After presenting to 110 first graders today (something I do not take lightly) it’s had me thinking about a lot of things. Things that have always been important to me.
I started this travel page as a memoir and way to share some of the places we’ve been. It’s a hobby page, mostly. The most important thing I want people to realize is travel doesn’t have to be exotic or extravagant to be meaningful. Travel, for us, can be going to the closest state park for the day. It’s getting out of our everyday element and into something new. A new hike (or a familiar one)… a new animal… a new season. One of our favorite things to do is travel to our favorite State Parks in different seasons to see how they change.
When it seems like everyone is traveling to exotic places, the state park down the road seems ordinary. But, I can say we’ve done both and both are equally wonderful. When we are out exploring – time slows down. No matter if it’s the same State Park we’ve visited 50 times or an exotic beach in Costa Rica.
Having two very active boys from early ages started all of this. One day I wanted to change things up. CJ was 6 months old or so (full on crawling), Ryan wasn’t born yet. We went to the Arboretum in Dallas. That day CJ never looked back to see if I was with him. He spent 4 solid hours completely immersed in the dirt, rocks, grass, sticks, squirrels, sky, wind…. literally, all of it. For a morning, I got to come up for air. I noticed when we got home it was much harder to “entertain” him. So, the next day we got out again… and the pattern repeated until both of our boys started school. They easily spent the majority of their lives from ages 0-5 outside. They were happier. They could go separate ways and find different interests. They never looked back for me. I always just watched in awe as they explored their world. And so, our love for the outdoors and nature was born. (And after a year or so, we started our garden… a whole ‘nother love of mine)
With this love of the outdoors (and a few terrible hotel stays) we learned very quickly that we only wanted to stay in places where our kids could go out the front or back door and find nature. In hotels they have to be quiet and there are rules. We found it exhausting to keep them in the box when we were trying to enjoy ourselves traveling…. So, (insert) RV camping. Literal, traveling with everything we need at all times but spending almost 0 time inside (only to sleep). It perfectly fit our travel style. This year we are venturing to tent camping on weekends since the boys are getting older.
We have always been very strict on certain things (this is our style, not anybody else’s). But, screen-time and bed time are huge priorities for us. We are screen-free travelers. No iPads, tablets, phones, switches or DVD players for the kids. So, hotels are hard. We can do it for a night but any more than that is a no-go. And bed time. We weren’t ready to tent camp with them because bed times are important and impossible if the sun is still out (ahem, northern Washington state where the sun was out until well past 10:30 at night when we were there). We need them rested for some of our strenuous hikes. 13 miles of hiking in a day is impossible if your kids are exhausted and not “ready” for it. So, bedtimes are important for us. The first time our kids realized they had summited a mountain – they were beyond proud of themselves. We don’t see many kids on some of the harder hikes. But, the confidence boost is everything. (A whole ‘nother post for another time)
So, we are trying something new (for us) this year with a tent. Because we have realized that a night at a State Park, in a tent, IS, in fact, traveling. And it is absolutely wonderful to sit back, watch your kids play for hours (fully immersed) and have no where to be. That feeling can happen somewhere within an hour of your house or somewhere 15 hours away on an airplane. It can happen on a 2-hour road trip or a 36-hour road trip. It doesn’t have to be extravagant to be fun. It doesn’t have to be expensive or exotic to be meaningful. THAT is my point in all of this.
I want more people to venture out into nature. To realize travel is within reach. That it doesn’t have to be busy or hard. Once I realized how much my kids LOVED being outside I went from there…. We found the state parks closest to us. We visited them regularly. We started venturing a little further. Now, we drive 2+ hours one way for a day-trip to a park. And we easily (and happily) spend 6-7 hours there. The boys usually fall asleep on the way home. Then, we found National Parks. And completely fell in love.
Just start somewhere. Easy and small. Your nearest Nature Preserve. Texas has 89 State Parks. There’s one close to you! Your kids will thank you. Your mind and body will thank you. Being outside has brought profound joy to our family. My only hope is to help everyone realize it is within reach.