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Mission trip to Tijuana, Mexico, in May of 2008 to spread the joy of God and Jesus’ love by building a home for a family. Mission trip organized by Mission Bound Planners and missionaries from Central Christian Church, Las Vegas (centralchristian.com)
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As the trend with grandparents traveling with their grandchildren increases, so does the desire of passing on some of their values. By and large as we mature our ideas of what really matters evolves. So does our sense that the next generation may not have grasped that yet. Here are some ideas for traveling with a purpose as a way for instilling or sharing the values you want your family to hold dear:
Missions Trips : Reaching out to help those less fortunate through working in orphanages, schools, providing basic needs or health care foster an opportunity to spread you faith. Anyone I have ever talked to who went to be a blessing returned blessed more by the experience.
Race If a value you want to pass on is health, possibly go to a vacation spot where as a family you could do a 10K. These races are planned all over including Disney, exotic islands, everywhere. If your family is in extremely good shape, there are marathons as well. Also you can do bike races, tri athalons too. Crossing the finished line as a family, what an accomplishment!
Fight Disease If a disease has touched your family maybe a race or walk to benefit that cause raising money for prevention or cure.
Habitat for Humanity build a home for someone in need either in your own country or in their Global Village Program.
Outward Bound Family Course “encourages participants to support one another and connect through dialogue, personal reflection, working together and creating life-long memories” according to their site. A 9 day adventure in Australia may be the kind of trip to strengthen the bond in your family.
Volunteer Whether it is a visit to a third world country or maybe even driving to New Orleans volunteer opportunities are plentiful where ever you are going.
Campaigning With the U.S. 2008 Election over it is fresh in my mind. If you are committed to a particular party or candidate is something you would like to share as a family, travel to where you can help them with the campaign.
Cause and effect Find a cause you can wrap your heart around and notice the effect working together can have on your family!
Family vacation travel always brings us together, but if you do it with a purpose the results can have a lasting effect.
Those that like to make the most of the teachable moments with your children realize that family vacation travel lends itself to a wonderful opportunity to broaden your children’s horizons. The children are already a captive audience since there is no distractions from home and their wonder is heightened by the new surroundings. There are several ways that you can utilize your vacation to teach your kids something without having to create a lesson plan. In actuality, if you’d like an lesson plan on a specific subject related to your trip there are thousands of free ones online. Here are some suggestions for you to use in a low key manner to get some educational value.
Peaking your child’s interest before the trip gets you off to a great start. Write to the resort or tourism bureau of where you are headed and request a packet on the area. When it arrives, spread it out so you and your children can look through all the brochures.
Lesson plans- Many zoos, museums, etc have lesson plans on their websites. Visit the websites ahead of time so they can anticipate where they will be going. Download the lesson plans. Some have things to learn before you come, find while you are there and other leave you with things to reinforce what they have learned.
Talk to a librarian in the children’s section of your library to suggest children’s books set in the area you are going. For example, a few Robert McCloskey’s books are set in New England. Wherever you are visiting, you may find books set in that locale.
Factory tours. Many cities around the USA have factory tours, most are free. For instance, in Illinois, The Great American Popcorn Company. In Hershey, PA of course, Hershey’s Chocolate World. Also in Pennsylvania is the Harley Davidson tour.
Books . If you are traveling to another climate or region get some library books about it. We checked out books on ocean life before heading to Florida and it made it much more interesting for them when they saw sea creatures that they had learned something about. It brought their reading to life. Yes, it is great to see a dolphin but even better when they had just read and learned about them, it’s fascinating
History. Learn a little about the history of where you are going. Whether it is the city, state or region there could be some historical value to learn about. Then if they see a monument or statue and they have heard about it, there is a lasting impression.
Wildlife. Search for facts on wildlife, plants or food that is common to the area that is different from your area.
Journal. Give each child a journal to write in while on the trip, like at night before bed, they can write about their day. It will also give them a place to keep trinkets they find or brochures or photos you take. Later, when they have forgotten all the little details it will bring back the good memories.
Most of all have fun. Don’t worry about what they learned and what they didn’t the key is to find something that they found interesting and let them delve deeper and deeper. The idea is to give them a love of learning and a curious spirit. A genuine interest will help them connect to the people they meet there and the new things they experience. They will learn a whole lot since what they read will come to life. They will have hands on encounter with the learning process during their family vacation travel experience.
Family Vacation Travel -VEGAS
We just returned from a week in Las Vegas. There is nothing like Vegas! It is one of those places in our great country that nothing compares. Is it a family friendly trip? You decide. I will say, my children did not come along, it was a birthday getaway for just my husband and I. However, I will always have my “parent” glasses on since I am a family vacation travel writer. There were many times I wish my children were with us, flying in seeing all the spectacular lights, the amazing hotels, and the impossible that Vegas makes possible!
