We had been told that 4 months to 1 year is the golden age of travel with babies. After that things become quite complicated until after 2 1/2 years old.
With the money we saved from buying used (over 6K now, yes I keep track) baby gear, we decided to (a) set up the college trust for the boys (b) get the most of Chicken's time off and go travel!
I spent many, many hours while tandem breastfeeding researching vacation destinations. Thank god for the iPhone. My life would not be functioning without this one little piece of wonderfulness. (As a side note, I've now spent about 1,000 hours breastfeeding. Holy Shit.) It keeps me productive. Best Push Present Ever. Screw diamonds.
Our first choice was South East Asia and for a couple of weeks we thought taking the train from one end of Vietnam to the other sounded grand. But it's the hot, rainy season and 2 tiny babies cranky from the heat? Not so fun. Plus, the medical situation is sketchy and we would've had to hop a plane to Bangkok or Singapore to get quality care.
Of course I'm always game for Thailand, but wow are we glad we didn't go there again because holy crap I didn't see that coming. We'll go back again someday when the violence has calmed down, but for now it's too dangerous to fly in. And again...it's HOT.
I realized I had to stop planning vacations for US and think of everything the boys would need--temperate climate, good medical care, nothing too demanding combined with what we need--a place that isn't a 24 hour plane ride, where the dollar goes far (enough), family friendly, not terribly homophobic and we can get around easily with the kids. Good food is always a bonus.
Then, we got to watching the Olympics and thought we'd go to Vancouver (Hi E!). In fact, I planned out a vacation that had us flying into either Portland (Hi Donuts!) or Seattle (Hi Poppy and Cat and Kat and Bree!) and then driving up the coast. Or we'd fly into Seattle and take the car ferry or the train. And then we'd spend a week in Vancouver and the surrounding area. But...it could be really rainy. It could be a lot of time spent in the car (and thank god we didn't do this one because we found out in Florida the car didn't go so well....). And honestly, we can fly to Vancouver and do a week there anytime. It doesn't take that long to get there and there are some really good prices on flights.
Back to the drawing board.
Finally, we settled on a destination. A country we have both wanted to visit for a very long time. It is politically stable with good medical care, is reasonable gay friendly and very family friendly, the cities are easy to get around without a car, the people are warm, friendly and beautiful plus there is gorgeous natural scenery throughout the entire country. The climate for this season is perfect weather for the babies. Neither too hot nor too cold. Just right for baby wearing and sightseeing.
Best of all, when Chicken's mom and stepdad heard where we are going, they wanted to come with us! Yeah! We are going to have help for the first time in 4 months. A night off. A dinner out by ourselves. Eight hands for 2 babies. Perfect.
We will have one long international flight plus 3 domestic flights once we are in country. I think after this trip, I'll be able to make some money writing freelance articles on how to fly with babies!
So, where are we going? First person to answer correctly will win a prize from our vacation destination. I don't know what the prize will be, but I will pick out something cool when I get there and try to send it to you in a timely manner.
I will try to post the answer tomorrow or the next day.
Ready, Set, Guess!
***If I know you IRL and you know where we're going, you can't be a spoilsport and guess!!***
11 comments:
Hrm. Somewhere in the UK? Or mainland Europe? Italy?
I'll guess Norway.
For some reason my first thought was Spain, but I don’t think you’d need 3 domestic flights. “Reasonably gay friendly” rules out a good deal of South America, as does getting around w/o a car (I mean, I did it, but I don’t think you want to take the boys on those busses). That makes me think it must be Europe (train)... You know what, eff it, I’m gonna say Spain.
I'm stuck on the 3 domestic flights but going to go with Turkey (also considered Spain but you'd just take the train, right?)
One long flight + 3 additional flights and friendly people/beautiful scenery... my guess is either Australia or New Zealand?
Hmm, interesting cuz Spain was my first guess too but the domestic flights threw me for a loop.
So I'm guessing Brazil.
I'm back. THREE domestic flights? Three flights in one country - the one you arrive in after one long flight?
I swear I'm not prize-grabbing here, I just love a good geography/travel riddle. I just can't wrap my head around three domestic flights.
Scratches noggin. I'll stick with Brazil ... Ireland also makes me wonder but I doubt you would head in that direction considering the volcano.
Still working out your puzzle. You know I got an honorable mention the last time you played this guess-the-destination game. Hmmm . While I work on my guess, do tell where you find cheap flights to Vancouver?? I'm thinking/planning a trip there for August or September and the ticket prices I'm finding are Not Good.
I am packing my bags and coming with you...I don't know where the heck you are going though? It's killing me. I knew twins wouldn't stop you two girls. We also got all our baby stuff used and as hand me downs to save money and reduce our footprint for travel. Most of her clothes cost a dollar at the thrift store. Every once and a while I pay two dollars for something. Ouch! Not often. smile.
New Zealand or Australia?
oh man, several others have already mentioned my guess, but I'll say it anyways...NZ or Aussie?
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