Family vacation
It is amazing how much additional gear you have to carry when you're traveling with a two-year-old. She herself may only weigh 27 pounds or so, but she was easily responsible for twice her weight and three times her bulk in extra baggage. We were away from home for four nights, and my husband and I could probably have taken everything we needed on the plane as carry-on luggage if we were traveling childless. But the addition of Ellie meant that we brought a large suitcase which weighed 56 pounds at check-in (costing us an extra fee for an overweight bag), plus two fully loaded backpacks, a car seat, and a stroller, to say nothing of having to carry the two-year-old herself. It was a real joy getting on and off the shuttle bus from the long-term parking lot to the airport. We got to repeat that process once we arrived at our destination and had to take a shuttle bus out to the rental car agency.
Aside from the logistics of getting there, we were fortunate to avoid most of the other pitfalls of family travel. Ellie turned out to be a great traveler. She was thrilled with the shuttle bus ride, insisting that it was a "choo choo" no matter how many times I told her it was a bus. We even sang the "Wheels on the Bus" song that she loves, but then when we finished, she said "choo choo!" The airport fascinated her with new things to see and lots of people to watch. And while she certainly did not approve when we buckled her into her seat on the plane, she fell asleep the minute the plane started moving and slept through the entire flight. When we arrived at our hotel in San Diego, she immediately took possession of the hotel crib, and never had any trouble going to sleep in it. I owe a big thanks to a colleague of mine who suggested that I should bring along one of Ellie's own crib sheets, so that the hotel crib would have a nice familiar feel and smell.
We went to San Diego primarily so that my husband, Jason, could attend Comic-Con. This event is billed as a celebration of pop art and culture, but should really be called the world's largest geek convention. Nonetheless, I enjoy people watching at Comic-Con since so many attendees put tremendous effort into costumes. All the major comic book characters are represented, along with figures from science fiction and fantasy works, especially Star Wars and Star Trek. The convention floor is packed with booths, offering everything from comics and toys to video games and sneak movie previews. Autograph row is always a sight to see as well, with rows and rows of has-been actors selling themselves shamelessly. Through it all, Ellie put up with having her travel stroller used as a battering ram to clear a path through the crowds, and she actually fell asleep once or twice on the first day. For the most part, she and I much preferred hanging out upstairs, away from the chaos of the convention floor, watching the geeks go by.
The big attraction for Ellie was the San Diego Zoo. She could easily have spent the entire four days there and been happy, but unluckily for her, this trip coincided with the most horrendous heat wave in recent memory. We arrived for our first zoo day right when they opened at 9 am, and the heat hit us like a ton of bricks as we got out of the car. The San Diego Zoo is beautiful, but huge and very hilly, so before long both Jason and I were sucking wind and sweating like pigs. (Actually, no; we were sweating far more than any of the pigs I saw that day.) Ellie, on the other hand, looked perfectly fresh and bright as a daisy. She was interested in each of the animals as we went by, asking to "look, look" at each one more closely. The absolute highlight of the morning was the elephant area. Dumbo is currently Ellie's favorite movie, so the excitement of seeing Dumbo live and in person was incredible. It seemed to us that twenty minutes is a long time to stare at three pachyderms, but whenever we tried to walk away, Ellie would call out, "More Dumbo! More Dumbo!" Around noon the heat and fatigue finally wiped out Jason and me, and we retreated to the air-conditioned comfort of our overpriced hotel for an air-conditioned lunch and an air-conditioned nap.
After nap, Jason headed over to Comic-Con while Ellie and I ventured back to the zoo. She immediately reminded me, "See Dumbo, yeah?" With difficulty, I managed to persuade her to leave the elephants and look at a few other animals. We visited the children's petting zoo, and Ellie was thrilled with the sheep and the goats while we were outside the paddock, looking in. "Hi, sheep! Hi, goat! Baaa!" she kept saying. But the minute we set foot inside the gate, she became an albatross wrapped around my neck, refusing to let me set her down, and screaming at the very idea of petting an animal. I contented myself with taking a few pictures of the animals she wouldn't pet, and took her back out. Once outside the paddock, she transformed again to the little girl rattling the fence bars, calling out to the animals, and asking to go back in. Stinker! Ellie loved the gazelles and impalas ("deer!"), the zebras ("zeebees!") and the giraffes.
For our final night in San Diego, we decided to take a chance on our daughter's good behavior and went out for a nice dinner at a Brazilian steakhouse. Wow, I've never eaten so much meat at a single sitting! The side dishes and salads were all set up as a buffet, and waiters just kept coming by with a variety of cuts of meat on skewers. "Sir, would you like to try some filet mignon wrapped in bacon? How many?" "Ma'am, can I slice you some skirt steak?" "How about a pork sausage?" It was amazing. Naturally, Ellie decided to have a full and complete meltdown toward the end of our meal, screaming at the top of her lungs, to the great discomfort of all the other patrons. Of course, she had to do this while I was in the bathroom! The one good thing about having a screaming child is that you'll get your check very quickly.
