Small Travel Wonders

Inspire Your Kids With A Family Trip!

by Catherine Anaya

I didn't board my first airplane until I was 17-years old. It was a trip from Southern California to Northern California, so I wouldn't exactly call it a major trip. Nonetheless, it was a venture outside the confines of a teenage life in constant movement from one apartment to another with a single mother.

I've loved everything about traveling since. I bask in the excitement of exposure to a new culture and the history of a different community. I break every self-imposed diet rule to savor any and every morsel of a foreign food.

Because I went straight from college to a career, to marriage and children, I've often regretted that I never took a break long enough to travel (of course travel takes money, and that's hard to come by in your early 20's!). So, I've spent that last seven years or so trying to make up for it with trips to touristy places like Maui, Europe and Mexico, and smaller visits to states like Maryland, New York, Nevada and Florida. All of those trips - with the exception of the two weeks I spent in Europe with my mother as a gift to her for her 50th birthday - have been taken with my daughter.

I was determined after her birth to expose her to the joy of traveling at a very early age. I took her on her first major airplane trip at just one-and-half-years old. We went to Disney World in Orlando - just the two of us. My husband teased me about spending so much money on an adventure she wouldn't even remember. But I didn't care. We were out until almost midnight every night we were there - soaking in the fun of being in a new place and enjoying all the rides and thrills of a new experience. She had a terrific time and though she doesn't remember it - she has the pictures to prove it!

Now, she excitedly asks, "Mommy, what state are we going to visit next?" as she stares at a United States map. She suggests we visit the Greek Isles or Argentina (areas she recently studies in school) to celebrate my 40th birthday. I love that she's interested in discovering new places and learning about different cultures.

Unless it's a small weekend trip to a place in state like Sedona or Flagstaff, my mother will also take the adventure with us. Three generations of women exploring a new place, bonding and cementing memories that will give us a lifetime of smiles. It's become a tradition.

Last year, we spent a week together in Washington, D.C. One night my mom and I had my daughter out dancing until midnight, learning how to do the 'soul train' to some of our favorite 70's tunes. Just today she was singing that disco-classic "I Will Survive," and I couldn't help but chuckle because it used to be my favorite song when I was just a few years older than she is. Last week, the three of us spent a week in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Our first night there she asked, "Can we go dancing tonight?"

We're about to take our first family trip since the birth of my son, and I'm hoping he's going to revel in the pleasure of a new place just as my daughter does. I know traveling with kids is a lot of work, and doesn't really fall under the rest and relaxation category. But I find experiencing a new place is always more pleasurable when I'm experiencing it through the eyes of a child.

For more information and tips on traveling with children, visit www.thetravelmom.com. Emily Kaufman, aka The Travel Mom, is the queen of traveling with kids and was one of the first people to encourage my mother-daughter expeditions. Happy trails!