International Travel with Children

Posted on June 19, 2012 by David

Our family with 9 children on horseback
in El Valle de Anton

As a family with 9 small children, we have had some great away-from-home adventures. We generally try to take our children with us whenever we travel, from adoption trips to Guatemala, trade shows and continuing education meetings on the West Coast, Canada and Central America, to just plain interesting and fun trips for extended periods. When we only had 5 little ones we took a 9-day trip around Arizona and New Mexico in an RV with 9 of us (including Robyn’s parents), when we had 6 children we took them all to Costa Rica for a week to study rain and cloud forests, volcanoes and Latin American cultures.

Now we are in Panama for three months where we are concentrating on learning swimming, Spanish language, and cultures of Indigenous and resident populations of Panama.

Our crew of 9 children jumping into the pool

We are having a great time, and also learning more about ourselves and our children, as well as traveling with children.

As time permits, and I am finding time in short supply, we will try to add more blog posts with some helpful things we’ve learned in order to guide others who may want to visit “Family Friendly Panama”.

Our family with 9 children on an Embera dug-out canoe

Our family with 9 children on an Embera piragua, or dug-out canoe

Our Crew in Panama

Posted on May 26, 2012 by David

Adventures with Nine!

After landing at the Tocumen Airport (PTY) in Panama City, we spent our first night at B&B Estancia, a converted military barracks on Ancon Hill overlooking the Panama Canal. The rooms and accommodations are plain and simple, but a nice little breakfast is included, they are conveniently located and the staff is very friendly. I spent some time with Samuel, the ‘trusted driver’, as we drove around the city and secured a 15 passenger Toyota Hiace. Samuel is a really good guy. He drove me around last year when we visited and I had some errands to run in the city.

Our 9 children with a large tree on Ancon Hill, Panama City

The kids loved it there, and tolerated their first exposure to Panama’s warmth and weather during the rainy season well. They enjoyed watching the agouti (large forest rodents similar to a cross between a rabbit and a muskrat, also sometimes called “Pacas” and said to make a good meal over rice with coconut), the various birds and frogs, and of course,

Geoffrey’s Tamarin at B&B Estancia, Ancon Hill, Panama City, Panama

the Geoffroy’s tamarin (Saguinus geoffroyi), also known as the Panamanian, red-crested or rufous-naped tamarin [citation: Wikipedia]-a colorful little monkey. These were all right outside our balcony at Estancia.

Geoffrey’s Tamarin (small monkey) on Ancon Hill at B&B Estancia

Did you know that Panama, a country about the size of South Carolina, has more different bird species (970+) than all of the United States and Canada combined?

View of Panama Canal area from Ancon Hill

After a nice evening and breakfast at B&B Estancia, and then picking up our rental vehicle, we took a trip up Ancon Hill for a nice view of the area around the Panama Canal. It was a great view, but it was hot at mid-day, so we didn’t stay long. We grabbed a quick lunch and headed across the Bridge of the Americas, and down the Panamanian Highway to our next stop: Playa Coronado…. [to be continued]

Gripsterz In Action

Posted on May 25, 2012 by David

Managing Children In Airports with Gripsterz!

We made it to Panama! After months of preparation we saddled up Wednesday morning, and had one of our great babysitters come with us to the airport. Robyn has to be the greatest packer on the planet! Our luggage for three months away: 6 checked duffel bags, and roughly half a dozen carry on bags with our computers, and gameboys, games and books for the kids.

Luggage for three months-6 check bags, 6 carry-on bags

Thank goodness you can once again check bags at Skycap for international flights. That made all the difference in the world!

Robyn and kids travel by Skycap at CLT

We checked in and got a quick lunch at Charlotte International airport….

Kids watching planes at CLT

Kids eating lunch at CLT

… then boarded and flew through Miami International Airport–grabbing a quick bite to eat, and arrived at Panama-Tocumen Airport (PTY)!

