How To Travel Better On the Road and On the Ship
Whether you're traveling alone, or with a HERD like ours,
you're gonna want to read this!
Road Trip:
No two words strike fear in the heart of a mother like these.
Everyone has the Pinterest board with cool "busy boards" and
Hobby Lobby shopping lists.
We've tried a variety of things, but sometimes traveling with special needs kids, you have to get back to basics.
I bought a pack of saftey scissors and a pile of old magazines.
I sat in the back of the car with them, and held the trash bag.
They shredded those magazines into little bitty bits and had a fantastic time!
LAUNDRY BAGS!
Those little bags they give you in the closet of your hotel room, are good, IF you are traveling alone.
If you are traveling with little people though...
Grab a few of these,
and fill them with trash bags. include at least one per day you will be gone.
If you decide to visit a laundry mat, you can flip them inside out transport clean laundry, folded and ready to go back into your luggage.
(makes un-packing SO MUCH BETTER)
****DIAPERS****
When we went on our Cruise, we brought double the amount of diapers that we would usually need for 7 days.
102 diapers.
5 diaper wearers.
WE RAN OUT OF DIAPERS!!!
Day 4 we were out of diapers, and they don't have diapers in the gift shop of the ship.
We had to buy more diapers in Jamaica, and let me tell ya.
Those suckers aren't cheap!
BEVERAGES
On a trip, sometimes you just need your favorite something warm and comforting.
I packed a few cannisters of my favorite coffee and on the cruise it was so amazing.
There are no vending machines on a ship, and you DON'T want to trek all the way to the restaurant area for a cup of coffee.
You'll see people in line for embarkation, I thought they were crazy for hauling 12 packs of Dr pepper on board. Now, I'm so glad we packed our favorites!
Extension Cords!
I read in a travel blog that extension cords were what she wished she had brought...
So I packed one in everyone's bag.
They are so cheap, like $1 and they will save your sanity on a ship or a small hotel room.
On the ship each "economy" room had ONE outlet. ONE!
I had tablets, and phones, and walkie-talkies and curling iron and blow dryers.
Those extension cords were AMAZING!
GAMES
We called ahead and talked to the Fun Zone people on the ship. They assured us that they were equipped to handle our 5 special needs children.
The reality wasn't so easy. They have to WANT to be there, and although we were en the same couraged to stay in there with them, that negated the whole Fun Zone idea.
SO,
I wish I had brought games.
Something like these.
Games that could be packed easily and would keep the kids active but busy.
They have an Arcade, but let me tell ya, save your pennies if you wanna keep them busy in there for any length of time.
Don't bother packing swim diapers, unless you have a spot at a private beach booked.
They can't get into any of the 6 pools on board unless they are fully potty trained.
PACK SNACKS
The first few days we weren't comfortable packing 5 bananas or bagels.
But put that trepidation behind you.
Once you get off the ship, or back in the car, you are gonna wish you had!
Having to stop and find a healthy snack of some kind in another country or on the highway, is murder on your schedule.
Make time to rest!
While we were traveling for the 3rd day in a row recently, I reliquished my seat in the front of the van, and climbed in the back seat with the kidlets.
It dawned on me that they kids were as tired as I was.
That their schedule needed to be kept as much as mine did.
At home we NEVER go without quiet time.
But on the road they were just cat napping, waking up at gas stations, hungry and cranky...
So the last day I planned. We stopped for lunch, changed diapers, got everyone out of their seats for a bit, and then I climbed in the back and enforced naptime.
We had a solid 2 and a half hours where they had no tablets, no phones, just rest.
The rest of the day was SO MUCH BETTER.
We were still on the road almost 4hrs longer than we anticipated, but we were ready for it. And all of our attitudes were better for it.
I hope this list helps you avoid some of the travel pit-falls that we have encountered the last few months.
Leave me a comment about your favorite road trip advice!
I sat in the back of the car with them, and held the trash bag.
They shredded those magazines into little bitty bits and had a fantastic time!
LAUNDRY BAGS!
Those little bags they give you in the closet of your hotel room, are good, IF you are traveling alone.
If you are traveling with little people though...
Grab a few of these,
and fill them with trash bags. include at least one per day you will be gone.
If you decide to visit a laundry mat, you can flip them inside out transport clean laundry, folded and ready to go back into your luggage.
(makes un-packing SO MUCH BETTER)
****DIAPERS****
When we went on our Cruise, we brought double the amount of diapers that we would usually need for 7 days.
102 diapers.
5 diaper wearers.
WE RAN OUT OF DIAPERS!!!
Day 4 we were out of diapers, and they don't have diapers in the gift shop of the ship.
We had to buy more diapers in Jamaica, and let me tell ya.
Those suckers aren't cheap!
BEVERAGES
On a trip, sometimes you just need your favorite something warm and comforting.
I packed a few cannisters of my favorite coffee and on the cruise it was so amazing.
There are no vending machines on a ship, and you DON'T want to trek all the way to the restaurant area for a cup of coffee.
You'll see people in line for embarkation, I thought they were crazy for hauling 12 packs of Dr pepper on board. Now, I'm so glad we packed our favorites!
Extension Cords!
I read in a travel blog that extension cords were what she wished she had brought...
So I packed one in everyone's bag.
They are so cheap, like $1 and they will save your sanity on a ship or a small hotel room.
On the ship each "economy" room had ONE outlet. ONE!
I had tablets, and phones, and walkie-talkies and curling iron and blow dryers.
Those extension cords were AMAZING!
GAMES
We called ahead and talked to the Fun Zone people on the ship. They assured us that they were equipped to handle our 5 special needs children.
The reality wasn't so easy. They have to WANT to be there, and although we were en the same couraged to stay in there with them, that negated the whole Fun Zone idea.
SO,
I wish I had brought games.
Something like these.
Games that could be packed easily and would keep the kids active but busy.
They have an Arcade, but let me tell ya, save your pennies if you wanna keep them busy in there for any length of time.
Don't bother packing swim diapers, unless you have a spot at a private beach booked.
They can't get into any of the 6 pools on board unless they are fully potty trained.
PACK SNACKS
The first few days we weren't comfortable packing 5 bananas or bagels.
But put that trepidation behind you.
Once you get off the ship, or back in the car, you are gonna wish you had!
Having to stop and find a healthy snack of some kind in another country or on the highway, is murder on your schedule.
Make time to rest!
While we were traveling for the 3rd day in a row recently, I reliquished my seat in the front of the van, and climbed in the back seat with the kidlets.
It dawned on me that they kids were as tired as I was.
That their schedule needed to be kept as much as mine did.
At home we NEVER go without quiet time.
But on the road they were just cat napping, waking up at gas stations, hungry and cranky...
So the last day I planned. We stopped for lunch, changed diapers, got everyone out of their seats for a bit, and then I climbed in the back and enforced naptime.
We had a solid 2 and a half hours where they had no tablets, no phones, just rest.
The rest of the day was SO MUCH BETTER.
We were still on the road almost 4hrs longer than we anticipated, but we were ready for it. And all of our attitudes were better for it.
I hope this list helps you avoid some of the travel pit-falls that we have encountered the last few months.
Leave me a comment about your favorite road trip advice!
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