KinderJet.com - Family Travel Blogs

I read alot of family travel blogs, and come across even more while doing research for this blog. The ones I enjoy the most are the true stories of people actually traveling with their kids, and the challenges and rewards that go with those adventures. What drives me a bit crazy (I am constantly planning new trips with my kids, so we already know I am a bit crazy!) is when travel writers review destinations, accomodations and activities that sound absolutely fabulous for traveling with kids, except for the fact that they are mostly inaccessible to normal families. 

The reality is that many of us who love traveling with our children cannot afford to stay in super-expensive theme hotels, cannot access behind the scenes tours, and cannot get the extra special treatment given to travel writers who are hosted by tourism promoters. Don't get me wrong, they have earned their special tours and some families are in the position to access those same travel perks. But as a regular family, I wanted to know where to get the best deals on accomodations, how to find the sights-less-seen yet available to all, and when to travel to popular destinations to get the best experience for the whole family. I wanted to find out from real families how to get the most vacation bang for my money and time.

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Ten years ago we had twins, and we also had every fear you can imagine regarding traveling with them. Taking care of them, keeping track of them, getting enough sleep, feeding them away from home, keeping them warm enough, keeping them cool enough, crying (theirs... and mine), taking enough stuff, taking too much stuff.

Still, when they were three months old, my Mom and I drove to Saskatchewan with two baby boys in bucket seats in the back. Stopped at the side of the road to feed, changed messy diapers on the floor of a gas station restroom, went back into said restroom to change yet another messy diaper, had a contaminated water situation at the hotel, thus had to wash bottles and mix formula with bottled water (and I cannot figure out why I did not just go buy ready made formula?). One of the boys actually cried at the top of his lungs for the last 40 minutes of the drive home. But, we survived it all. And learned lots.

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Yay! I have photos of the beach day! Our older boys LOVE the beach, no matter where it is or what the temperature. We were lucky that on the day we planned to go to Tampa, it was sunny and warm. Not hot, but nice enough for some splashing and playing.

Three years ago, we took our three kids to Florida for a week in February. And our youngest was only 4 months old! What were we thinking??? After the first crazy day at Kennedy Space Center watching the Shuttle launch, we were thinking it was time for a break.

In March 2005, we took our 2 four year old boys to Los Angeles and Las Vegas, along with my brother and his family. A trip to LA with little kids is quite a bit different than the trip we took last week.

It was a significantly different experience traveling to Norman Wells, NWT in the summer. Here is a post from July 2009. (Another video at the end.)

I wrote these posts 2 years ago, when I took our then 1 year old up to the Northwest Territories for New Years. It was quite a trip! (There is a video at the end.)

I will post more about the Calgary Zoo another time, but I wanted to share this video I did of the Dinosaurs Alive! Exhibit that was there last year. It is quite spectacular and I would recommend taking the family to see it if it comes to a zoo near you.

I live in Calgary, and I love it here. Once in a while, we pretend we are tourists and take in the sites. The Calgary Tower is one of our favourites. The kids dig the glass floor, even if it makes their parents nervous. Mostly, they love to run around, and around...and around.

My kids have always LOVED Heritage Park. There are old style fair rides, a ferris wheel and carousel etc. A paddlewheel boat, steam train (a favourite, of course) and horse drawn carriage. And every trip to heritage Park includes a stop at the Ice Cream Parlour.

This was a January weekend in Victoria. Rainy and pretty chilly, but we found some fun things to do anyway.

Here is a video of a weekend we spent in Banff with our kids.

There is literally a Starbucks on every corner. (On one corner, there were two right across from each other!) If you prefer Slurpees to Lattes, you are in luck. There is a 7-11 on each block, as well. Mountains or beaches? You don't have to choose. Hiking in the woods? No problem! Shopping on a trendy downtown avenue? You got it! Gotta love Vancouver!

Well, my friends, it was only 4 days but it felt like so much longer. We took the kids to Vancouver last summer for an extra-long weekend. I don't know what goes through my head when I plan a family trip. It always seems like a good idea at the time. Maybe I am imagining it with some fictional children who don't exist. You know, kids who like adventure, are excited about seeing new things... enjoy their family. For the record, that does not describe my children.

Well, I don't think anyone is even reading this anymore. And I'm a little tired of posting about it, so let's wrap up the vacation today.

Day 7 (Bernardo Winery): Our last full day in San Diego was one of my favourites.

LEGOLAND!!!

This was the day the boys had been waiting for since we started planning this trip. To be honest, I was a little nervous. After Sea World, I was not at all sure our family could handle Legoland. But, we had learned a few lessons, and had relaxed a bit since then. So, off we went, our best attitudes in mind, and our pockets full of cash.

San Diego Zoo: They call it one of the best zoos in the world, and it was pretty good. We could have taken a bus tour, but we chose to walk. It was a lot of walking, but it was a gorgeous day, and we enjoyed the stroll almost as much as the animals.

I know that many people think of Disneyland or Knotts Berry farm when LA and Kids are being discussed... and they aren't wrong. Those famous destinations are great places to take the kids when you're there.  But there are other interesting places to see in LA that are good for the kids and the adults.

Hello & Welcome to KinderJet.com

A great way to blog about your family travels & learn about others family travels.

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