Travels with Children

I missed last week, so there should be lots of fun to be found this time!

• The Top 5 Reasons for Traveling with Kids at The Mother of All Trips.
• Indianapolis Attractions Offer Freebies for 12 Days of Christmas at USA Today.
• A visit to Conner’s A-maizing Acres at Callahan, FL, at The Rocket Scientist’s Guide to Raising Children. (And yes, Erin really IS a rocket scientist!)
• Living History at Plimouth Plantation and Aboard the Mayflower II at Midwest Guest.
• 5 Free Freebies in San Francisco, San Diego,  Nashville, The Berkshires (MA), Oahu, Cleveland, Berks County (PA), Berkeley, New Orleans, New York City, Seattle, Delaware, and Baton Rouge at We Just Got Back.  I’ll be using some of these hints on our upcoming trip.
• Old Sturbridge Village in Central Massachusetts at Suite 101.
• Airline Travel with Kids: Flying without Fear at Frisco Kids.
• George Washington Lived Here - Virginia at Uptake Vacations.
• 10 Tips to Surviving Flight Delays with Kids at DeliciousBaby.
• 99 things to do with your child in Indy before they grow up at BeingSavvy.
• Family Daytrips from Vancouver at Suite101.
• Family Attractions in Daytona Beach, Florida at Uptake Attractions.
• Five Family Freebies in New York at The Perrin Post.
• Family Holiday Fun in Branson at Traveling Mamas.
• Factory Tours in Northern Vermont at Uptake Vacations.
• Tips on Flying While Pregnant at TravelMuse.
• Brooklyn Children’s Museum at Travels with Child.

I first visited Hermann Monument, or “Herman the German” when on a trip with my grandma and cousin, following the Laura Ingalls Wilder trail through Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa.  (I also remember having my very-first Chicken McNuggets at the McDonalds in New Ulm, for what that’s worth!)

Climbing up Hermann’s spiral staircase to the interior lookout area affords a colorful view of New Ulm below, as the windows on that level are made of various-colored glass panes.  Going higher to the small top overlook gives even a better view.

Hermann stands guard atop “the hill,” or Minnesota River bluff, in New Ulm.  From an early age, my kids loved to see him and announced that “if a guy with a sword is chasing you, you should always, always run away.”

Now they ask to go up every year.  I reserve the Hermann trips for days when my husband can go up with them, for I’ve become fearful of heights lately.

This is the back of Hermann. Notice the three viewing levels:  the low one by the lions, the windows above, and the crow’s nest just below the actual statue.

This photo of New Ulm was taken from the lion level, as far as I dared go up this last trip.

The spiral staircase goes up to the window level, and then a little ladder-staircase goes up to the top from there.

And as for the history of Hermann and why he’s guarding New Ulm . . .

New Ulm has a strong German heritage. Many of the businesses in town reflect that: Gutentag Haus, Treasure Haus, Marktplatz Mall, and so on. When the clinic was remodeled recently, directional signs were installed in English, Spanish, and German. Downtown, a permanent display of old German flags is mounted to one of the building walls, and the Glockenspiel rings out several times a day.

For more travel photos, please head over to DeliciousBaby and see this week’s offerings!

I apologize for the infrequent posts in the past week.  I’ve been doing some travel planning and it takes a surprising amount of time.  If you’re interested in learning how a mom with a husband and four kids plans a two-week, 2700-mile road trip in the winter, read on.

