: Disney reserves a spot for you. And some meals include a show of their own: our top pick was Fort Wilderness’ Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue. I don’t think I’ve ever seen my kids laugh so hard!