DC Metro Mom

As summer quickly approaches, you may have big travel plans on your mind… or you may be absolutely paralyzed by the idea of air travel with your little ones. If airfares and toddler tantrums mid-flight don’t seem your cup of tea this summer, don’t worry! Luckily, you live in DC, and quick and easy getaways are plentiful! Over the next few weeks, I’m going to share a few fun escapes with you… escapes that are fun even with a baby or toddler in tow!

Today, I’m talking up one such getaway: down Skyline Drive and on toward Natural Bridge, Virginia. My husband and I ventured this trip alone last week, as we were headed to a wedding, but in many ways I really wish we could have brought our son along. There is a lot to do with kids (from toddler age, on up). There is a special mix of natural wonder, quirky oddity, and small town charm to be found on this road trip.

By - Anna Dewinter,

Traveling With Toddlers: Things You Need To Consider

After a hot summer, record-breaking earthquake, Hurricane Irene, and a week of flooding, this weekend it was my turn to escape from DC to what Presidents, Vanderbilts, Rockefellers, and royalty have all agreed is one of the finest resorts in the world. Since 1778, the well-to-do have been traveling to the Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia to experience the therapeutic effects of the natural sulphur springs and fresh mountain air. Although I consider myself more comfort-soled than well-heeled, the glamour of America's grand old resorts has always been a lure.  With the advantage of an indulgent husband and special rate from the Greenbrier, my hopes for a memorable anniversary weekend were realized.

I am sure all of us can look at moments over the years that still make us want to just die from embarrassment.  Most of these moments happen when are we are younger, not quite as self assured as we are today.  I am not sure if it maturity, confidence or not just not giving a hoot (by hoot I mean something else) about what other people think but the novelty of "dying" from embarrassment seems to go away as we age.  This is a good thing for most women as pride and any general sense of humiliation must be checked at door when you enter the maternity ward.

Anyway, I have learned to roll with the punches.  I don't cringe when my daughter decides to show her bloomers to 200 people at the Town Green during a concert.  I don't get crazy when my daughter needs to be tackled by my husband or myself before she reaches either the priest or the Eucharist at Sunday Mass.  Stuff happens (and by stuff I mean something else).  So with all this new found calm, I gladly welcomed the opportunity to travel with my husband and daughter to Florida.  The trip down was a little crazy but hey...I HAVE BEEN STUCK NEXT TO ENOUGH SCREAMING CHILDREN that I wasn't too concerned when my daughter fussed for 20 minutes of the flight.  I was also ready for the return trip.  As with our trip down, I was loaded for bear.  I had toys, puzzles and DVDs.  I also had coloring books for the frightful moments when you are required to turn off all electronic devices.  Damn national security and the FAA...my daughter is a lunatic who must watch the Wiggles if we have any chance of getting of the runway without a meltdown!!!  As I was saying, I had everything.  Sort of...

We made it to our seats, buckled in our little darling and even got off the runway without incident.  Just when I was popping the champagne cork in my head...I started to smell something.  Yep, my daughter had picked this moment in time to go #2, poop, etc.  Whatever you opt to call it; it was not a fragrant aroma for Rows 7 to 12.  I rolled my eyes as I was confident I would be making the trip to the bathroom with our daughter.  Then it hit us...neither my husband nor I had packed the diapers in the carry on bag.  ARE YOU FREAKIN KIDDING ME??  I packed 22,000 toys in a backpack, I had 16 Ziploc bags for each 2 oz item and I had my People magazine but NO DAMN DIAPER!   My husband was no help.  He just shrugged his shoulders.  A hello....men can leads armies into battle but you can't come up with one good idea at this moment.  I told him to "COME WITH ME".  By Row 20 I still had no idea what I was going to do without a diaper but this child had to be changed.  I quickly scanned the plane to look for another toddler but there were only small infants...rats no diaper love from other passengers.