• When should we go? This will be our “summer” vacation, since we could never get away during the summer.  It’s going to work out that we visit my sister and her family in Ohio for Christmas, and my parents will be there at the same time.  By having the older two kids miss 1.5 days of school, we’ll have 15 travel days instead of 11.
• Where should we go? Ohio was our original destination, but when we discovered we could add the extra days, we decided to take the extra time to go to Philadelphia since it’s “only” 8 hours from Columbus.  It’s a destination that might be better when the kids are older, but when opportunities appear, we jump on them.  There’s a lot left in this country for us to see in future years!
• What sites will we see? I get a general idea in mind (Philadelphia and Gettysburg) and then start with the state and local visitors’ bureaus.  If they’ll mail packets of information, I send for that right away because I prefer paper guides and the kids love getting the mail.  I also ask hubby and the kids if they know of any sites at our destinations.  Hubby’s always wanted to go to Gettysburg, and I didn’t have the word “Philadelphia” out of my mouth before the boys yelled “Liberty Bell!”  I find as much as I can and start a list on paper or on the computer of all the possibilities we’d like to see.  Sites like Uptake also help to find interesting things to do.
• Where will we stay? This is sometimes the hardest for us; not every hotel has rooms that will accommodate the six of us.  Sometimes our overnight stops get changed because I can’t find appropriate rooms.
• Daily itineraries? When I make my possibilities lists, I write what, where, when it’s open, and cost.  Then I start to map things out.  Our Monday plan was tricky, because a lot of things aren’t open, but I managed to find enough things to fill our day.  Our museum memberships often help us to find free stops to break up the trip.
• Keeping track? In the past, I’ve made elaborate Word documents with each day’s itineraries and backup activities.  This time, I’m trying to put it all in my Outlook calendar.  My hope is that I can import it to a Yahoo or Google calendar and be able to view and make changes on the road.  On this listing, I include contact info, website, costs, and driving and parking info, as well as hotel reservation information.
• Mapping it out. I’m trying out Microsoft Streets and Trips to calculate times and distances, although it’s not giving me the printing options I’d prefer.  We’ll have the GPS, atlases, and state maps in the car, so the preliminary maps are purely informational.  I also create maps of our route for each of the kids, highlighting our roads, so they don’t always have to ask “what town is next?” or “how far is it?” along the way.
• What’s left to do? Packing is going to be a big one.  Winter survival gear takes up a fair amount of room in the back of the van, and winter clothes take up more suitcase room than the shorts and t-shirts of summer.  I’m hoping to do laundry at least once along the way.  I also need to start thinking about snacks and activities for the kids that will keep them entertained yet not be messy in the car.

How do we do it once we’re on the road?

• Hubby drives most of the time, while I’m the primary navigator.
• Our longest driving days are about 8 hours.
• Except for scheduled stops like museums or other sites, we don’t plan rest stops.  We often eat meals earlier than usual, and if the kids are asleep we definitely don’t wake them up!  It actually works best when the stagger their car-sleeping times; there are fewer arguments then.
• I have two different snack methods:  the “mom doles things out every so often” method, and the “here’s your bag of snacks for the day; ration them appropriately” approach, which tends to result in less whining and more responsibility on the kids’ parts.
• Early to bed, early to rise: at motels, we often go to bed when the kids do. It helps them to fall asleep if we’re not moving around in the room, and we’re usually tired out from our busy days.
• Making it fun:  We play a lot of “I Spy” and alphabet games and have a wide variety of “kid music” on the MP3 player.  The boys will have new digital cameras to keep them busy; and investment in batteries may be worth a lot of peace.
• Prepping the kids:  Since we’ll be visiting a lot of historic places, I made a big stop at the library today so we can get as much out of the trip as possible.  We talk a lot about appropriate behavior en route to our sites so the kids are reminded what is expected of them.

Will it be perfect? Not a chance!  My biggest fears are that we hit bad weather, someone gets sick, or we have large crowds along the way.  Having a peanut allergy in the family makes mealtimes a little more challenging.  And having four little kids in the car is often less than peaceful.

Still, I’m anticipating a fun trip, visiting family and friends, seeing new sites, and our ritual of asking the kids each day what their favorite things were.  The trip will be both too long and too short, and we’ll wish we could have stayed longer yet be glad to be home.

Are you traveling during the holidays this year?  How do you plan your trips get things to go smoothly?

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Finding a room that will accommodate a family of six is no small task.  Here are some places where we’ve had good stays.  Once in a while I can book a room for six over the Internet, but at other times I’ve been allowed to reserve a room by calling the hotel directly even if the website set a maximum of four or five people per room.

Country Inn and Suites: We’ve stayed at a few, most recently in Cedar Falls, Iowa, where we had a huge room with two beds and a sofabed.  Excellent free breakfast; a nice place to stay. 

Hampton Inn: One of the chains where we’ve had good luck finding an affordable two-room suite.

Comfort, Quality, Sleep Inns and Suites: I haven’t stayed in any of these yet, but I have rooms booked at several for an upcoming trip.  They’re surprisingly affordable, and although most are a partial-divider “suite” with two double beds and a sofa sleeper, a few have three double beds in the room.

