Packing the Perfect Vacation Read

What book will I read next?

Such is the angst of the avid reader packing for vacation. Because there is definitely a book (or two or three) going into the totebag or suitcase. For this finite time, for this limited stuff I can carry period, the choice of book is a weighty one.

 

What makes a good book to pack for vacation?

Of course, the invention of the iPad and e-readers has made the decision a less stressful one. You can carry all hundred of your books with you without an added suitcase.  But if you are like me – you’ve got to take a physical book, too.  Why? Sand, water, spilled drinks.

On a beach vacation, I’m taking my book to the beach. And I might even sit in the pool or at the edge of the water while reading. And that lazy river ride? Perfect (even if everyone else is looking at me like “what – is that a real book on a water ride?”)

Here’s my criteria for that real book that’s going in the suitcase.

• Must be paperback. It’s a weight thing.

• Got to be good. The frustration of taking a book that by chapter two I know I’m not going to like. Then what? Finish it? Leave it behind? And what do I do in the meantime?  Friend recommendations are a good choice. Sometimes a re-read of the classics is a good option, too.

• Okay to lose and/or mess up a little bit. See my comments above about sand, water, spilled drinks.   There’s many times I’ve woken from a sun-induced nap to find my book covered in sand or a victim of high-tide.  Add to that, general vacation distractedness.

• Doesn’t require too much concentration. Beach read usually means light and happy, that’s how I’ve described my own novel, Life in Spades.  But I’ll take a not so light book, too. I read Little Bee on the beach and while reading a particular scene (you know if you read it) wiggled my fingers in the sand.  I also was reading Ghana Must Go on the beach when I happened to be on the beach chapter in that book, and a wedding party showed up (in real life, it was a different gathering in the book.) 

Then what do you do with the book when you are done? Take it back home, leave it at your hotel?  I've stayed at some resorts with a library, where you can borrow and leave books. The library in Ocean City, Maryland also has a system that allows you to borrow books without needing a library card or donate books when you're ready to go home.  Some people leave their books in a public place, with the hopes that someone else will pick it up and enjoy it. A program like BookCrossing can help track your book's travels.  I haven't tried this, but considered it; sounds like it could be interesting. It reminds me of the Flat Stanley project from elementary school (am I showing my age?)

We’ve got a couple more weeks of summer vacation. A few more lazy afternoons at the pool. I'm hoping to get in at least a few more sand-filled, water-logged, rum-soaked books before it's all over.

What are you reading on vacation?

Join the conversation on Facebook & Twitter

Splashing at Great Wolf Lodge

We finally made it to Great Wolf Lodge! It feels like we're the last family on the east coast to visit this family resort in Williamsburg, Virginia.  It's one of a chain, others located scattered across the U.S. and is fairly popular for family get-aways.

The theme of Great Wolf is all rustic and woodsy, with cute fluffy wolf ears at check-in. There are a number of room options, including a log cabin themed room, with a separate tent-looking area for the kids. We were in a regular family suite (the tent-theme rooms were sold out), which was space-y enough for the six of us, with two beds and a sleep sofa, an in-room coffee maker, microwave, and refrigerator.

• Tip: you get a wristband which acts as your water park admission, room key (swipe it across the sensor) and room charge card (again, swipe it across the sensor.)  I like this and it was handy not having to carry a wallet in the pool area.

The big attraction is the indoor water-park, which makes it a great middle-of-winter (or when will winter ever end!) mini-vacation.  There's a wave pool, multiple fun slides, one of those scream-inducing vortex/tornado type slides, a water-y playground, lazy river, and a little kids' shallow pool.  And an adults-only whirlpool.  (Is there any better two words at a family resort than "adults only"?)

• Tip: you have access to the waterpark before you check in and all day when you check-out, so pack the family swimsuits separately for your arrival and have traveling clothes packed separately on your departure

On the lower level is also other entertainment options. There's a 4D video, video games, arcade, and duckpin bowling, all for additional fees of $2-$6 per person.  Our kids spent a few minutes challenging each other in the Time Challenge - a room equipped with a pattern of lights which the kids had to run around and turn off in sequence (think, life-size Simon.)  There's also a few Quest games - the kid gets a magic wand and then sets off to different stations around the lodge. It looked to total almost $50 to play and seemed geared to younger kids, so we got out of having to do that ($50 for 4 kids adds up.)

• Tip: Have a plan and a budget. You know how quick $2/kid/game can add up. You can get a point card to load your points, so that's a good way to limit your spending.

