http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/con...03390.html
Here's a concept: don't have more children than you can afford to travel with. And if you've already overdone the breeding part, either leave some home or just stay home yourselves.
This is why we've decided against road trips in the US for the foreseeable future. We are considering driving(quickly) up to the Canadian Maritimes in 2012, where we hope there will be fewer USAian brat-families.
Ugh, as I was reading that I had flashbacks to the crappy "vacations" I was subjected to growing up. I hated being crammed in crappy hotels when we could have just been comfortable at home. And if we were traveling with my grandparents, I was often the one who ended up being bumped to their room, even though we didn't get along. Now that I can travel with just DH and go to comfortable hotels and stay in a room made for 2 with just the 2 of us in it, I've actually started to look forward to traveling.
I don't think that I ever stayed in a hotel when I was a child - my parents firmly believe that camping in the rain (because my father attracts rain in a way that is completely inexplicable) built character.
I grew to really enjoy camping, as did my siblings, although now I go even more extreme (canoeing to campsites as opposed to just car camping).
We don't travel in the summer, we only travel when kids are in school. We don't travel over spring or Christmas breaks, and rarely over Labor or Memorial Day. Here in England it's not as bad because our holidays don't always fall with British Holidays, or other European holidays so we can avoid it easier.
In the states, I hate traveling in the summer anyway, prices are up, traffic and crowds are up, and of course kids. We usually just work/study in the summer, and take trips in Sept-Nov and Mar-May, avoiding the breaks.
I agree - take the kids camping, or don't go as far. But, today's breeders feel they are entitled to their trips, among other things!
Since I teach, I can only travel May - August and December. Since I can't change that, I have to choose types of vacations and locations that don't attract children. A lesbian cruise is perfect, but they have to be going where I want. It's usually four years or more between those, so when I see one, I book it.
Eslbee, that is right you do teach so you can't avoid it. I have actually travelled a bit in the summer due to circumstances. I too tend to go for the non-kid friendly destinations.
One Christmas DH's family visited and insisted we do Disney. Oh gawd that was a nightmare! DH and I swear never again. And it wasn't even so much the kids, it was adults, just the people. In fact the worst encounter we had was with adults. But still - one year we went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and then hiking in a forest in West Virginia and that wasn't unpleasant at all, not many kids were out there. I try to pick places that aren't as popular - no theme parks for sure, no family friendly pool type stuff. I try to go where there aren't typical summer vactation stuff like pools, beaches, etc.
7 children in one hotel room? And we're the selfish ones? Geez. Whoever decides to have seven freaking kids should stay the hell home - if they can't afford two hotel rooms how are they going to afford college? Ugh.
From the article: Although he sometimes feels "a little dishonest" about it, Jeremy Reed says he doesn't have much choice: With seven children, from an infant to a teenager, and on a limited budget, he often reserves only one hotel room when he's on vacation.
So he only feels a little dishonest about it sometimes. Typical breeder mentality. The question I ask is if money is that tight why are you taking a vacation in the first place? I don't know where people got the idea that a vacation is a right instead of a luxury.
(07-07-2010 06:34 AM)Dana Wrote: [ -> ]Eslbee, that is right you do teach so you can't avoid it. I have actually travelled a bit in the summer due to circumstances. I too tend to go for the non-kid friendly destinations.
One Christmas DH's family visited and insisted we do Disney. Oh gawd that was a nightmare! DH and I swear never again. And it wasn't even so much the kids, it was adults, just the people. In fact the worst encounter we had was with adults. But still - one year we went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and then hiking in a forest in West Virginia and that wasn't unpleasant at all, not many kids were out there. I try to pick places that aren't as popular - no theme parks for sure, no family friendly pool type stuff. I try to go where there aren't typical summer vactation stuff like pools, beaches, etc.
This is why we're looking at road trips to non-kid-friendly destinations. This summer, friends of ours are travelling with their daughter and her two small boys to Hershey and Atlantic City. Ugh!
Disney actually isn't that bad if you go in mid-February. There aren't many kids there and the lines are incredibly short. It was surreal to see signs saying 45 minute wait and walking by them to go on a ride with less than a five minute wait. I can't imagine standing in line for almost an hour in the summer sun to take a three minute ride.
We did go to Disney one March and it wasn't bad at all.
But one time in Disney is enough for me and I've been twice.
I'm good....