Warning! For those who have never walked the strip before, there will be people everywhere trying to hand you cards with porn on them. Even if ignore them, your children will see the sidewalk littered, no covered, with the photos. I watched a mother walking with her four and six-year-old children nervously trying to get them to look up at the sky, to no avail. As a heads up, night or day this will happen, so if you want to avoid it take the monorail or double decked bus from hotel to hotel.
Of course it is not the only place you will see provocative situations but clearly the hardest to veer away from if you are using that route. Remember, you are in an adult playground. Having said that, if you keep your wits about you there are many things your family can enjoy. Please note, the hotels may look close together, but when you walk the strip you will have a new understanding of what “huge hotels” are. For instance, to walk around the perimeter of the MGM is one mile. Several times we found ourselves walking and after several minutes they didn’t seem any closer. Wear comfortable shoes or take my advice above. Especially with children, this another reason to take transportation.
We stayed at the MGM with a top floor suite with a panoramic view of the mountains, the planes landing and the strip! Just a word of warning: the window washers in Vegas are quiet as mimes, so be aware, I was caught off guard! I am sure they have many stories to tell…MGM has the lion habitat that is sure a treat (and free!) Your children will love them. Nothing like seeing someone petting and playing with these huge cats like they were your average house feline.
Since we like free, here are things you can do with the family that have no cost:
Bellagio has a symphony of fountains that are beautiful right out in front of the hotel. Inside they have the conservatory as well.
Mirage Hotel has the erupting volcano in front of its entrance.
Freemont Street Experience has a free show , bright lights, big city, worth seeing.
Circus Circus has a show under the big top with trapeze artists, aerialists and other circus performers.
M&M World
The Sirens of Treasure Island is best bang for your free buck. A show of a battle between beautiful women (sirens) and pirates. Song, dance and theatrical war is nightly. Major Note: No Strollers.
The Aquarium at Silverton Hotel
Wildlife Habitat at Flamingo
Attractions with cost associated:
Las Vegas Sports Park
Secret Garden @ The Mirage (exotic animals and dolphin habitat)
Shark Reef @ Mandalay Bay
Lied Discovery Children’s museum
XScream thrill ride on a roller coaster track at the Stratosphere Hotel (best way to view the strip)
If you would rather venture off the strip for some family fun try:
Floyd Lamb State Park its about 20 miles from the strip.
Grand Canyon is about 300 miles, obviously worth the drive.
Lake Mead is about 30 miles away for some lake recreation.
Las Vegas Natural History Museum is about 7 miles away.
Mount Charleston can reach at its highest point 12,000 in elevation. (wildlife and waterfalls show a much different side than the strip) it is about 35 miles away.
Zoological -Botanical Park is about 6 miles from the strip.
Money Saving Tips
When landing, if you are staying at the strip and taking a cab to your hotel, tell the cab driver not to take the tunnel. Most won’t, but many tourists have been overcharged by cabbies who take the long way.
There is a Vegas Power Pass that can possibly save you money and avoid lines @ http://www.visiticket.com/LasVegas/las-vegas-power-pass.aspx
Family vacation travel recommendation:
Vegas is a great getaway for mother and daughters to reunite or sisters. Get all the adult girls in the family and jet off to the strip. The spas are abundant, most have their own exclusive treatments. The shows are spectacular and many to choose from! Many hotels have several pools to choose from. Everything in Vegas is over the top, the food, entertainment and pampering. Makes for a fabulous girls weekend for the adult girls in your family.
Adult couples in the family is also another idea. Depending the stage of life your extended family is in, this would be a nice opportunity for parents with their adult children and spouses to have some fun. It has so much to offer in one destination.
Part of the fun of the trip is in the planning. Some experts say that people spend more time planning a vacation than they do planning their future! That’s probably not good, however, preparation for your trip can help you avoid inconvenience, unanticipated expenses and missing a must-see attraction while there.
Involving the children in the family travel planning process provides some valuable teaching and here are some suggestions:
Order a Visitors Guide from the tourism bureau of that area, addressed to your children.
They can anticipate the trip by pouring over photos and suggestions of what there is to do.
Prepare a budget for the trip.
They learn the value of how much it costs vs. entertainment value
Compromise if they can’t afford it all.
Prioritize their money and time for what the family really wants to do.
Consider all others involved.
Mapping out the trip
Learn why it takes so long (hopefully can end “are we there yet?”)
Planning where to stop for breaks and food.
How often would they need to stop for gasoline (good math problem)
Meal Planning
What items are good to pack (non-perishable and less messy).
Eating packed food vs. eating out goes back to a budgeting too.
Packing
Only so much will fit in the car and whatever you pack you must carry, unpack and repack.
What emergency items do we need to have on hand?
Scheduling
Planning the schedule can teach time management. For instance, we may spend too much time at one attraction and run out of time to get to the beach.
So when it comes to family travel planning, allow the kids to get involved. They will get more out of the trip and no complaints, since they were responsible for some of the decision-making. Happy travels and when they ask “are we almost there?” you can ask “I don’t know, are we?”