Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Have infant, will I travel?

I find myself wondering how much having a child will impact my enjoyment of traveling. 

Three years ago I was on holiday in Japan with M. It was a great vacation, timed perfectly with the cherry blossoms. I particularly loved Kyoto. We stayed at the Hiiragiya Ryokan (Japanese guesthouse) and explored Kyoto, Himeji, and Nara from our base there. I call myself a wordsmith but I find it difficult to put into words what it is to experience Japan in the Spring. Fortunately for me, every time I look out my windows and see the cherry, peach, or plum trees in bloom, memories rise, making me smile.

Six months ago we were vacationing in Bali. What a slice of paradise that island is! The sights, the scents, the ever-present ocean, the food, and of course, the people. We spent the majority of our time on the eastern coast of Bali, at a lovely little resort called Puri Bagus Candidasa. Expense-wise Bali is a very reasonable place to vacation -- it's the 20+ hours of travel time that are daunting.

Birthdays in Monterey and Calistoga. Weekends in Vegas and Santa Barbara. For much of my adult life I've been able to just take off and go somewhere -- anywhere -- at a moment's notice. Even as recently as a year ago it was not uncommon for me to hop into a car at midnight and drive three hours to spend a few days with friends or family. I'm notorious for my spontaneity.

And now I'm 7 months along in an unexpected pregnancy.

I planned to drive south to spend some time with my parents next week, but it is a trip of over 200 miles, and M reminded me that I can't even sit for an hour without getting cramps somewhere, and much of the drive is through a very sparsely populated part of California, so if anything happened... I felt a small flash of irritation, but had to admit his objections were valid.

Road trips and long flights, I fear, are going to be a thing of the past. At least for a while.

In December we intend to go to Canada to see M's family. I expect that will be our first major travel-related undertaking. The baby will be nearly 7 months by then. I dread being that couple everyone hates for bringing a screaming baby on a long flight. I'm hoping that eventually we'll get air-travel with a child down to a fine art. It would be wonderful to be able to share our love of travel with our son.



2 comments:

  1. Fear not! It is entirely possible to travel with kids. We nicknamed one of my friend's kids "Travellin' Todd" because he had been to about a half dozen states and Canada before he was 2. They just refused to change up their well established travel habits & Todd learned to adapt. Another blogger I read has taken his daughter more places in her 4 years than I have been in my 47! You will figure it out :->

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  2. With just one child, I don't think you're going to have much of a problem. I think it will be quite an experience for the little one to be exposed to so much and it really won't be that much of a headache. When I moved to Michigan I made the trip 6 months pregnant, with a 3 year old and two cats in carriers -- by myself. You just figure it out.

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