As I entered the bathroom, I rummaged in my bag and tried to make a Ziploc bag and some toilet paper suffice.  Note to file MacGyver, a small Ziploc bag doesn't fit around a 2.5 year old (I should have potty trained earlier!!!).  I peaked out at the flight attendant, awkwardly smiled and asked if she had a trash bag.  At this point, my husband had told her what was going on.  She smiled and said she could help.  Success!

Okay, so it wasn't exactly relaxing, but it was fun. We went to Rehoboth Beach in Delaware. First, the trip there and back was awesome. We went on a Sunday and came back on Wednesday - great days to avoid traffic. We also planned it so we were driving right during nap time. All three kids slept for all but 20 minutes of the drive up, and 40 minutes of the drive back. SWEET! Second, we had a great hotel. We stayed in the Avenue Inn, and I highly recommend it. Free breakfast, happy hour daily, and nightly chocolate chip cookies included! They also had laundry machines on premises, and a cool indoor/outdoor pool. It was all indoors, but had big sliding doors open to a rooftop patio. Perfect for enjoying the weather with no sun exposure!!! The customer service was fantastic - they drove us in a golf cart the 2 1/2 blocks to the ocean to help us cart all our crap. AMAZING!

I had never been to RB except for just walking around for a few hours. It is SOOO kid-friendly. No packs of rowdy teenagers, lots of lifeguards, and plenty of police presence. The beach is really nice - the girls LOVED it. Big Man, not so much. He was ok with the sand, as long as he didn't have to see, hear, or know the ocean was there. He REALLY did not like it. In his defense, they were red-flag no swimming days the whole time we were there, and there was a lot of surf and wave-crashing action. But he HATED it. Would become hysterical when he could see the ocean. The girls loved playing in the surf, building sand castles, and digging for crabs.

There is also this great place called FunLand. It is a little cheesy amusement park - but perfect for little kids. And it is CHEAP. We spent a total of $40 on ride tickets the whole 4 days we were there, and we let the kids go on anything they wanted. The littlest rides (perfect for Big Man) were 1 ticket (which worked out to be something like 18 cents)!!! He LOVED it. All three of them did. We did kill another $10 or so winning them race horses in a skee-ball type game.

We also rented bikes, flew a kite on the beach, and ate lots of really bad-for-you food. All in all, a great time! Will definitely do it again.

Cross posted on http://www.threetimemommy.blogspot.com/

For those of you who have traveled with a toddler or young child, you will note, that it is typically an opportunity that you DON'T relish. I have had a number of friends, myself included, who have acknowledged that this wasn't their finest parenting moment. We all know how we USED to feel about passenger with unruly kids when we flew back in the day child-free, without a care in the world except to bring the appropriate reading materials on board. Well, you are officially that person, a parent flying with a child. Yikes! DC MetroMommy is here to help.

Here are some fabulous recommendations that were sent in by Amanda from Vienna, VA. I wish I had met her sooner!

COME FLY WITH ME: Each of my children have a child size travel backpack that we use when we are flying. I pack each child's toys and goodies in their pack. Each child carries their own backpack as much as possible. This helps to keep your arms free to carry other important items like a car seat. I let them pick a couple of small toys to put in their bag and fill the rest with surprises (new coloring book, stickers, new toys, a favorite doll, etc). I try to select items that are popular to them at the moment. If My Little Pony works that month, the toy makes the trip. The kids are always super excited to find out what's in their pack. And they know they can't open it until the plane takes off.

I think the key is having some new things. I determine the volume of new items based on the length of the flight and the age of the kid. You'll need more for a young toddler because you simply can't reason with them! I wait until the very last minute to board the plane. I do this so the kids have as much time as possible unconfined. I don't like to waste the entertainment of plane while we are still on the ground. If you run out of fun things to do, a DVD with a favorite movie or show always seems to work to quite a child. Be warned, you will need a fall back plan for the end of the flight. You should save a toy for the time just prior to landing when electronic devices need to be turned off, belts must be fastened and passengers need to stay seated. Have a great trip!