Americinn: I can usually book an online room for the six of us at Americinn.  Rooms are not huge, but spacious enough.  Breakfasts are good.

Homewood Suites: Although billed as extended-stay lodging, we had a beautiful room for two nights in Sioux Falls, SD.  (Two bedrooms and two baths, with free breakfast and an evening offering that was ample for our supper.)  We have one booked at a very reasonable rate on an upcoming vacation.

Best Western: I had to call directly, but was told that six people were fine in a room at the Ramkota in Sioux Falls, SD.

Holiday Inn: In Rhinelander, WI, we got a nice two-room suite at a fair price.

Sometimes on our travels we come across things that are truly off the beaten path.  Such is the case of Cliff Haugen’s sculptures near Larimore, North Dakota.  They’re on a gravel road a few miles northeast of the rest area, and not marked in any way.  My mom just happened to know about them and so I ventured off the highway to take a look.

I’m guessing most of these pieces are made of scrap pieces of metal from around the farm, so this is recycling taking on an interesting form.

Some of the pieces are in motion and move gently with the wind.

I apologize for the quality of the photos; it was a cloudy day. And these are only a few of the pieces along the farmsite; my camera battery died after I snapped these pictures.

While these aren’t the masterpieces that others have seen at the Louvre or other famed museums, they’re pieces of art nonetheless.  I love these types of finds on my travels!  If you ever want to see this collection for yourself, make your way to Larimore, ND, and ask someone for directions to Cliff Haugen’s farm.

For more travel photos, head over to DeliciousBaby for Photo Friday.

Here in rural Minnesota, our communities are made up almost entirely of people whose heritage is from either Germany or Norway.  Blonde hair and blue eyes are common; languages other than English are not.

So how do we teach our kids about other cultures?  Museum visits are a great way to learn about other countries and their ways of life.

Currently in the Twin Cities, there are some great opportunities to teach kids about other cultures.

• The Minneapolis Institute of Arts is hosting an exhibit called INDIA: Public Spaces, Private Places.  This exhibit was also the basis for a recent Family Day at MIA.
• The Hmong at Heart exhibit at the Minnesota Children’s Museum gives visitors a look into the Hmong culture in Laos and in America.
• Urban Expedition programs at St. Paul’s Landmark Center explore the culture and traditions of countries such as Germany, Uganda, and Latvia.

Museum visits are an excellent way to introduce children to new cultures, as well as history, science, and art.  Giving children the opportunity to learn about other people in the enjoyable setting of a museum can spark them into wanting to learn more.

And how can they learn more, without traveling the world? Books and movies can be a good way.  I was recently made aware of a DVD series for children called Global Wonders, which teaches children about India, Mexico, and more.  I’ll be looking for them on our next trip to the library, where we can also find books, movies, and music reflecting any culture we’re interested in.

Do you live in a culturally diverse area?  How do you teach your children about other cultures?

For more ideas, see what other twitter moms have done.

Update: Might have been too good to be true.  It looks like the discounted ones aren’t on Target’s site any more.  Don’t know if that means they sold out and will honor those already sold, or if orders will be canceled.  I’m headed over to BabyCheapskate to see what the scoop is there.

Quick post to hope some of my readers can get in on this deal.  My sister just called and said that Target.com has Marathons for $42.99 for Granite and $59.99 for Cowmooflage.  Shipping is free!  (These are usually $279 seats.)

As a CPST, I’m don’t recommend specific carseats, but I’ll say this much:  this is the seat that my 2- and 4-year-old daughters ride in.

Now I’m just trying to decide if I can pass up this deal, because I really don’t need any more carseats right now!

P.S. If you’re a member of AAA, try shopping through http://aaa.com/target for another 10% off.  I did order one.  It was $40.62, including tax and free shipping.  Cheaper than a Scenera and will last most kids until they’re 5 or 6 years old!

Here’s a look at interesting, fun, and useful information from other travel bloggers this week.