Robyn and the 9 children at the runway at MIA

Robyn and the 9 children deplaning at MIA

Gripsterz walking rope helps keep the little 3 boys close at Miami International Airport

Gripsterz Stay Along monkey handle was critical! We had the three little boys holding on and keeping up all the way through the airports (see pictures).

Robyn uses Gripsterz walking rope with the little 3 boys at Miami International Airport

Traveling with Children: Day 17 of 27 days in a green tin can with 9 children–NY1

Posted on June 10, 2010 by Robyn

Phew! Back to blogging! Life and business has been coming at us full speed, so fun and just a little scary.

But for now, our trip…our adventure (and since more time has passed, we are passing into that phase where you start to forget all the little nuances and only recall the thrills – I will try not to be too rosey!)

Day 17: On our way to NYC – the BIG APPLE! Us – with nine young children – hitting the grandest city in the country! Did you know that NYC was originally purchased for $24! Yep – gotta love homeschool knowledge. (Won’t go into all the cultural issues associated with that purchase, that’s a topic for the highschool level!)

We started off after the morning rush hour passed (giving us time to get up, get the little ones fed and dressed, and get out the door) from Auntie Ria’s house, we packed everyone in the van, and drove to the Metro North station. We got tickets and played around, entertaining some folks on the platform. Then we caught the train into Grand Central Station. I still can’t believe that we were there! So far, so good – all 9 kids made it on and off the subway and up the ramp to that Grand place - thanks to Gripsterz! For most of our little guys, it was their first time there and the vaulted ceilings and grand scale of things was quite impressive for them.

After taking a few moments to “soak it all in” and look the place and the people over really good (and counting children, again) - we hit the streets of New York!

I have to break in here and tell you that I am the absolute BEST “counter to 9″ in the universe!!! My whole life (and 9 little ones) depends on it!

We strode down those city sidewalks and met up with a couple of cousins and some friends at the Museum of Natural History. … Can you picture our parade – not quite Macy’s but pretty close!

The museum was fun – lots of cool animals to see. Our favorite room to explore was the ocean room with it’s lifesize whale in the ceiling. Through the years, Dave and I have come to recognize that when you are visiting with other adults and trying the watch kids at the same time….bad things can happen! Your focus slips from the children to the adults and you just can’t count right! In our case, we had split up to tour different parts of the museum – and unknown to us…Dave’s cell phone battery had died and my walkie-talkie battery was dead! We were communicationless!!! So, me and my small group were standing in the very, very crowded entrance room, hoping that Daddy would sense where we were and come by. Eventually, we did meet and gather back in another room, however…our 7 yr/old missed the “move along” cue (he was distracted by boredom while waiting). All of our Gripsterz were occupied by smaller siblings and I was thrilled to be “together” again. It didn’t take long before Dave was counting to 9 (he is a very good counter also!) and he could only get to 8! Problem!!! In a flash, we acknowledged the problem (only 8!) and started the back-track search. Despite the large crowd of people, our 7 yr/old was quickly spotted by Dave, close to where we had been waiting in the entrance area.

Fortunately, while we were on the way into the city on the Metro North line, we role-played with all the kids what to do if you get lost or separated from the group, and we put business cards with cellphone contacts in their pockets, just in case something like this might happen. It was only about a minute before Dave noticed he was missing and circled back to get him. All was well, but the little guy got quite a scare and stayed really close for the rest of the outing! Thanks to the talk on the train he was able to keep it all together and not panic. I will share our tips about how to prepare kids for something like this at the end of this post.

After leaving the museum, we walked by Central Park and stepped in for a few minutes. What an incredible park!! After that great landmark we made our way back onto the subway and headed for Times Square! Are we not crazy!!! Our goal was to find somewhere to eat dinner, preferably somewhere nice. Times Square was crowded and busy (duh!). I kept having to remind the children to look up and capture the moment – take in the lights and all the signs. Nothing like the *bling* of Times Square! The dinner option was quickly blasted away by the 2 hr waits, so we opted for giant cookies instead! Cookies for dinner – how great is that!