We didn't eat in the lodge, but I did get coffee from Dunkin' Donuts! I think this was the first hotel I've stayed in with a Dunkin' Donuts and I was kinda happy. Although there was a long line, as folks were picking up donuts and breakfast, too.  We also got ice cream and fudge from the sweets shop, even before breakfast - you know that's a sign of spring break.

We were only there one night, but it was a full stay.  If we had a lower rate, we may have stayed another night.  We're on Spring Break this week and it seems like everyone else is, too, thus, the higher prices.

• Tip: Prices, like most travel destinations, vary depending on season and demand, so if you're flexible, you can get a better rate.

The kids had a great time and I'm glad we finally checked this off the family to-do-one-day list. I could see us heading back on another mid-winter/will winter ever end get-away.

Join the conversation on Facebook: Just Piddlin' with Frances

It's Not a Vacation 'Til You See Water

Any chance I get, I love a stop at the ocean. That vast water and sky helps to put life into perspective. And its beautiful.

Our first stop for spring break has been Viriginia Beach. It's not really bathing suit weather, though there were folks trying to soak in the cold sunlight.  Even in jeans and long sleeves, I was cold, but it was a wonderfully, sunny day and you can't pass up chances to get your feet in the sand.

We rented a tandem bike and rode up and down the boardwalk. Good thing it wasn't too crowded, since my kids apparently aren't the best co-drivers. Hard to believe, all our beach visits, this was our first bike rental.

On our way to the beach, we also squeezed in a college visit drive-thru tour at Hampton University. With a high school sophomore, college apps around the corner, so we want to get at least an idea of colleges.

It was a good start for the spring break week.

Currently... Hoping for a Snow Day

I've bought my coffee, creamer, and eggs and have cases of Girl Scout cookies. I am ready to be snowed in.  And, for once, I am hoping that the weather man will be right!

It's not that I really need a day locked in with my kids. But I'm ready to have my calendar erased for a day. Just one day. I thought it would be today, because today is a federal holiday, but apparently, high school basketball coaches don't really care about the birth of our Founding Fathers.  And you know how it is, once you get dressed, churn up the car and drive someone to practice, you might as well run some other errands and next thing you know, you're in Target buying Valentine themed socks because they're only $2 and it's 1 o'clock by the time you get home and you realize you've not done anything you planned to do today.  Add this to a crazy weekend, that also became busier than expected, as always.  So when do we get a break?

One of my BFFs and I have said, "enough, we need a mom vacation!" A break from dishes and laundry and homework and asking husbands about their day at work or long-distance calls to husbands working out of town for weeks at a time and sports activities and all the stuff that makes a mom feel like getting a manicure is some type of vacationing nirvana.  So we looked at our calendars to figure out when we are going to take this wonderful, mom-only, umbrella-drink hosted vacay.

Well, there's the six kid birthday weekends to cross out because mom can't miss a birthday.

And no to Mother's Day because that's the day the family gets to choose what mom should do.

Then there's spring break and Easter, can't be gone when the kids are out of school or on a pretty major religious holiday.

Then there's the grandparents' vacation because who else will watch all these kids while we're gone?

Oh, well, now we're up to the first day of school and we've got to be around for that.

And there's no way dad is going to be able to get Halloween costumes together.

Yes, please weatherman, please be right. It seems like being locked in my house in 10-degree weather is my best vacation option right now.  At least there's rum.

Join the conversation on Facebook: Just Piddlin' with Frances

Should Kids Get Vacation Days?

How many times have you thought, "wow, look at that sale on plane fares, we could go on a great vacation! Oh, but dang - there's that whole kids have to go to school thing." It's pretty much a rule: when schools are open, kids are supposed to go. In our schools, if your kid misses too many days of middle or high school, they could automatically fail their classes. And if your kid misses too many days in some districts, somebody's coming to find you and ask where your kids are.  But those hotel rates in Disney are so much better on a Thursday in the middle of October than Christmas week!  What’s a vacation-needing family to do?

Apparently, some parents argue that family vacations should be acceptable absences.  Family time, lessons from traveling, life experiences, etc. etc. Parents should be able to choose whether they want their kids in school or hiking in the Alps.

