Surviving a Month of Travel
This summer has been a whirlwind of travel for my family–for work, for fun and for reconnecting. I’m amazed that we were able to keep it together and that everyone got to where they needed, when they needed to be there. Thank goodness for the TripIt app!
To kick it all off, our family (including my sister and her family and my parents, but minus Lucy) took an Alaskan cruise. Lucy’s volleyball team was in a tournament so she wasn’t able to make it. (They took third in nationals!)
It was nice to get away from the hot Phoenix weather, but Alaska was having a heat wave so it was still really warm. We’re not very experienced cruisers but we loved that everyone could take their own excursions and kind of do their own thing. We were able to see so many places and do so many things without having to travel to different hotel rooms. That was a big bonus!
While on the cruise, we went kayaking in ocean waters, ate at some of the specialty restaurants on board, saw sea creatures, visited beautiful green (and snowy) mountains and generally just did what we wanted. And before we started, we were able to spend a little time in Vancouver and explore.
At the end of the cruise, everyone scattered. My parents and my sister’s family went home to Phoenix. Charlie, Jack and I boarded a flight to Chicago (Jack was heading to Northwestern, Charlie was going to Montreal and I was on my way to Indianapolis). Jeff and Molly took some of our extra clothes home with them so we didn’t have to haul them to our next destinations.
Chaos ensued from there–my bags didn’t make it on the flight, Charlie had to get on a new flight and then deplane because something was wrong with the plane, I realized I left my computer charger on the cruise. A little crazy, but nothing that we weren’t able to figure out quickly.
After my work conference and Jack’s soccer camp, he and I met back up in Indianapolis and we headed back to Phoenix. But not before I left my conference early so I could meet Lucy and Molly in Chicago to see them off to their own camp.
Once home, it was just me, Jeff and Jack for a few days. Jeff and I decided to take advantage of the quiet time and headed to Carlsbad for a few days with Ivy. It was relaxing and a little stressful, since you never know what’s going to happen when traveling with a pet. She didn’t sleep well in the hotel the first night but then I discovered that the Calm app works for dogs too. She had no problem after that!
We found a local dog park that Ivy and I went to so I could tire her out. And after a call to Petsmart, I discovered that she could attend their doggie day camp since Ivy’s records transferred.
In the midst of all the travel the kids and I had, Jeff had his share too. He went on several work trips before and after Alaska and has more planned for late this summer.
And now, we just wait for the girls to come back from their summer camp in Wisconsin. They’ll be back the day school starts so they will just start a day late.
After a month of some crazy but fun travel, it feels good to be back home and in my own space. I love the flexibility of my job and that I can work from everywhere, allowing me to make memories with the kids while they’re still at home.
What did your summer look like? Any fun trips I should think about for next year?
