"As a toddler father, I vacillate about 12 times daily between heart-exploding gratitude to the universe and wondering if there’s a place you can drop off kids and leave them until they turn 5 or 6."
I just jokingly asked my wife at the pool yesterday what the age limit is for dropping kids off at the fire station regarding our 9.5 yo so this hit home.
I've never really subscribed to the Emmerson quote "it's not the destination, it's the journey" for vacations. My tendency to over-plan lends itself to minimizing travel times at all cost so we can get to where we are going, get settled in, and start the REAL vacation (whether that be planned activities or just laying around at the beach/lake/whatever.)
This mentality has only deepened with the addition of our now 1.5 year old daughter. My logistics-oriented brain kicks into overdrive with trip planning to minimize the amount of travel time that can lead to the baby getting uncomfortable and melting down. Better to get to the rental/hotel/resort where we have various amenities available to manage her whole deal.
HOWEVER, my wife has started talking about recreating the cross country trip she took with her parents from Hudson Valley, NY to and through the Mountain West with stops at several national parks. I'm in the line of thinking that:
1. We should wait until the kid is at least 10 so they can do more activities unassisted and remember it more.
AND
2. Fly out there and rent a car instead of drive.
On the second point -- the stretch between Chicago and Colorado/Wyoming seems brutal with not much interesting to see (sorry Iowa and Nebraska). Also, everything between where we live and Chicago are places I've already been (Buffalo, Erie, Cleveland, etc.) which are nice, but maybe not worth a stop for sightseeing.
Can someone talk me into this? Or at least make me see the advantage of doing this drive? I get that it's all about building memories, but I'm thinking the memories might be better if we get there quick and start seeing the good-stuff right away.
I'm of a similar mindset, but doing most things with kids is harder than doing them without kids. So your partner is maybe feeling like they don't want to wait ten years to travel plus they want to recreate their childhood experiences. When I keep my goals modest (we will get there today rather than we will get there by x time) it does help.
We took road trips as a kid but they were almost always within the bounds of Washington state. A few into the Vancouver, BC area and a few into Oregon & Idaho. But just barely over the borders. I do remember being kind of bored in the Olympic Forest and the Washington coast (brought a weird little B&W tv/radio combo once to watch Starblazers) and of course making up games in the car. That said the simplicity of "camping" in a van for a couple of nights still resonates.
Fast forward to adulthood and my wife and I have always taken weird extended road trips (no kids though) for a variety of reasons. Tiring at times but randomly fun at others.
"As a toddler father, I vacillate about 12 times daily between heart-exploding gratitude to the universe and wondering if there’s a place you can drop off kids and leave them until they turn 5 or 6."
Jesus Murphy ain't that the truth
In fairness, my children are now old enough that we can hang out while I avoid my extended in-laws, which is a real big time bonus.
Totally sent this to my buddy with kids. He agreed
I just jokingly asked my wife at the pool yesterday what the age limit is for dropping kids off at the fire station regarding our 9.5 yo so this hit home.
Jesus Vince, I have an almost two year old and that description of yours demanding freedom on the hike is gonna give me a heart attack
Lol kid fuckin hates geysers.
I've never really subscribed to the Emmerson quote "it's not the destination, it's the journey" for vacations. My tendency to over-plan lends itself to minimizing travel times at all cost so we can get to where we are going, get settled in, and start the REAL vacation (whether that be planned activities or just laying around at the beach/lake/whatever.)
This mentality has only deepened with the addition of our now 1.5 year old daughter. My logistics-oriented brain kicks into overdrive with trip planning to minimize the amount of travel time that can lead to the baby getting uncomfortable and melting down. Better to get to the rental/hotel/resort where we have various amenities available to manage her whole deal.
HOWEVER, my wife has started talking about recreating the cross country trip she took with her parents from Hudson Valley, NY to and through the Mountain West with stops at several national parks. I'm in the line of thinking that:
1. We should wait until the kid is at least 10 so they can do more activities unassisted and remember it more.
AND
2. Fly out there and rent a car instead of drive.
On the second point -- the stretch between Chicago and Colorado/Wyoming seems brutal with not much interesting to see (sorry Iowa and Nebraska). Also, everything between where we live and Chicago are places I've already been (Buffalo, Erie, Cleveland, etc.) which are nice, but maybe not worth a stop for sightseeing.
Can someone talk me into this? Or at least make me see the advantage of doing this drive? I get that it's all about building memories, but I'm thinking the memories might be better if we get there quick and start seeing the good-stuff right away.
I'm of a similar mindset, but doing most things with kids is harder than doing them without kids. So your partner is maybe feeling like they don't want to wait ten years to travel plus they want to recreate their childhood experiences. When I keep my goals modest (we will get there today rather than we will get there by x time) it does help.
We took road trips as a kid but they were almost always within the bounds of Washington state. A few into the Vancouver, BC area and a few into Oregon & Idaho. But just barely over the borders. I do remember being kind of bored in the Olympic Forest and the Washington coast (brought a weird little B&W tv/radio combo once to watch Starblazers) and of course making up games in the car. That said the simplicity of "camping" in a van for a couple of nights still resonates.
Fast forward to adulthood and my wife and I have always taken weird extended road trips (no kids though) for a variety of reasons. Tiring at times but randomly fun at others.
That last picture is golden. Poor kid, lol
Man, between this article and the "Top Chef" podcasts being my favorite stuff Vince does makes me feel like I'm aging with the Frot :)