Why We Travel with Children

Why do we travel with children? Traveling with kids is not as relaxing as seeing the world without them. It’s harder. It requires more planning and more compromise. But the same is true of parenting. And the joys of parenting more than make up for the inconveniences. Children live so much in the present moment that we are forced to slow down and see things as they do…right now…right here. And that brings travel to a whole new and exciting dimension.

My husband and I recently took our two kids on a road trip to the quaint town of Julian, California for the day. It is a town known for its abundance of apple pie shops and country small-town-ness.

We had a quick lunch at the Cowgirl Café before savoring slices of apple pie with vanilla ice cream at Mom’s Pie House. Then we perused kitschy shops as long as the kids would allow it.

Soon the baby, Leo, began flailing his head into my chest and grunting. Next, our preschooler, Karissa, got that scary overtired glean in her eyes as she started tossing merchandise from shelves. This was our signal — time for naps!

The winding drive to a local apple orchard induced sleep for both kids. My husband and I lingered in the parking lot and chatted quietly while the kids dozed.

When the kids woke, we pushed Leo in his stroller through rows of apple trees. Meanwhile, Karissa delighted in filling her paper sack with tiny ruby and green fruit. She zipped through the orchard, grinning through bites of apple. She cried when it was time to leave.

Next, we drove to nearby Lake Cuyamaca, a smallish lake lined by colorful fall trees. I marched ahead with the baby strapped to my chest in his carrier. I wanted solace from 3-year-old squeals and was lacking the patience to go at a preschooler’s pace.

At one point I was so far ahead that I could neither see my husband and Karissa behind me, nor hear any sign of them. I worried I had walked too far ahead. Maybe my daughter had gotten tired, forcing them to head back.

I stopped to stare at the lake through a twinkling of golden leaves. Hugging my son to me, I leaned my face into the warmth of his fuzzy head and breathed in his baby smell. I enjoyed the serenity of that moment.

But even then, I felt a tugging at me. I wanted to be with my other child, too. I wanted to see her reaction to the leaves as they crunched beneath her steps. I longed to watch her blue-moccasined feet scamper through the grasses, arms spread like an airplane’s wings. I strained to hear those squeals I had sought to escape.

I waited.

Soon I heard, “Mommmmmy! Where aaaaaare youuuuu?!” Then I saw her, a streak of color running toward me. I was greeted by a giant smile and little arms encircling my legs and stories of birds seen in the sky.

Karissa led our pack of four back down the path to our car. We rambled over rocks and roots and fallen leaves. We wound through trees, over tall grasses, around muddy puddles, and past a lake dotted with tiny boats.

I witnessed and therefore was part of, my child’s pure joy in the journey.

And that is why we travel with children.

Why do you travel with children? Let us know your reasons in the comments below!

If you like the narrative style of this story, then I bet you’ll enjoy this heart-pumping dog-sledding tale about leading a pack of wild huskies through the Canadian wilderness.

Sharing is caring!