On our way back, we found that the same suitcase which weighed 56 pounds on the way out now weighed 75 pounds on the way back. Wow, we managed to use up most of the diapers and disposable utensils and such, and still brought home nearly 20 pounds more than we took!
Aside from the logistics of getting there, we were fortunate to avoid most of the other pitfalls of family travel. Ellie turned out to be a great traveler. She was thrilled with the shuttle bus ride, insisting that it was a "choo choo" no matter how many times I told her it was a bus. We even sang the "Wheels on the Bus" song that she loves, but then when we finished, she said "choo choo!" The airport fascinated her with new things to see and lots of people to watch. And while she certainly did not approve when we buckled her into her seat on the plane, she fell asleep the minute the plane started moving and slept through the entire flight. When we arrived at our hotel in San Diego, she immediately took possession of the hotel crib, and never had any trouble going to sleep in it. I owe a big thanks to a colleague of mine who suggested that I should bring along one of Ellie's own crib sheets, so that the hotel crib would have a nice familiar feel and smell.
We went to San Diego primarily so that my husband, Jason, could attend Comic-Con. This event is billed as a celebration of pop art and culture, but should really be called the world's largest geek convention. Nonetheless, I enjoy people watching at Comic-Con since so many attendees put tremendous effort into costumes. All the major comic book characters are represented, along with figures from science fiction and fantasy works, especially Star Wars and Star Trek. The convention floor is packed with booths, offering everything from comics and toys to video games and sneak movie previews. Autograph row is always a sight to see as well, with rows and rows of has-been actors selling themselves shamelessly. Through it all, Ellie put up with having her travel stroller used as a battering ram to clear a path through the crowds, and she actually fell asleep once or twice on the first day. For the most part, she and I much preferred hanging out upstairs, away from the chaos of the convention floor, watching the geeks go by.
The big attraction for Ellie was the San Diego Zoo. She could easily have spent the entire four days there and been happy, but unluckily for her, this trip coincided with the most horrendous heat wave in recent memory. We arrived for our first zoo day right when they opened at 9 am, and the heat hit us like a ton of bricks as we got out of the car. The San Diego Zoo is beautiful, but huge and very hilly, so before long both Jason and I were sucking wind and sweating like pigs. (Actually, no; we were sweating far more than any of the pigs I saw that day.) Ellie, on the other hand, looked perfectly fresh and bright as a daisy. She was interested in each of the animals as we went by, asking to "look, look" at each one more closely. The absolute highlight of the morning was the elephant area. Dumbo is currently Ellie's favorite movie, so the excitement of seeing Dumbo live and in person was incredible. It seemed to us that twenty minutes is a long time to stare at three pachyderms, but whenever we tried to walk away, Ellie would call out, "More Dumbo! More Dumbo!" Around noon the heat and fatigue finally wiped out Jason and me, and we retreated to the air-conditioned comfort of our overpriced hotel for an air-conditioned lunch and an air-conditioned nap.
After nap, Jason headed over to Comic-Con while Ellie and I ventured back to the zoo. She immediately reminded me, "See Dumbo, yeah?" With difficulty, I managed to persuade her to leave the elephants and look at a few other animals. We visited the children's petting zoo, and Ellie was thrilled with the sheep and the goats while we were outside the paddock, looking in. "Hi, sheep! Hi, goat! Baaa!" she kept saying. But the minute we set foot inside the gate, she became an albatross wrapped around my neck, refusing to let me set her down, and screaming at the very idea of petting an animal. I contented myself with taking a few pictures of the animals she wouldn't pet, and took her back out. Once outside the paddock, she transformed again to the little girl rattling the fence bars, calling out to the animals, and asking to go back in. Stinker! Ellie loved the gazelles and impalas ("deer!"), the zebras ("zeebees!") and the giraffes.
For our final night in San Diego, we decided to take a chance on our daughter's good behavior and went out for a nice dinner at a Brazilian steakhouse. Wow, I've never eaten so much meat at a single sitting! The side dishes and salads were all set up as a buffet, and waiters just kept coming by with a variety of cuts of meat on skewers. "Sir, would you like to try some filet mignon wrapped in bacon? How many?" "Ma'am, can I slice you some skirt steak?" "How about a pork sausage?" It was amazing. Naturally, Ellie decided to have a full and complete meltdown toward the end of our meal, screaming at the top of her lungs, to the great discomfort of all the other patrons. Of course, she had to do this while I was in the bathroom! The one good thing about having a screaming child is that you'll get your check very quickly.
On our way back, we found that the same suitcase which weighed 56 pounds on the way out now weighed 75 pounds on the way back. Wow, we managed to use up most of the diapers and disposable utensils and such, and still brought home nearly 20 pounds more than we took!
posted by Jeanne @ 12:25 AM
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