Needless to say – the Metro ride home that night was rather solemn and quiet – most of our crew slept!

TIPS: Prepping your kids for crowded event or destination

- Dress the kids in colorful shirts or clothes, making them easily seen.

- Talk to them prior to going and tell them what to do if they get separated from you. Tell them to…

*Stay where they are, if they wander around looking for you they will only get even more lost

*If they see a police officer, ask for help – otherwise…

*Ask another mommy for help, a mother with a child will be least threatening to them and you and she will totally understand the panic that you and the child will be in. It is the safest option for reaching out to a stranger.

*Don’t be afraid to scream! Matter of a fact – do scream, call for Mommy or Daddy as loud as possible. Being lost is no time to get quite or be concerned about causing a scene!

- Place some kind of ID on your child(ren). There are great ones that you can buy, check out www.mypreciouskid.com or use whatever you have. Any sheet of paper, a business card, something that has your name and phone number on it. Tell your child what it is and when to use it. In a pinch, I have also heard of people writing on their child’s skin (back, arm, or leg)!

- Get a Gripsterz! Will help keep those little ones close and let everyone have fun! You just have to be a little careful in the most crowded spaces, wouldn’t want to “catch” someone in the strap – a good time to use the short Gripsterz strap!

–Note: For the following list of images, click on any thumbnail to enlarge the picture—

Traveling with Children: Day 16 of 27 days in a green tin can with 9 children–CT to NY

Posted on May 26, 2010 by David

Day 16:

I have known my buddy Rob since the third grade, and we’ve been fast friends ever since, creating havoc and getting into trouble. Rob’s father, rest his soul, was a World War II veteran in the French underground resistance and became an agent for the American forces. While Rob’s Mom was several years younger (way to go, Jacques!), she still had a slightly longer perspective and would laugh it off when Rob and I got into hot water. As such, she was like a second Mom to me while growing up (and my Mom was like a second Mom to Rob, whether he liked it or not).

Now Mrs. M. has a beautiful home, with lots of crystal and china from around the world. We did well visiting there with the first few children in the past as we taught them how to behave in a house that was not ‘childproof’. But with 9 wiggling around, we thought it would be best to pick her up and take her to lunch. We also had the opportunity to introduce Robyn and the children to the locally-famous Duchess Burgers, a Southern Connecticut phenomenon where I spent perhaps half of the money I earned in high school. We were treated when Rob’s sister and nephew showed up to dine with us as well. Unfortunately, I did not have the presence of mind to take a single picture, which I regret.

After lunch, we saddled up and moseyed down the road to Scarsdale, NY, to visit with my Auntie Ria, my Godmother. She is a special lady. My father had two older sisters, Ida and Maria, who grew up with him in their home in the Bronx. Ida passed away from breast cancer in the late 1980′s, but Maria is still active and with it. For a number of years she was in California milling about with both literary and media greats. She has a picture of her and Carl Sandberg, for whom she was a personal assistant. She worked on the movie “The Greatest Story Ever Told” and met John Wayne, who played the one-line part of the Roman Centurion on Golgatha.

Anyway, we got to NY, unpacked, and went for the afternoon “passagiare”, or walk. Then we went for Chinese food at Lotus, returned home, settled the kiddies into their makeshift bunks, said prayers, and returned downstairs for a nightcap with Auntie Ria. She’s such a sport, and she enjoyed trying out Mojitos for the first time.

Ria’s an incredible lady with more spunk than Robyn and I put together! The only +/- 80-year old I know who can keep up with 9 little ones, and two spent parents …and take us in and out of NYC a couple times for the weekend. More to follow…..

Scroll down below photos to see today’s tips.

Click on thumbnails below to see the whole picture.

Tip: You don’t need individual rooms and suites for small children. Ours prefer to sleep all together, both traveling and at home. We fit three on a trundle bed, one on a couch and another on two chairs pushed end-to-end, then laid up against the couch to provide two separate cubbies for sleeping. We also employed a pack-n-play and two kiddie cots, each of which could break down and be carried in the van. My oldest daughter was treated to a special place in the office/study downstairs next to Auntie Ria’s room.