(07-06-2010 02:57 PM)eslbee Wrote: [ -> ]This is why we've decided against road trips in the US for the foreseeable future. We are considering driving(quickly) up to the Canadian Maritimes in 2012, where we hope there will be fewer USAian brat-families.
I dunno.. I'm in Canada now and it seems worse! People bringing their spawn into every sort of entertainment imaginable.. it's like there's no escape! Pride festival, sex stores (oh yes!), nice restaurants, theatres.. brats everywhere.
I used my plethora of personal days this year in weekend trips to Niagara to see DH when we were still long distance. It's much nicer to go on the off season if you can. We are hoping to honeymoon this winter.. looking for adults only resorts!
Quote:So he only feels a little dishonest about it sometimes. Typical breeder mentality. The question I ask is if money is that tight why are you taking a vacation in the first place? I don't know where people got the idea that a vacation is a right instead of a luxury.
Amen. When I was kid we took 3 real vacations. 3 weeks in Florida when I was 5 or 6 years old. Dad rented the house from a man he worked with who was planning to retire there soon.The highlight of the trip was going to Cape Canerveral and getting to see the launch of the Apollo 15 rocket in person!
When I was 12 we took dad's boat down the Kentucky River for several days. Nice trip.
We returned to Florida the year I graducated from High school. I had already spent a week in France and they were planing 3 weeks in Florida. I saved a lot of money from the Paris trip so mom let me come along for one of the three weeks. I wasn't entitled to go along on the whole trip.
But for the most part our vacations involved piling into the car and seeing some park or museum. Most of them were do-able in a day and were were back by late that night.
That's the way things were for most of my firends too. They took some small trip to nearby attractions or did camping. Some had tiny trailers on a lake or a river somewhere to hang out and go fishing. Nothing expensive. Nothing luxurious.
(07-08-2010 08:14 AM)kittiesplease Wrote: [ -> ] (07-06-2010 02:57 PM)eslbee Wrote: [ -> ]This is why we've decided against road trips in the US for the foreseeable future. We are considering driving(quickly) up to the Canadian Maritimes in 2012, where we hope there will be fewer USAian brat-families.
I dunno.. I'm in Canada now and it seems worse! People bringing their spawn into every sort of entertainment imaginable.. it's like there's no escape! Pride festival, sex stores (oh yes!), nice restaurants, theatres.. brats everywhere.
I used my plethora of personal days this year in weekend trips to Niagara to see DH when we were still long distance. It's much nicer to go on the off season if you can. We are hoping to honeymoon this winter.. looking for adults only resorts!
Except for restaraunts, we go to none of these things. We also rent cabins, etc, when possible and avoid children that way. Mostly we stay out of cities totally.
DH and I have become huge fans of cruising, and have found that even though cruises can be advertised as famblee-friendly, if you go during the school year and to places that most famblees wouldn't bother with, such as Alaska, or the Baltic capitals you won't see much of them. Plus, most cruise ships are set up with water parks and arcades/game rooms that are usually pretty far from the nice lounges, bars, and adult stuff so your contact is pretty limited. A little research or a travel agent can definitely find you nice trips that will keep you away from the sprogs. The worst dealings we had with breeders on our last cruise occured before we actually boarded and were touring London
I'd like to see those same families with 7 people in a state room, LOL. Not that the cruise lines would actually allow it, but it'd be funny.
Koi, the other thing you can do is choose ships that DON'T cater to "families" because they are too small and specialize in certain types of cruises and passengers. You will also feel like you are really on a ship. The ones that look like a floating mall horrify me. They are floating cities. I don't like cities.
I would totally go on the smaller ships, but I get seasick way too easily, so I kinda have to stick with the floating cities with a stabilizer. Would like to do an artic cruise, don't think too many families would be on that one, and it would be so cool to see, but only small boats go there. Guess its a good thing I'm a city girl, lol, so I enjoy the bigger ones.
Koi, I had another idea. Some lines, even those with floating cities, cater to the retired crowd. Not a lot of kids on those either. And smaller ships do have stabilizers. I have been on a few that carry 200-400, and they have them.
Esbee, didn't know that the ones that small had stabilizers. Definitely kewl.
(07-09-2010 10:20 PM)Koi Wrote: [ -> ]Esbee, didn't know that the ones that small had stabilizers. Definitely kewl.
If in doubt, go to Cruise Advisor or Google it. The Windstars definitely have stabilizers. Even some old tubs built in the 60s have them. The one I was on in Antarctica was built in 1976 and she had them.