Traveling with Children

Today we are taking our three children on a two country tour. Our vacation began on Friday, July 4, 2008. Back home my best friend is about to deliver twins.

Packing for our trip was unusually easy. Normally I rush out and buy all the needed toiletry items etc. This time I enlisted help. My oldest child packed clothes for himself, his brother and his sister. No kidding. He put the clothes together. We did it in steps. First my oldest son put all the under ware in two piles. Later we worked on the clothes. I handed him clothes and he separated the clothes into two piles. He also put all of his sister's clothes that I set out into a travel bag. Not bad for someone his age. Yeah!! On the day of travel both boys packed a bag with their toys. Hopefully their toys are not obnoxiously loud. I forgot to check that. They also selected their special blankets for the trip.

My former manager once mentioned that his wife enjoyed a clean home after vacation so she would spend time cleaning prior to their trips. Surprisingly I did make an effort to make the house presentable prior to our departure.

Approximately 5 years ago we made this same trip with our oldest son. Since that trip we upgraded to a small minivan and then to a larger minivan. We also have a roof top carrier. This will be the first time my daughter has been in a hotel. Her baggage is fairly light. She has a pack and play to sleep. For dining, she has two seats. One seat we can take into the hotel and the other we will leave in the car. She is not potty trained yet so no potty chair is needed.

Toys, did we pack any toys for our daughter? Hopefully. Her toys are always a mismatch of various parts of toy sets.

Our choices for our destination varied but being summer what we packed would be the same for both trips. I love to travel and plan trips. We selected b/w 1000 Islands and Niagara Falls, Ontario. In the 1000 Islands, rest and relaxation seems to be possible. I have only taken a boat cruise through the area on the Saint Lawrence River so I don't know much about the area beyond the boat tour. Another interesting location is Rochester, NY. It appears to be on the water and has lots of fun museums that appear to cater to children.

Niagara Falls, Ontario has a fabulous attraction called Marine Land. They have a wonderful aquatics show and the patrons get to touch and feed the deer.
My husband and I were here in 1999. Now we hope to bring our children to enjoy the fun.