Tip: Remember, when traveling (and sometimes at home), a bedroom is for sleeping! You don’t need a ton of space, just enough to hunker down for a night. Seeing a ship’s berth (tiny, cramped space where dozens of people stayed on trans-Atlantic voyages) helped solidify this concept for us.

Traveling with Children: Day 11 of 27 days in a green tin can with 9 children–Plymouth, MA

Posted on May 12, 2010 by Robyn

Day 11:

We started Sunday morning with an early Mass with Dave’s sister and her family. The children were very well behaved, despite the early hour, and his sister was totally shocked that we were able to get everyone up and dressed and get to Church before the start of the service. Practice, honey, practice.

Our gang at Plymouth Rock After Mass we went to Plymouth, MA to visit Plymouth Rock and the surrounding sites. The rock was…well, a big rock! That’s it in the picture of us, the rock surrounded by the wall. Not much else to say about that one!

After Plymouth Rock, we explored a full-scale model of the Mayflower, which was built in England and a few years ago sailed across the Atlantic to be moored in Plymouth, MA. This was very spacious compared to the three small boats that were used to transport the Jamestown colonists to Virginia. We all decided we would have preferred the Mayflower to the Godspeed. Our gang at the Mayflower in Plymouth, MA Our gang off the Starboard rail on the Mayflower Our gang on the Mayflower

Our gang off the Starboard rail on the Mayflower

Our gang on the Mayflower Our gang at the Mayflower in Plymouth, MA Robyn with Gripsterz and 4 children on the boardwalk at Plymouth, MA

We walked down the boardwalk to the town of Plymouth, where we had lunch at a waterside restaurant called the Weathervane. It was a good break in the day.

Our gang at the Weathervane restaurant in Plymouth, MA Dave and Robyn take a short breather at lunch at the Weathervane

…

We then went to Plimouth Plantation, a historic recreation of the Pilgrim settlement and a Native People settlement (they no longer go by Native American there, it’s either Native People or Native Nation in Plymouth). Real native dress-watch out!.

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Our Gang at the Pilgrim Settlement at Plimouth Plantation Our Gang at the Native Settlement at Plimouth Plantation Our Gang at the Guard tower at Plimouth Plantation

As a native Virginia girl that grew up across the “rivah” from Jamestown, home to the Jamestown Settlement, I was very interested in what the Plymouth Plantation was going to be like, would they live up to the wonder of Jamestown? Yes, Yes they did! Their reproduction villages, Native Nation and settlers, were truly great! The people there were wonderful. Not only would we have preferred to ride over in the Mayflower, but life seemed a little nicer here in Plymouth as well, at least more spacious! I love that our kids were able to see both places during our trip (and me too!), how cool is that? No, we were not just going to read about them and look at pictures, but we went to the settlements – walked the dirty paths, sat in the assembly buildings, chased the chickens, got into the canoes. So fun – homeschooling has it’s ups and downs, but this is definitely one of it’s greatest privileges.

After the historical visit we paid a visit to Dave’s cousins in North Andover, MA. They had 5 children, all of which showed up with their families, as they still do every Sunday–what a great family tradition! My family did this also when I was growing up. Every Sunday we would gather at my grandparents for dinner. I don’t think I appreciated it then as much as I do now!

TIPS:

1. Visiting places with full scale remodels is almost always a winner with kids. The explorability, the dirt piles, the real-life situations are all such great ways for them to really learn – or to be easily entertained while you learn.

2. The short films that most of these type of destinations have for viewing are good times to nurse/feed a baby, change a few diapers, or take a moment to cuddle with a little one (or a big one!).

3. We had to make a choice today to see less of the Plantation so that we could get to our friend’s home in time for dinner. It’s almost always a good choice to put friends/family over sites and places. True treasures are in relationships!