But what if family vacation isn't hiking in the Alps? What if it's going to visit grandma in the next state over? What if there's no vacation fund because dad lost his job, so family time is picnicking at the local park? What if you can't get your kid to school because he missed the bus and your car's in the shop and you need that cab fare to get to work – isn’t a missed day still a missed day? And it's interesting that this comes up as an issue for "vacation" when teachers for years, at least in my school experience, have said how disruptive it is when a student with roots in another country is out of school for a week or more to visit family back home.

Again, like so many issues, this becomes one of income, class, and family choices.  If parents can have permission to take their kids out to go canoeing in the Caribbean, can a student also get the day off to go hang out at the zoo with mom? If a kid gets a pass because the flight is cheaper if his family leaves on Thursday, does another kid get a pass because his mother ran out of bus fare to get to school?  If that kid can get his classwork packed up for him so that he can go skiing for a long weekend, can another kid get his classwork too, so he can stay home with his little sister while his mom goes on job interviews?

To make “vacations” an acceptable absence, then makes a judgment call on how a family uses their time or the choices they have to make.  That shouldn’t be the school’s decision.

On the other hand, as a parent, yes, you should be able to decide whether those plane discounts are worth your kid getting marked absent.  Your grown, your an adult, you get to make that choice. But then realize that there may be consequences for that absence, like not being able to make up the work and getting a zero.

It seems like an easy answer. But then you realize, everybody doesn't get vacation days.

Join the conversation on Facebook: Just Piddlin' with Frances

Must-Haves for the Perfect Hotel Stay

It's been a whirlwind of travel this spring and summer.  I’ve stayed in a lot a lot of hotels for various reasons between sorority, PTA, and family vacation.  With all the stays, I’ve whittled down a list of must-haves for a great stay.

Bed in Banyan Tree Mayakoba may be the best bed ever. But the hammock just outside is competition.

Great bed. Well, of course, that’s the whole point of staying in a hotel, right? Climbing into a perfectly, expertly made bed with a pile of pillows and more linen than you would even know what to do with at home.  Enough said.

In-room coffee maker. Because it’s really quite an effort early in the morning to get dressed and go downstairs to the coffee bar/breakfast area (because that also is a requirement), get a cup of coffee and then go way back to your room. It’s just too much to ask for. And we don’t want to start a trend where people come down to the requisite coffee bar/breakfast area in whatever they slept in. No. Don’t.  Now, the hotels that really get an extra star are the ones that provide those little teeny containers of liquid coffee creamer, not the packets of powdery stuff that never dissolve right and leave floating flour-y lumps floating in your coffee.

DoubleTree Cookies & Chupa Chups at Springhill Suites in Mystic, CT

A sweet greeting upon arrival.  Of course, Doubletree has their famous delicious chocolate chip nutty cookies.  In fact, that is one of the reasons you would pick a Doubletree over the hotel next door, isn’t it, just for a cookie?  On our roadtrip this summer, the kids were excited to see that other hotels offer a sweet little “hello,” too in candy bowls.   Granted, the challenge is then to keep the kids from raiding the candy bowls every time you pass the front desk.

The view from the rooftop of the Fairfield Inn, Brooklyn NY

A great view. No one likes to wake up in the morning, open those big heavy curtains and look at the back of another building or a parking garage.  The beautiful view, be it city skyline, rolling waves, or hazy mountains, is a wonderful thing to remind you “look, you’re away from home!”

Indoor pool at Hampton Inn, S Kingston, RI (there's a whirlpool nearby so you can keep an eye on the kids)

A private pool right off your door isn't too much to ask for either; Banyan Tree Mayakoba

Exercise facility and/or swimming pool.  Because there’s nothing that takes you out of your exercise routine than being away from home.  I’ve gotten a little bit better though; I generally pack sneakers and a workout outfit with the intention of running or getting to the gym.  Depending on the neighborhood and how comfortable I feel about not getting lost, I’ll go out and run.  I’ve found a few hotels that will even offer you a map of a good walking or running route.  The pool is not only for exercise, but the rainy day when the outside activity plans are cancelled, those couple hours before dinner, or even an after dinner family swim.

Breakfast included.  This isn’t as important when traveling alone, but when traveling with kids – getting them all up, dressed, piled in the car, to a restaurant somewhere in town, waiting for a table, ordering, eating, and spending $50 before the day is even started? Ugh.  If you can manage the getting them up, dressed, and down the elevator part you’re off to a good start. Plus – the breakfast included option usually ends by 10 am so you’ve got a built in incentive to get up!  My kids know that if they miss the hotel breakfast, oh, well – instead of make-your-own-waffles, they’ll have pick-out-a-cereal-bar.  And that extra money in your pocket for the ice cream later on is a nice feeling.

