When life involves travel, we have never got ourselves worked up. I maybe would if I didn't have Rob, as driving distances isn't something I regularly do, however I would do it if it meant that we can travel and explore more. When we announced to people we were 'popping' up to Scotland for the weekend most can't believe that we would travel such a distance for two days, but for us, if we are together and adventure is there, then why not.
Rob is a great driver and just bangs out distances really safely and at good speed. I think he likes it also. It is usually a chance to listen to a few albums that he enjoys and maybe have some thinking time. I try to be a good passenger, but would normally snooze throughout the journey as we mainly try to travel in the evenings to give ourselves as much time as possible somewhere. We always make sure we get full days!
Anyway, we were heading up to Dundee to stay with Rob's Auntie and Uncle and spend time with his cousins; one of whom is Raphael's godfather, so we love to get the opportunity to see him when we are able.
Our time was spent at their home and then in Edinburgh for a day on Saturday where we spent most of our time in The Natural Museum of Scotland exploring only half of it as it is HUGE! On Sunday we then headed out to Dundee for a big swim session (which actually is because of nostalgia value for Rob, but we all love it there). Then to the beach near Tayport and home for a Sunday roast before we packed up and left.
It was such a lovely time and I know the kids just loved it. Raphael particularly loves time with his godfather Phillip, and it was when they cuddled on the sofa watching Kung Fu Panda late Sunday afternoon that I realised that distance doesn't matter when loved ones are involved. It was a weekend of home comforts, cups of tea whenever needed, warmth from log stoves and chatter about family, life and loves.
Our little Scottish break definitely didn't give us time to recharge our batteries, but it made us happy and as a family, that is what travel is about!
I really wanted to also touch on how we travel and a few things we do to make it easier for ourselves. #tipsandtricks
I recognise we are fortunate in that the kids travel well, but we try to make it easy for them so that there is less stress for us. For example, instead of leaving at 3.30pm when we would hit Friday night traffic the moment we head out the city, we picked Raph up early from school (1.30pm) meaning by 5pm we had gotten out of any cities avoiding congestion. Now I know people struggle with taking the kids out of school, but it just so happened that we were told Raph wouldn't miss any core subjects or intervention groups and therefore, we felt it wouldn't hinder him. I also took some toys, plenty of food and after a few hours listening to the Moana soundtrack I then got my ipad out and stuck on a movie. I find it is all about timing. You can't give them everything at once at the begging of a journey; it s too much and they become bored quickly. We only made one stop also about half way where we did the toilet stop and got the kids a magazine to each read. That kept us going the rest of the journey actually. Coming home is always the biggest thing for us and I just wanted to mention why. If you are doing the driving, always leave as late as possible so that the kids fall asleep in line with their normal routine. We pyjama-ed up the kids and left at 6.30pm for a 6 hour drive back to Lincoln knowing that after a day of fun they would fall asleep almost straight away (which they did) and would sleep through (which they did) and we would be able to transfer them to bed with little fuss (which we did). Arriving back about 12.15am meant that Rob and I also got a good 6 hours of solid sleep meaning that come 7am we don't feel ''too'' rough. It also ensured the children can continue as normally as possible and actually you are not messing with their system too much.
Just a few pointers on what works for us. Maybe changing travel times would help your experiences be easier.
Emily
Well done on the long trip - my German friend always motivates me to get travelling, it is not uncommon for German's to drive 8 hr stretches to go away for even a day! I do the same when I travel up North to visit family - the M6 is a nightmare during rush hour so I travel around 7 so Bella can sleep and I put her to bed when we get there, its the same on the way back she is usually so tired I just transfer her to bed with no problem. As a single mum I have to do all the driving myself if we go anywhere long distance I time it with a trip somewhere in the middle to break up the journey and to (hopefully) tire her out so the second half of the journey is quieter. xx
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