Road trip survival tips

I am by no means a master of 'travel with children', but I have had a little experience of family travel. Here are a few things I have learnt about surviving a road trip with children...

• Breastfeed upon arrival at any stop whether short or long: during a road trip with a weaning breastfed baby I used short stops for breastfeeding followed by baby food in the car after departure.
• Nappy change(s)/bathroom visit as soon as you arrive anywhere; if it is a 'long' stop (eg lunch) then another nappy change/bathroom visit may be in order after you have eaten. This should ensure both you and your Miss(es)/Master(s) are ready to get back on the road as soon as everyone else is.
• Comfort item (blanky, teddy, drink) should always be kept out of sight until you absolutely have no choice but to use it. At this point the item becomes a great comfort (and not just to your Miss/Master).
• Food should be handy, healthy and hearty (if possible). If you refuel location has a less than impressive/healthy menu then your on-board snacks need to work double time. Fresh fruit is great (and has minimal packaging); dried fruit lasts longer (obviously) and can better survive rough handling. Low packaging items such as nuts and berries are healthy and take up less car/rubbish bag space.
• Baby wipes - keep packets in your door and/or seat pockets (yes, all of them)
• Washable bags - keep a stash in your door pockets; used for... rubbish, grotty shoes/clothes, shopping, managing kid-clutter (I prefer nylon for really grotty stuff because it dries quickly, a repurpose yoghurt pot (with lid and handle; empty at every stop) for rubbish, cloth bags for the remainder).
• Baby change kits - keep two at the ready so you can always find at least one. I used a variety of bag types, including a  small drawstring bag (hangs from you or a hook while in use) and large (washable) make-up pencil case type bags; contents: 1x at-least-half-used packet of wipes (lighter, smaller than a full packet), bottom cream (1-hand open), a couple of spare nappies (because they day you don't have 1 to wear plus a spare, you'll tear the nappy or baby will fill it immediately).

And last, although by no means least...

Get your vehicle checked for roadworthiness long enough before you leave to allow time to source and install any necessary parts so as to ensure your vehicle is in road-trip worthy condition. You would not want to end up driving during a rain storm without wipers in an area where it is safer to drive than pull over and wait it out!

Please share the wisdom you have learnt in your road trip travels via comments!

"The" top 50 outdoor activities for children...

I recently came across an article that catalogues the top 50 outdoor activities every child 'must' experience - according to a survey of children. As I thought back on my childhood, I felt quite fortunate for the experiences afforded me. But that was all years (decades) ago, so what sort of outdoor activities get children excited today?

I cannot speak for the children of today, but I can share a little of my outdoorsy childhood. My sister and I had many outdoor experiences that I know most of my classmates could only wonder, if not dream about. It was not just about fancy holidays to exotic places, in fact, unless you call trooping around a muddy farm mud at 6am to feed the orphan lambs 'fancy' or 'exotic', we did not have such holidays at all. For us it was more about everyday outdoor explorations and experiences, and then building on this during holiday travels. Many of the 'top 50' were achieved in our own back garden or very near to it.

Number 2. Roll down a really big hill

I have rolled. I am guessing that most of you have as well. But have you 'ice-blocked'? Probably one for the warmer climates, but nonetheless, picture this... On a hot summer evening you are at the top of a long, grassy slope. Directly underneath you is a small towel and underneath that is a freezing cold, solid block of ice with an A4-sized footprint. Ice is generally quite slippery in warm climates and it takes little effort to begin your decent and pick up speed down the run. I always enjoyed the thrill of the hot night, the cold 'sled' and the rush of the speedy slide down the slope. Carrying a heavy, cold ice block back up the slope for another run was another matter entirely. 

Number 6. Run around in the rain.

My 7 rainy day doings blog post describes how, as children, when the rain started falling we would bring out the tea sets and fill the pot with 'rain-tea'. But this was just one of our rainy day inspired games; bouncing on the wet trampoline to see who could make the biggest splash and dancing rain dances around the "hills hoist" were two more. Bursting through the full circle spray of our trusty lawn sprinkler was another of our favourite water activities; we would run, cartwheel, dance, handstand, and jeté through it all day long. As avid netballers, my sister, our best friends and myself practiced our short passes and shots at goal in the sprinkler arc, believing this to be a worthy training substitute for our on-the-court opposition.

Number 12. Make a trail with sticks

This past weekend was such pleasant weather that we took late-in-the-day walk to a playground on the other side of a local copse. Miss was gazing around in wonderment at the bluebells, dandelions, pines, grasses and so on. It reminded me of when I was a child, walking along dirt tracks with the surrounding growth so high (relative to my height) that I could see just a metre or so around me. I recall a particular treasure hunt during a childhood camping trip when we children were dispatched to follow a trail of stick and stone markers that took us all over the nature reserve (or so we thought, given our age and height). At the end of the treasure hunt trail we found our campsite (surprise, surprise), our treasure (marshmallows to roast on the fire) and a picnic blanket laid out for some pre-bedtime stargazing. In hindsight, this single evening actually achieved number 3 (camp out in the wild), number 27 (go star gazing) and number 40 (go on a nature walk at night). Of course, at the time all I cared about was the adventure and roasting my marshmallow treasures.

