When You Travel With Mom, Magic Happens
In honor of Mother’s Day, I asked several bloggers and business owners to share their most significant travel moments with their children, or their mom, with me. As a mom myself, travel is very important to me, and a big part of my relationship with my son. I loved reading each of their stories and seeing how travel factored into their relationships as well. I hope you enjoy these moments as much as I did!
Rash & Chalukya – Go Beyond Bounds
“We had visited the tulip gardens of Morges in Switzerland last May. Our daughter was 11 months old and had just started walking. We would not allow her out of the stroller when we were outside house but we thought tulip garden would be safest and we should give a try.
And to our surprise, she frolicked around the garden touching and staring at all the flowers. It was both our favorite and significant as we remember that trip as our daughters first outing where she explored nature on her own foot.”
Blog: www.gobeyondbounds.com
Megan Leanderson – Pink to Green Blog
“As a two-time expat with a strong case of wanderlust, traveling has a strongly defined my life. My husband and I are enthusiastic about continuing to travel as we grow our family and have found it to be an enriching experience beyond measure. While logistically things get more challenging (we have a toddler, are expecting another in June and have food allergies to contend with) watching my son’s eyes light up as he experiences new places and the joy that comes from adventure has been the greatest gift to give and receive. This summer, we traveled to Montreal and my son has talked about the experience ever since. This picture is of us walking around Old Town and slowly taking in the sights. His specific memories may fad, but I’ll always remember the way he soaked up his surroundings with a twinkle in his eye, the way he danced to the french music playing on the corner and the hug he gave me that night in our hotel room saying it was his favorite day ever.”
Blog: pinktogreenblog.com
Instagram: @megan_leanderson
“My mum is the greatest most spontaneous travel partner that I ever have! We recently travelled to China Fujian Tulou, we did very little travel research and we ended doing most of the research on where to stay and where to go when we were on the road. After a long day of touring around, we would head back to the hotel and she would be researching on where to head the next day, while I would be researching on where to stay for the next leg in China. My mum has taught me so much and was always a source of strength whenever I needed her.
“Something cool happens every time we travel with the kids; we’re experiencing so many new things as a family. We make it a priority to travel with them, even when it isn’t easy. This year, my hubby and I took our six-year-old son to swim with manatees in Crystal River, Florida — an experience that was new for all three of us. I was a bit nervous about getting my little guy, who could only sort of swim, into the water with these huge, yet gentle, creatures. He immediately jumped into the canal with the help of his pool noodle and began snorkeling like a pro. (It took me WAY longer to get used to snorkeling my first time!) It wasn’t long before we found our first manatee. We found two actually — a mama and her calf. After a few minutes she got tired of us and began to swim away. He froze. He put his arms and legs up and stayed perfectly still as she glided a mere six inches underneath him just as the tour guides had instructed him to do. At the young age of six, he had listened to all the instructions perfectly and took caring for these animals so very seriously. I couldn’t have been more proud of him at that very moment. There are a lot of attractions that draw tourists to Florida, but this natural experience was one that none of us will ever forget.”
“Traveling alone with two little ones isn’t easy. Especially when you’re flying half-way across the world. Last year my husband had a temporary assignment to Hawaii. If I wanted to join him, I had to fly out separately from the east coast with our two boys who were 3 years and 3 months old at the time. How could we NOT go to Oahu?! As the flight got closer and closer, my anxiety almost became clinical. How was I going to survive the 22 hours of flying? How was I going to hold my baby while keeping my toddler from accidentally deploying the emergency exit door? How was my 100-pound self going to get all of our luggage, two car seats, a stroller, and carry-ons all on my own? I was so close to canceling the non-refundable flights and staying home, but I eventually decided I couldn’t let my husband have those beaches all to himself. So I put on my big-girl pants. I streamlined my packing process, planned activities and snacks for our travels, loaded up the double stroller, and took full advantage of baby-wearing (details on To be a Kid Again). I was surprised to find that my boys are both GREAT travelers, and that so many complete strangers will stop and offer help when needed. I also learned that I am capable of so much more than I realized. I was truly terrified to tackle this journey without the help of my husband, but I found strength I didn’t know I had for what turned out to be the trip of a lifetime. We fell in love with the island, and without a doubt will be going on this adventure again.”
