The #1 Trick to Enjoying Family Travel

After 13 years of family travel, I finally figured out the key to having fun (or at least how to put it into words): Expect some rough times.

The point of travel is that the highs can be high. But, especially with family travel, the lows can also be hilariously low, right? A few things will always go wrong: your flight will be delayed. Or you’ll get a bad headache. Or the weather will be rainy. Or your kids will wake up at 2 a.m. Or you’ll find a hair in your salad. And, honestly, that’s to be expected, right? Travel is still regular life, and tricky stuff isn’t a disaster, it’s just normal.

Case in point: This past weekend, the boys and I drove up to Connecticut to visit old friends. We ate chicken sandwiches and played ping pong. We floated on our backs in the pool. We watched Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. We drank cold white wine from those small Italian glasses. A dozen different times, I thought to myself, “This is what life is all about.”

But, at the same time, not everything was idyllic: the boys argued during the three-hour drive. I got misophonic and told them to be quiet or I would turn-this-car-around-so-help-me-god. The Airbnb had spiders in the bathroom. We lost our basketball in some thorny bushes. The drive home had lots of traffic.

Bottom line: Parts of the trip were annoying, parts were epic. Both things can be true!

Here are a few travel snapshots through the years…

Yawning through the glorious Laguna Gloria in Austin.

Getting a “Plus Four” card during an Uno game in San Diego.

Not feeling the beach in San Francisco.

Tired of walking in Italy.

Hangry in England.

Too hot in Florida.

Heading onto a 10-hour flight.

The other day, my friend Andy recapped a family trip with a sentence that could describe all family travel: “It was bad and then it was great.”

Plus, two legendary posts that always make me laugh:
* Vacation or Trip? A Helpful Guide for Parents
* Mom Spends Beach Vacation Assuming All Household Duties In Closer Proximity To Ocean

What about you? What hilariously bummery things have happened on trips? Have you ever had a trip that just all-out sucked? That can happen, too! We’re aiming for wholeness, after all.

P.S. An ode to bad family vacations, and the weirdest best part of trips.