An Alternative Road Trip- more money, no parents

I realized a few days ago that one way that the kids’ experience differs from ours is in the number of unrealized dreams along the way. The kids pick up brochures from hotel lobbies and read all the billboards on the road. They mention the things that appeal to them in a casual, resigned voice that indicates that they know that they won’t get to do them. In the past, I didn’t feel that bad for them. As Sean said on his blog about Disney and Coney Island, we all missed out on things as kids. We don’t still feel sad about missing out on them as adults.

I think because the trip is so long, it seems like there are so many activities that we deny them. From a carriage ride on the carriage roads in Acadia Park and sailing on a boat in the ocean to go-carts and making a stuffed bear, there are lots and lots of ways to spend one’s money and time on a trip. They do seem to understand that we are on a limited budget trip. We talk about expenses in front of them, so hopefully they understand that it’s not cruelty that makes us say no.

Matt pointed out to me that we spend lots of time in gift shops and that they get a lot of things. They each have a “bank account” for the trip so they can buy what they can afford. He correctly argues that this probably satisfies some of the need to control the spending of money and creating of memories. Just this week they each got rock candy for 50 cents. Eleanor said, "I FINALLY got to try rock candy!" Calvin loved it so much that he said that if he had a candy store, he’d charge much more than 50 cents for it!