• Minnesota’s Split Rock Lighthouse and the Edmund Fitzgerald at A Closer Look at Flyover Land.
• An Unexpected Adventure (my favorite kind) at Family Adventure Guidebooks.
• Top 5 Tips for Finding a Family Vacation that Fits Your Budget at Traveling Mamas.
• Recharging in Keystone at Travel Savvy Mom.
• Maurice Sendak retrospective in Philly at We Just Got Back.  (We’re considering adding 3 days and 900 miles to our Christmas trip so we can visit Philadelphia. Hmmmm… )
• We Just Got Back’s freebies series continues with free things to do in Baltimore, San Francisco’s North Bay, Milwaukee, Lexington, Portland, Boston, Chicago,
• Things for kids at the San Francisco airport at Family Travelogue.
• Free and Kid Friendly in Washington, D.C. - The Smithsonian Institution at Uptake Vacations.
• Space Shuttle Launch at Family Travel Planet.
• California Academy of Arts and Sciences at Frisco Kids.
• Top Travel Tips at Boston Mamas.
• Family Vacation Ideas at Family Travel Planet.
• Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory at Uptake Attractions.
• Some book/CD combos that will probably be added to my in-the-car playlist at Boston Mamas.
• Kid-friendly restaurants at Milwaukee Moms.
• Great Chicago-area children’s book stores at Being Savvy.
• Going to the Beach in MIchigan at Uptake Attractions.
• Family Fun in Downtown Boise at Uptake Vacations.
• Portland Christmas Activities at Suite101.
• The Dallas Zoo at Uptake Attractions.
• Safety for kids while traveling includes many different things. Near-tragedy at Scenic Overlook describes one family’s close call.
• Santa Claus visits Chicago Downtown at Suite 101.
• The Christmas Lights at Clifton Mill at Uptake Vacations.
• Some great Holiday Light Attractions at Uptake Attractions.
• Kids Night on Broadway is now Monthly at Mommy Poppins.
• Holiday Family Fun at Navy Pier in Chicago at Suite101.

The latest overnight trip I made with the kids was to my parents’ farm in eastern North Dakota.  It’s a 6-hour trip, and one that we’ve made many times.  Some trips home are short, or packed with activities, but this time we had a free day so I offered to help Mom and Dad pick the apples from their tree.

My uncle came over to run the “farmhand”, an ancient tractor with a loader bucket that looks innocent enough but really goes quite high.  (I spent many an hour in the farmhand, painting the big white barn, when I was in high school.)

Once we were up at the top of the tree, I remembered that I don’t like heights any more, so my apple-picking was done one-handed while I hung on for dear life with the other.

This 30-year-old Haralson tree was loaded with apples.  Its twin didn’t have as many so we left it alone this year.  We kept only the best apples, leaving many hanging on the tree for the birds and throwing some to the ground for the deer that congregate in the yard.  Even being choosy about the ones we kept, we did very well.  We ended up with nine 5-gallon pails and several peach boxes of crisp, sweet-tart apples.  The standing joke for the rest of the trip was to ask everyone we saw if they needed any apples.  (The answer was always “no” because all the neighbors had good apple crops of their own this year.)

Who needs an orchard when you have Mom and Dad?

To see more travel photos, visit Photo Friday at deliciousbaby.com.

When people hear of the places we take our kids, they’ll often make comments about traveling any sort of distance with four young children in the car.  “How do you do it?” they’ll ask.  “They’re good travelers,” I’ll reply, and for the most part they really are.  Of course, I have a few tricks up my sleeve, like snacks, magazines, coloring books, and the like.  Sometimes they’ll take a nap in the car.  We play a lot of games of “I Spy” and spotting the letters of the alphabet.  We switch back and forth between talk radio and “kid music.”  And once in a while they even argue with each other.

Would it surprise you, though, to hear that we don’t have a DVD player for the car?  I’ve heard people say that’s it’s a “lifesaver” or that they “couldn’t live without it” when traveling with kids on long trips.

For some reason, though, I’m philosphically opposed to car DVD players.  My kids watch TV at home, and I don’t think it’s necessary for them to be tuned into a tiny screen in the car when there’s so much to see out the windows.  We enjoy the conversations we have in the car and would miss out on that if they were plugged in to a movie.

Once in a while, the kids ask if we can get a car DVD player, but they really don’t grumble too loudly when we tell them no and explain our reasons.  Judging by the landmarks they recognize and the signs they read, they don’t feel like they’re missing out on too much.

If you’re a DVD-in-the-car family, I don’t begrudge you your ways of keeping travel peaceful.  In fact, I may someday change my mind, perhaps on a really long cross-country trip.  But for now, I’m happy to have my children enjoy what they see out the windows of our mini-van and enjoy the conversations we have with them en route.