I was browsing through my pictures of the past week for a Silent Sunday picture. Instead I came up with a plan… the changing of seasons always has that effect.
Looking through the pictures brought back what utter fun we had this Easter holidays and made me realise just how much I love to travel. And actually we do as a family too. It’s fun cramming it all in to a car and hitting the road to discover new places.
We had a lovely couple of days on the South Coast- first with Sarah and her family, then in Charmouth on the Jurassic Coast fossil hunting. In fact it was so much fun I wanted to go back this weekend with the excuse of buying an old caravan. Alas, I chickened out of the caravan buying, as the seller was being a bit dodgy and evasive in his answers to my queries on the caravan.
Two weeks ago we finally bought our National Trust membership, something we had years ago and then let lapse. Now I want to spend weekends visiting all these fantastic places even more than when I was researching it for a grand adventure.
All these have fed my travel bug, compounded by my friend telling me of their sailing plans. I really do want to pack up and take the children on a round the world adventure on a boat. If only we had the funds and time now!
My mind is in gear about how to make more travel happen– We need to get out more. I’m going to start with the local plans, short weekend breaks, then work up to that round the world trip.
I also realise that lots of travel, weekends away could lead to chaotic lives, therefore I need to get organised in and around home first, so we have a good base to return to.
I started the one corner at a time project and didn’t continue. I’m restarting that. I will tackle one corner a week.
Talking of renovations and building, that granny annex is beckoning to be built in the garden. This will give us a bit more flexibility with our living arrangements; parents and in-laws can come and stay without getting on our nerves.
The garden needs attention, kids play area and our kitchen garden a kick start.
Argh! This is sounding more and more challenging…more like a BHAG! (aka Big Hairy Audacious Goal)
So I’m giving myself a timescale to bring it to life, say 6 weeks, to catch up on paperwork, plans and get on with these projects. …no I’m not going to build my little house at the bottom of the garden in that time, but I should know all the details of building it.
My tools to institute order? A couple of weeks ago I went to the launch of Office365 and downloaded the free trial, then went on to subscribe (yes I did pay for it myself!). I’m loving it so far; there are some fantastic tools in it to help my journey of getting organised. Then last week I got a Windows 8 phone. From some of the feedback from other mums who have been using it for a while there is potential for it to be my cattle prodder on my get-organised journey. (I am really liking it so far, but more on it when I’ve had a good chance to use and abuse it.) I think some to do lists, notes and alarms reminding me what I need to do will be the key.
While I’m busy getting organised I can still dream about travels, right? And my next step is to figure out how we want to travel- car and accommodation locally, tent, caravan, campervan, motorhome, plane, ship, sailing boat. Weighing up cost versus convenience is not easy. Lots to think about, lots to research. I guess we don’t have to have all the answers, just make sure we don’t make expensive mistakes with the wrong purchases.
One thing that’s obvious is on one income, unless we win the lottery, luxury travel is out of the question… except for our romantic weekend in Amsterdam in June. 😉
I have itchy feet reading your post. I too would love to pack up and go on a family travel adventure. I’m just grateful I travelled before kids, because no chance of doing any more for the forseeable future, though of course I wouldn’t swap the kids for the chance to travel again! Enjoy Amsterdam.
I’m intending to ease into travel with weekends away and then make the most of the summer holidays. There is always chance to explore near and far. It doesn’t have to cost much either, but you have to be creative.
It was the best thing we did as a family BY FAR. 6 months around Latin America with four kids, the youngest 2 years old and still in nappies. The biggest hurdle? Deciding to do it. Once that was done, the rest kind of naturally just followed. The challenge is that it is addictive, and you find yourself soon after returning wanting the next one. We’re thinking maybe 2 years from now.
And it was Iguazu that I was struggling to remember the name of when we met on Tuesday (though not the image of those waterfalls – that’s an image that will stay a lifetime!).
So my humble advice? Decide to do it. That’s it!
Iyas, thanks for further inspiration! Your trip sounds amazing and to do it with such young kid too!