Number 23. Visit a farm

Some of my fondest childhood memories are from my Uncle and Auntie's farm. It was a place where I always found peace, space, adventure, and many (inadvertent) educational opportunities. Although not everyone has family living on a farm there are many place to get the farming experience - city farms operate all over London and many rural farms are open to day visitors.

Number 42. Go swimming in the sea

Having spent a great deal of time on a beach or by a beach as a child (I grew up about 100 meters from the sea and spent most summer holidays at a family-friendly seaside town), I had the good fortune of playing probably all of the usual beach related childhood games and a few invented ones as well. Some days were hot hot hot and spent mostly in the shallow waters where we could play tennis (volleying only, since we were knee deep in water) and when the Aussies were doing well in the summer cricket season we would mimic the 'specky' catches of our favourite fieldsmen over and over again, each time ensuring an almighty splash followed our 'fall' into the shallow water.

Number 1. Climb a tree

Strangely enough, this is probably one of my greatest achievements to date, which is why I have left it until last. We lived a short walk from a National Park, but also a smaller residential reserve full of Moreton Bay Fig trees - the sort where the protruding roots must be conquered before any branch may be climbed. I have also climbed many campsite pine trees, descending to a scalding from my mother who was never impressed to see sticky pinesap smeared through my long hair. But then there was the year we drove across the Nullabour Plain and stopped at the Pemberton climbing trees, in particular, the Gloucester tree. Climbing up the spiralled steel peg 'stairs' a whopping 61 meters, the viewing deck offered the most amazing views across the Karri forest, well above the canopy of all surrounding trees. You would think that after such a climb one would stand up on that viewing deck to bask in the glory of conquering the climb and perhaps to take in the incredibly beautiful view. But not me; I do not like heights. I climbed that tree to prove to myself that I can achieve and I can conquer, even if it terrifies me. I climbed back down that tree almost as soon as I arrived at the top.

So, what are the top 50 outdoor activities that get children excited today? Click the link to find out! I have no intention of ticking off number 30, but Miss & Master may enjoy a geocache walk this weekend...

Glamping

Glamping (glamorous camping) with Misses and Masters. These are some things I have learnt...

Bucket baths - take one of those plastic storage boxes for bathing in, making sure you only pack bathroom things that will fit in it. I suggest using a towel underneath (to prevent slippage and catch any wayward splashes), liquid soap and a lid (to keep the water hot if you are having to boil water, as we were).

Plastic bags of clothes - I packed sets of all-weather-friendly clothes into 'day' bags. Each day had its own bag and once Miss and Master were dressed, the bag was recycled for refuse.

Portable potty (with liners) - while the lid of the bucket bath was not being used for bucket baths it was underneath the portable potty. Alongside the potty was a roll of loo paper, baby wipes and hand towel - thus keeping them in one place and off the cold floor. We have a Potette brand portable potty and it works a treat!

Plastic box for washing up - all the cutlery, plates and cooking utensils I took were able to fit into one plastic box that was used for washing dishes and to store drying dishes.

Plastic box with lid for non-perishables - this is one thing I have learnt for next time as I was forever diving in and out of one of those over sized large shopping bags to find pepper or baking paper (great on a bbq to stop eggs etc sticking to the surface). Also, if you end up with a few plastic boxes you can stack them and use the surface as another table top, or a low eating surface for children.

Washing up liquid - unless you do an awful amount of washing up there should be no need for a 500ml of the stuff. Instead, fill a 'snack sized' drink bottle (with those slow-pour lids).

Rubber or suctioned bottomed bowls - If you have them, take them! While spilling food onto the floor is not a big deal when camping, it is a huge deal if you have to start the whole camp cooking process all over.

Footwear - we took just two types of shoes; flip flops and wellies. Every eventuality was covered.

Camping with a Miss and a Master is definitely a new twist in my life experiences of camping. But then anyone who has kids would agree that practically every experience comes with a new twist when a Miss or Master arrives.

My final tip for glamping with Misses and Masters is this: organise the hell out of everything that needs to be done and let the rest slide.

Please share your own kiddie-camping tips and location recommendations using comments!

Tiny Tip : 4

Cake decorating

In the approach to Master's 2nd birthday I share a tip passed to me by my own mother, who always baked and decorated the most beautiful cakes for my sister and I.

Freeze your undecorated cake! Butter icing is less prone to cake-crumb infestations during decorating if the cake is frozen. Of course, some folks do not need to resort to these sorts of tactics...