Comments on: The Simple Dollar Weekly Roundup: Long Road Trip Edition

By: Mary

Mary — Fri, 28 May 2010 04:51:20 +0000

Yeah I saw this one coming lol…but what a wonderful grand Dad you are to make these memories for all of you & to show your new precious little one to family. You’re crazy, but wonderful. :)))) When our children were 11, 9 & 7 in 1987 we stayed in a tiny camper in our backyard. With 2 cats & a teenage Lab. During the winter. The builder who was remodeling our home said it would be a “few weeks”. Not only was I naive enough to believe him, my husband was and is an Electrical Contractor so I should have known better. Thirteen weeks. 13 weeks. Thirteen weeks. Oh, and no running water. I was never so willing to do dishes from a running water faucet as when we moved back into our home.

By: Evita

Evita — Thu, 27 May 2010 17:03:16 +0000

And, for a change, maybe your folks and friends can come and visit YOU ?

By: Evita

Evita — Thu, 27 May 2010 17:02:09 +0000

But you knew, Trent…… less than two weeks after your wife gave birth, you took the five of you for a two-day car trip…… dont’ you remember?
I wish you a calm, restful summer at home! you all deserve it! :)

By: GayleRN

GayleRN — Thu, 27 May 2010 14:05:50 +0000

Well, you can’t say that the Voices of Experience didn’t warn you. Now you will have a way to measure the hassle of a trip against the expected benefit. Is it really worth x days or hours of travel to attend a particular family event, or can I just send an appropriate gift and my regrets. Cut yourself some slack here and don’t punish yourself and your family because you think you must do these things for the sake of your extended family. I am guessing that few of them will show up at your kids birthday parties. And you are probably appalled at how much this trip actually cost you. The only people who might need your consideration in travelling to them are great grandparents and grandparents.

By: Adrienne

Adrienne — Wed, 26 May 2010 23:19:12 +0000

Yikes! What a bunch of critics. You never know how traveling with little kids will be until you try (I’ve had several wonderful and a few awful trips with my four small kids). And yes, Trent, I’m sure your family and friends appreciated the effort. The kids might not remember this trip, but as they get older, they will remember that they grew up taking trips with their family, and that will be special.

By: JT

JT — Wed, 26 May 2010 19:40:10 +0000

Only a thousand miles in eleven days? Try over four thousand miles in a week. True, we only had two kids and had an RV; but we did have three cats as well. Then several months later I had to drive back, sans-wife (don’t worry, she flew back the next month).

My one regret is that we didn’t have more time. We needed at least one extra week, if not ten.

By: almost there

almost there — Wed, 26 May 2010 16:37:04 +0000

Should have thought about that before having all those kids. Don’t complain, you asked for it. As for traveling with youngsters, why do it? We made the same mistake at our expense flying from our home in Hawaii to visit relatives on the mainland to show off our child at various stages of his life. Finally, we realized that all this family visiting was costing us bigtime and decided that they could visit us. Of course they didn’t visit us in Hawaii or later on in Guam. Kinda nice to be away from the family drama for 9 years

By: Cheryl

Cheryl — Wed, 26 May 2010 16:04:20 +0000

It is easier with an RV. The bathroom is always there. We’ve been traveling with DS (now age 9) since he was 3. Limiting daily driving time to 3 or 4 hours helps. He can sit still longer now, but we still try to be at our destination by lunch time.

By: Cheryl

Cheryl — Wed, 26 May 2010 16:03:01 +0000

It is easier with an RV. The bathroom is always there.

By: Teresa

Teresa — Wed, 26 May 2010 15:50:35 +0000

I wouldn’t want to do an eleven day road trip with my 10 and 12 year old girls, let alone your brood. YIKES! You are a brave, brave man. Crazy, but brave! I hope your family and friends appreciate that you guys came to them instead of the other way around.

By: Gretchen

Gretchen — Wed, 26 May 2010 15:45:51 +0000

It’s like no one tried to warn you or something.

By: Stephan

Stephan — Wed, 26 May 2010 15:37:04 +0000

cant believe you even attempted this road trip with 3 young kids. i can remember my mom complaining when we were younger about a simple ski trip, max 2 hours one way! but hey, im sure it wasnt all bad! Preferred Financial Services

By: Adam P

Adam P — Wed, 26 May 2010 14:53:02 +0000

LOL Trent…thanks for the laugh and the tip. My brother has 4 children under 12 and he uses his giant RV to go on road trips. I imagine that must be a bit more easy to take but I can’t fathom doing the same. 5 hours is about my limit for road trips.

By: Jon

Jon — Wed, 26 May 2010 14:21:29 +0000

“Tip: an eleven day road trip with a four year old and a two year old and an infant is not fun.”

Ha. Like we all didn’t already know that. But all those precious memories they will have right!?

By: Tahlia42

Tahlia42 — Wed, 26 May 2010 14:20:34 +0000

Hopefully you will now have a long stretch at home where all 5 of you can recuperate. I hope the experience was fun and memorable.

By: Money Smarts

Money Smarts — Wed, 26 May 2010 14:09:29 +0000

A 1000 mile trip with 3 youngsters? You’re an ambitious man! We’re having our first and i can’t even imagine trying to travel with an infant, much less two other young children!