Traveling with Kids

Traveling with kids is not a vacation. It is rewarding, enlightening and develops deeper family relationships, but it is by no means relaxing. And at times it isn’t easy, especially if the previous night’s sleep suffered all sorts of interruptions.
With the current combination of ages and personalities in our family, Maayan (17 months old) requires constant attention, or else she’ll either hurt herself or demolish her surroundings. That typically leaves one parent to divide attention between Hadas and Noga, as well as fixing meals, washing dishes, doing laundry every now and then, packing, loading the car, building the tent etc. etc.
Both parents have very little time to relax and recharge. Not to mention things like a brief Yoga practice (Anat, not me…) or reading a few pages in a book. So, the fact that I write less than I would have liked stems not only from sporadic internet access…

One thing we had a reminder of is the importance of music on long drives with kids. The audio system in our tired mini-van ceased to work, which left us musicless. And storyless. Phew, that made the drives so much more difficult! Luckily, our unplanned stop in Kanab allowed us to have a mechanic replace a naughty fuse, and we were back to normal. I must admit that enjoying the dramatic eastern entrance to Zion National Park with the soundtrack of High School Musical 1 felt somewhat weird. But this soundtrack was infinitely better than a whining baby…
All in all, don’t get me wrong – traveling with kids is fantastic, and I wholeheartedly recommend it. As long as you don’t expect it to be a relaxing vacation.

Giora