Earlier this year, my daughter called to tell us she and her husband were going to celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary with a month-long trip to Scotland. “That’s great”, I said. “Sounds like a lot of fun”!
Her reply was, “But Mom, I want the first part of our trip to be a family trip. Jay and Gracyn said they were interested in going with the boys.”
We weren’t expecting it, but we said, “Okay, let’s do it”!
It would be our first official family trip.
A Tradition Of Family Travel
Family trips aren’t unusual for us. I grew up taking an annual trip in the summer with my extended family — grandmother, parents, brother, aunts, uncles, and cousins. It was a fresh adventure every summer. When my children were preschoolers, my mom and dad decided that instead of Christmas presents, they would take my brother’s family and my family on a trip. Everyone enjoyed snow skiing, so we alternated between a ski trip and a golf/beach trip. Inevitably, my kids would want to continue the tradition. We are a traveling family. It’s in our blood.
My daughter and son-in-law lived in Edinburgh, Scotland, for almost a year and a half while she studied at the University of Edinburgh for her master’s degree. They got to know the country well during that time, so she did an excellent job planning our trip. It required extra thought because two of the travelers were under the age of three. She did an exceptional job of planning an itinerary that would be appealing to adults and children and take into consideration their needs. It helped that all the adults had visited Scotland previously, so we did not need to do many of the typical touristy things.
Here are five things I learned on our first family trip with our grandsons.
Be Flexible—Katelyn planned a couple of things for each day. She also had some backup activities just in case. Sometimes the almost three-year-old needed a nap, but other times he didn’t. Also, he is a great eater and enjoys food. Sometimes we needed to wait for him to finish, but it was fun to watch him enjoy his food. One day in Edinburgh, we went to the National Museum of Scotland. The boys enjoyed looking at all the animals and the mechanical section. We all enjoyed it so much, we went back later in the afternoon. Towards the end of the trip, they were feeling a little under the weather, so instead of the planned train ride, they had a relaxed day at the house with their mom and dad after a leisurely breakfast at the village coffee shop.
Slow down and look at the world from a child’s perspective. Some of my favorite times were the simplest, like the afternoon at the Princes Street playground under the shadow of the castle or the few minutes we spent throwing rocks in the Loch Harport. The almost three-year-old first experienced the bagpipes this summer in the mountains, so any time we heard a piper playing, we had to pause to listen. We could have spent hours at Cairngorm Mountain watching the little wooden balls travel down the chutes. We even attended a community ceilidh (pronounced “Kay-lee”) where we listened to music and watched the dancers. (Some of us joined in the dancing!)
Hang out together. When we were in Edinburgh, we stayed in a hotel, but when we were on our road trip, we stayed in two different houses. Both houses were comfortable, and I really enjoyed having my family all together in one place. The first house had plenty of room for little boys to play inside. That was good, because it was rainy, so we didn’t get to enjoy the yard. The second house we stayed in had a lovely backyard, perfect for kicking a ball, gathering tiny pine cones (guinea pigs), and investigating slugs. A trail led down to the creek below. One day, we visited a small, out-of-the-way distillery. Since they did not allow children, my husband, my daughter-in-law, and I kicked the ball for a couple of hours in the nearly empty parking lot. (The almost three-year-old loves kicking balls.) Finally, everyone helped watch over the little ones. When I look through the pictures from the trip, I see photos of each of us holding them throughout the trip. Together is a great place to be.
Be patient. This goes along with being flexible. Emotions are big with an almost three-year-old, so we had to exercise patience and extend grace. I was also a recipient of patience. A few weeks before the trip, I developed plantar fasciitis. Walking was often quite painful, and I often had trouble keeping up. My family was patient with me as I hobbled along. I enjoyed the times we caught the double-decker bus.
Don’t let the little things get you down—I really wanted to get a family picture to use for Christmas cards, and I thought I had the perfect spot—beautiful Glen Coe. Unfortunately, it was pouring down rain the day we drove through. We didn’t even get out of the car. We missed another photo op because of something tiny. Midges! They were swarming as we walked to the nearby pub from our house near the Old Sligachan Bridge. My son and son-in-law had to go back to the house to get the car to pick us up.
Overall, the trip was a tremendous success and so much fun. We made memories to last us a lifetime. Our grandsons may not remember the trip since they are so young, but we will always remember experiencing Scotland through their eyes and at their pace. One question remains. Where next?!
How about you? Do you have a tradition of traveling with your extended family? What were some of your favorite trips? I’d love to hear.
Kim Wilbanks 