Hotel bar.  At the end of a long day, with or without kids, what a great way to end the day.  Have a drink and some salty snacks. Ride the elevator home, no charges for drinking & pushing “up.”  One night on vacation, my husband and I went to the bar and it had just closed, the bartender was cleaning up.  He looked at us and asked, “aren’t you the family with the four kids?” We nodded rather sheepishly wondering what commotion had they witnessed.  The bartender wiped off his hands and said, “What would you like to drink?”

What have I left off? Any other must-haves for your hotel stay?

Join the conversation on Facebook: Just Piddlin' with Frances

Taking the Sweet Road - Our Ice Cream Tour

One thing our family agrees on is that we all like ice cream. A lot.  Enough so that one of our traveling rituals is to eat ice cream almost every day of our vacation.  (We also walk a lot on vacation, so it kinda balances.  Kinda.)

But we do have some criteria, we don’t stop at just any ole ice cream spot.  A few rules.

• We’re looking for fresh, home-/hand-made ice cream at independent shops, or at least ones don’t seem to be a big-name chain.
• Scoops have to be less than $4, as close to or below $3, if possible.  I’ve noticed some places now charge $4, $5, even $6 a scoop!  For us, that’s $30+ for dessert.  So we did pass up shops that may have fit the independent shop rule, but were too pricey.  I’d like to not break a $20 if possible.
• Good flavors, creative mixes.  Give me a scoop of coffee or chocolate ice cream and I’m pretty happy.  But I’ll definitely try one of those with some nuts or chocolate ripple mixed in.  The kids are cookie dough, birthday cake, mint connoisseurs.
• Exceptions can be made to these rules, as needed. 

On our recent roadtrip, we enjoyed scoops from these ice cream shops throughout New England.  And we did make one big exception - we ended up at a slightly larger ice cream shop – the Ben and Jerry’s Factory in Vermont.

Mr. Softee Truck – Brooklyn, NY

This may not really qualify as home-made ice cream, but we don’t get one of these trucks in our neighborhood too often and how can you pass up $2 soft ice cream cones?  Ice cream for the whole gang and friends for $12? We couldn’t let this truck roll by.

Dylan’s Candy Bar, Manhattan, NY

Okay, not your teeny mom & pop shop, but not a big chain either.  Upstairs, there’s an ice cream counter and candy bar, i.e. cocktails.  The kids got ice cream which they said was delicious! while my friend and I got candy cocktails. Her’s had Strawberry Nerds in it, mine had a rock candy swizzler. In the middle of walking through the city, this is a fun stop. Albeit, an expensive one. 

Boston turned out to be a big ice cream stop. Who knew?

Churn2 ice cream truck, Harvard Farmers’ Market (on campus)

This is the scientifically made ice cream.  Liquid nitrogen is blasted into a metal mixing bowl with fresh ingredients (milk, flavor, etc.) until it’s frozen.  Each order is made fresh while you watch. The results? Very creamy and that full, round mouth feel.  The process is supposed to make this less fat than regular ice cream, too.  This does, however, break the less than $4 rule. A scoop is $6.25; we got one to share because we just had to taste it.

Lizzy's Ice Cream – Harvard; Boston, MA

We found this teeny little shop while on our way to dinner, then had to make sure we were back before it closed because it looked really good.  Good decision.  I got the Colombia Fudge Avalanche – coffee ice cream with all chocolate and walnuts – which was really good; it was creamy, tasted like coffee, and full of the add-ins.  And the price was right – about $3 for a small scoop, which was really enough post-dinner. There was also a kiddie cone and an even smaller mini-cone.

Christina'sIce Cream – Cambridge, MA

The shop smells like Indian spices, presumably from shop next door (which may be owned by the same people).  It’s a pleasant smell, just not one you’d expect at an ice cream shop.  I got the Bailey’s ice cream, which was creamy, but didn’t really taste like Bailey’s, more like coffee with a whole lot of cream in it (which, by the way, is how I drink my coffee.)  The kids got birthday cake and mint.  The scoops were about $3 for a small.

And now, I'm so full - and hungry.  Let me go grab a bowl of coffee ice cream with some almonds sprinkled in and I'll get back to the rest of the list in part two of the ice cream tour.

Join the conversation on Facebook: Just Piddlin' with Frances