Website: To be a Kid Again
Facebook: To be a Kid Again
Celine Brewer – Baby Can Travel
“In November of 2015, we took our 2.5 year old toddler and 2 month old baby to Sedona, AZ. As we had previously travelled with our daughter when she was an infant, we knew it would be pretty simple to take our 2 month old anywhere. As long as he was fed, changed and had a comfortable place to sleep he would be happy. Our toddler was another story.
It took us a while to decide where to go for this trip, because we knew we had to make it fun for our daughter as well. There was no way she would accept be dragged along sightseeing all day if it wasn’t interesting for her. We took a step back and really thought about the type of vacation that would please us, and we knew we wanted to get back to more outdoorsy, active type trips. We knew our daughter enjoyed running along the trails when we hiked back home, so we took the chance and booked a hiking trip to Sedona. Watching her hike and enjoy every moment of being in nature was so heartwarming. Sure, we didn’t do any epic hikes and we stopped a lot to play hike-and-seek or pick up rocks, but there we were, all hiking as a family. It’s in those moments that I find the absolute joy in travelling with our littles ones. It’s not always easy, but the efforts we put in pay off.”
Blog: http://www.babycantravel.com/blog
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/babycantravel
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/babycantravel
Pinterest http://www.pinterest.com/babycantravel
“The most meaningful travel experience I have ever had, as a mom (because I have traveled the world before kids and that is a whole different ball of wax), was when I did it alone. I took all three, (ages six, four and two) WITH the car seat, onto an airplane by myself. It wasn’t easy, but I did it, and I felt like superwoman. It didn’t hurt that the guy next to me bought me a cocktail…”
With my son, my favorite travel memory so far was the last time we flew somewhere (Chicago) and he was sitting in his seat next to the window and just started FREAKING OUT about the plane moving. He was so excited. Then he started saying that the plane was going to do a flip.
What are some of YOUR favorite memories traveling with your mom or children?
12 COMMENTS
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megan leanderson | 2nd May 16
Thank you so much for including me in this fantastic group of travellers! I really enjoyed reading about everyone’s experiences. Wishing you a very happy Mother’s Day!
Katie | 2nd May 16
Megan, Thanks so much for sharing your story! I SO enjoyed reading all of these- glad you did too!! Happy Mother’s Day 🙂
Nellwyn | 2nd May 16
I’m in my mid-twenties and last year my mom and I took a road-trip through Spain! It was such a fun holiday and we got to spend more time together than we had in ages since I live a couple hours away from my parents. Travelling together as adults meant that we could enjoy everything from shopping, sightseeing and drinking martinis in little tapas bars! I’m definitely hoping we can take more trips together in the future 🙂
Happy Mother’s Day!
Nellwyn | http://www.thecardinalpress.com
Katie | 2nd May 16
That sounds AMAZING!! 🙂 So glad you had that time with your mom!
Rashmi&Chalukya | 2nd May 16
Thank you so much Katie for giving us an opportunity to share our favorite moment with our darling. I enjoyed reading through all the mommy experiences. As we travel a lot with our daughter we could easily relate through all these stories ?
Katie | 2nd May 16
You are more than welcome! I enjoyed reading your story so much. I’m glad you could relate to the others as well. 🙂
Emily - To be a Kid Again | 3rd May 16
I just love this post. It’s great to see all of the mommas come together to share their stories. Thanks for including us in this!
Katie | 5th May 16
So glad you were able to be a part of this 🙂
Celine (@BabyCanTravel) | 5th May 16
Katie, Thank you for including us in your post! I loved reading the other stories as well!
Carmen | 19th May 16
I am a bit late to this post, but I just recently came back from a week long trip with my mom to New York City! We are both normally really busy and don’t get to spend time with each other, so it was a really nice trip with her.
Know Us Better !! – GOBeyondBounds | 13th Jun 16
[…] When You Travel With Mom, Magic Happens […]
EG III | 7th Dec 16
It’s been nearly 20 years since I had the pleasure of traveling with my mom, but I can close my eyes and picture her next to me on every single trip I take…for all the mom-travelers out there–embrace every second.