smart travel products: Part 1
(This article contains Amazon Affiliate links)
For a comfortable day of travel:
I love finding comfortable travel wear. I still remember taking my first ever flight with my family to Los Angeles. My mom bought us crisp (and stiff!) new outfits to look stylish on the plane. Thankfully times have changed! Leisure wear is an entire clothing category and yoga pants are now acceptable outside of the gym. Whether it is a day on the road or a day on a plane, my go-to list includes:
- Merino wool tights and t-shirt …breathable, comfy, keeping you warm and dry, merino wool items are easy to layer or be worn on their own
- Scarf that doubles as a blanket for layering up in colder weather or when your #vanlife travel partner likes to run the AC. Also a great way to dress up your outfit when needed!
- Comfortable slip on shoes, these ones double as slippers at night to keep your feet toasty
- Down jacket for a coat that is easy to stuff away when not needed, but plenty warm to sit around the campfire at night
Merino wool products in general are great for van travel because they tend to not hold body odor unlike a lot of other athletic wear materials plus and they drive quickly after a quick rinse in your van sink when you don’t want to do a load of laundry on the road. I love using this handy laundry bar soap by Ethique for a quick scrub. Eco-friendly and lasts a long time!
What do you wear to keep you comfortable on long road trips?
And be sure to check out our Smart Travel Products: Part 2 and Smart Travel Products: Part 3 for more tips!
Traveling with Kids: Part 2
Traveling with our kids is important to us. And travel is different than “taking a vacation”. I remember a tour guide once saying to our group “there is a difference between taking a vacation and traveling. You are here because you love to travel!” That saying has rung true in so many of my adventures. While sitting on a beach sipping a fruity drink has its time and place, most of our family adventures are about traveling. The experiences, the people, trying new foods, exploring a National Park, trying something new! That requires a different mindset than a vacation.
Here are some things I’ve learned that make the adventure all the more exciting and enjoyable, especially when traveling with a family:
- FLEXIBILITY: I am a lover of structure and organization. But flexibility is key, especially when traveling with kids. I start our day with a rough outline. A general time we want to get out, potential pre-researched lunch places bookmarked, and important details like anticipating rush hour traffic if in a big city, etc. I think about cool things to see en route. But all of this is with lots of options and knowing we will need to adjust along the way.
- VARIETY: We have a wide range of interests in our family. Art, books, outdoors, science, architecture, you name it. So I try to find a mix of activities that will please everyone. We might visit a cool beach on the same day we attend a baseball game. Or walk through a bookstore on our way to a bakery. And I keep a few things a surprise to help everyone stay engaged, looking forward to what’s next.
- PACE: Our pace on vacation needs to somewhat match our pace at home. We are a very active family and spend little time on screens or sitting around. All of us enjoy a decent amount of variety in our days. But we all require a certain amount of alone time with a good book or other solo activity. We might spend the morning exploring a bustling farmers market, but enjoy an afternoon at a park where the kids can roam and meet other kids. If we have a long day on the road, I make sure there is a pool or place to stretch our legs at the final destination.
- CONSISTENCY: To balance the sometimes draining excitement of travel, I try to keep some things consistent with our at-home routine. We eat meals at the same time as at home, making sure that everyone gets a high-protein breakfast. And keep the sugar intake as low as possible, especially on long road trips when physical activity is low. Kids have the same responsibilities as at home – cleaning up after themselves, keeping track of their belongings, setting up their own tent at the campsite just like they would maintain their bedroom at home. This also means mom and dad can enjoy the adventure as well!
Do you travel with kids, tweens or teens? What has helped your family travel well together?
Missed part one of this series on traveling with kids? Check it out here.
Traveling with Kids: Part 1
(This article contains Amazon Affiliate links)
Traveling with kids has been by far one of the most rewarding, and also at times stressful, experiences. Kids bring a sense of wonder and curiosity, seeing things that are new about places I’ve been hundreds of times. And traveling with kids also means being prepared for anything… and I mean anything!
I’ve attempted to master the art of enjoyably getting from Point A to Point B as a family. The adventure isn’t just the destination, it is also the experiences along the way. Whether that is a great family conversation or an interesting pit stop. Here are a few tips and tricks I keep in my back pocket (or backpack!) while traveling with kids, tweens and teens…
- FOOD: Always bring snacks! And I bring more than I think we will need. We try to avoid becoming “hangry” at all costs, so I tuck snacks into every pocket, in the car, in the cooler, in backpacks, in my purse, pretty much everywhere. Some of our favorites are cheese sticks, beef jerky, Cheezit crackers, protein bars and fruit. I also make sure everyone has a reusable water bottle to stay hydrated.
- DISTRACTIONS & NOVELTY: I stock up on little surprises before we leave town. Coloring books, travel journals, travel games, flash cards, card games that travel easily like Uno, art supplies, and books. As the kids get older, they have taken on packing their own kit of goodies. Recently we’ve started using conversation cards for thought-provoking, and often humorous, conversation starters.
- SETTING EXPECTATIONS: I make a big effort to prepare both kids and adults for things like long airport lines, how to dress for the weather, how long until the next rest stop, etc. That way, we are all better prepared and have more realistic expectations. Our teens know to ask about the weather and how many days we will be gone so they can easily pack for their own needs and have a sense of independence while traveling. This gives me confidence they will make great travel partners as adults as well!
- OFFERING AUTONOMY: this component of travel has become especially important as our kids get older. They crave being able to explore on their own, at their own pace and their own interests within some safe boundaries. Sometimes that means they want to read a good book in bed for the afternoon while other times it means having a safe radius which they can roam from the campsite or hotel or wander through a new town. We make sure to have a meeting time/location and guidance on how to get help in the event they get lost.
Do you travel with kids, tweens or teens? What has helped your family travel well together? Read about more tips on our post Traveling with Kids: Part 2.
Welcome to Adventure Life Vans!
Welcome to Adventure Life Vans! In our upcoming blog posts, we’ll feature road trip ideas, #vanlife tips and tricks, advice on traveling with kids/teens and stories from the shop on our current van builds.
Our family and van conversion business is based in SW Idaho so many of our trip recommendations are within a 3-5 hour drive from Boise. There is much to explore – from hot springs hopping and snowshoeing in the winter to mountain biking and stand up paddle boarding in the summer. In our adventures, we’ve also found sleepy little towns with amazing food, interesting hidden gems and lots of personality. (Ever hiked through a lava tube? We have!)
Growing up, my husband and I came from families that camped, road tripped and adventured. Whether it was seven kids (yes 7!) tent camping for the weekend or a multi-generational month long sailboat trip, our families taught us a passion for the outdoors and how traveling brings you together. Plus we learned a thing or two about traveling in often small, shared spaces and doing so without completely wanting to kill our siblings! We’ve taken these experiences into our van building business to create spaces where individuals, couples and families can enjoy adventures of all kinds while still embracing some comforts of home on the road. Afterall, who doesn’t love a hot shower after a long day on the road?!
Thanks for stopping by to read about our journeys! And if you want to know more about our vans for sale, or recommended #vanlife products, please be sure to check out the rest of our site and follow us on Instagram!