Chickery's Travels

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        • Chickery’s Travels Podcast Episode 5: Fort Wilderness Campground Review
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December 6, 2021 by Julie Chickery Leave a Comment

2021 Year in Review

This has been a terrific year! We spent time with family, got a new dog, and traveled around the mid-Atlantic region.

The Chickery's 2021 year in review

Grandkids Are the BEST!

Grandkids are the best!

The highlight of 2021 was watching our grandson Jax grow! He was born December 14, 2020 so there were so many milestones this year. I was so fortunate to be able to watch him a few days a week while his parents worked and loved every minute of it. He also spent plenty of time at our house and as you’ll see below camping with us too.

Family Time

Photo of a family in Virginia

Since I was watching Jax, we didn’t venture far this year. Luckily, our middle son, Justin came out to visit us this summer. He and our youngest son, Donovan will be here for Christmas. It will be the first time we’ve had all our boys together since Richie & Agata got married in 2018.

We enjoy family camping with our adult children

We did go on several camping trips throughout the year, mainly staying in the mid-Atlantic region. Jax went on his first camping trip with us at 3-months old. Click on the links below to see more photos and details about each trip:

Cape Henlopen State Park, Delaware

Shenandoah Valley KOA, Harrisonburg Virginia

Blue Ridge Parkway KOA, Lynchburg Virginia

Luray Caverns KOA, Luray Virginia

Rudd’s Creek Campground, Boydton Virginia

Outer Banks West KOA, Coinjock North Carolina

Hiking

Photos of Shenandoah National Park hiking

When I wasn’t watching Jax, I spent a lot of time hiking. I joined a women’s hiking club and have hiked 631 miles so far in 2021 (Jan – Nov). Most of it was in Shenandoah National Park. I’ve even completed a few hikes with Jax on my back, but he’s getting a little heavy for me. I’m so thankful to Sean who works to support my hiking habit.

We’re excited for what’s next in 2022!

Filed Under: Family, Hiking, Holiday Letter

October 16, 2020 by Julie Chickery Leave a Comment

Why It’s Important for Kids to Travel

Stop us if this sounds familiar. You like to travel. Maybe you take a couple of vacations to a sunny resort or campground every year or maybe even plan to travel full-time. Then, you have children and life gets really busy. Kids can be expensive, they need a lot of stuff and you may be afraid the experience of travel will be lost on them. 

While there’s no doubt that traveling with kids poses a bigger logistical effort than your carefree couple’s vacations, there are huge benefits to traveling with children, for them and for you. 

RV travel and camping with your kids and grandkids is a great way to expose them to new places and experiences.

We traveled often with our sons while they were growing up and can’t wait to have grandchildren to taken on adventures too. If you’re lucky enough to be able to afford to travel regularly, then you will be providing your children with a fantastic opportunity to learn about the world and develop helpful life skills. 

Here are some of the lifelong benefits to children that traveling and camping as a family can provide. 

How to make traveling with children easier

The key to successfully traveling with children is all about preparation. The more thoroughly you plan, the more in control you will feel. From the places you stay to the travel insurance you buy, you want to make sure that you are ticking all the boxes when it comes to preparedness and safety. Children tend to be accident-prone so make sure you have spares of new glasses, medications, and a first aid kit. 

While planning is vital, it’s not realistic to expect everything to run smoothly.  So if you are thrown off track by something, try not to stress about it too much, it’s not the end of the world. Retain a flexible attitude and the little challenges will just slide right off you. 

There are so many terrific family travel bloggers out there sharing their top tips and ideas to help make traveling with children simpler and more fulfilling. One of my favorites is Crazy Outdoor Mama. She offers tons of great tips for camping with kids from infants to teens.

The world gets bigger for them

It’s very easy to get caught up in our own little corner of the world, thinking it is the be-all and end-all of everything. Learning about geography in school or seeing it on TV is no substitute for actually being there. You don’t have to go thousands of miles away, even a short road trip will expose them to different locations and types of people. Travel is invaluable for getting perspective on the world and your place in it. 

It encourages independence

Kids can learn many life skills that they won’t at home. Getting your kids involved in the planning and packing for the trip will build their independence and critical thinking skills. 

Traveling and camping give your children and grandchildren a sense of independence.

They develop respect for other cultures 

Tensions in the press and on social media are a huge indicator that we are becoming less respectful of other cultures.  Travelling lets children experience various cultures and traditions. 

Camping with your children and grandchildren is a great way to help them become more social and make a diverse group of friends.

While it’s not possible to protect our kids from intolerance and stereotyping, we can raise them to know how to deal with this in an open-minded and tolerant way. They may also make some new friends along the way.

They learn about history

When you travel, you are exposing children to a rich history of the country you’re visiting. Young children are sponges for knowledge so take them to see historical buildings and artifacts and teach them (and you) the history behind them. 

By igniting their interest in history, they will begin to grasp how cultures change and evolve. 

Encourages adaptability

Travelling requires kids to leave their routine and get out of their comfort zone. Learning to cope with change, even embrace it, is a fantastic skill to develop in your children. It will serve them well as adults. 

It sparks their imagination 

It was Bruce Barton that said ‘if you can give your child only one gift, let it be enthusiasm’. Developing your child’s imagination and lust for knowledge is a great thing that will benefit them for the rest of their lives. Curious and imaginative people get things done, they ask the right questions and they change the world. 

It teaches them to appreciate experiences

When you have children, it’s hard to fight the consumerist culture that is all around us in the modern world. Children want things. Toys, clothes, electronics. It can feel like an uphill battle to get them to appreciate something that isn’t tangible. 

Regular traveling, with positive experiences, will teach your children that life isn’t all about the things you buy them, but the experiences you give them in their lives. This is what they’ll remember when they are older and looking back on their childhood. 

Allows you to spend quality time together as a family

Modern life is busy. Between work, school, homework, and camp, it can feel like you don’t get to spend much time together. Family time is vital for kids. It not only strengthens your relationships, but it helps them to become well-rounded, confident adults who can connect with people. 

Travelling gives your family time that extra level of importance and excitement. You’re experiencing new things together for the first time. Connecting outside of your usual home life lets you focus on your kids rather than the distractions that we all have. 

Conclusion

Your wanderlust doesn’t have to end when you have kids, in fact, you hardly even need to postpone it. Yes, the thought of traveling with kids can be expensive and daunting. After all, we’ve all been on a flight or a bus with the screaming kids. We worry that this is going to be us. Many people choose to stop traveling altogether while others choose to play it safe and head to kid-friendly resorts. 

Whatever you decide to do, you need to remember that there a huge advantages to your children seeing and experiencing the world. Their personal and emotional development can benefit hugely and you will expand their view of the world and other cultures. 

Though traveling at the moment is not easy due to the global restrictions around COVID-19, it will give you plenty of time to research your next trip and reignite your wanderlust. You could even get your kids involved too, and they can start learning about other places while you are waiting for your vacation to come around. 

Traveling with kids is tough, but it can also be life-changing, for them and you. 

Filed Under: Family, RV Resources Tagged With: camping with children, family camping, family travel, traveling with kids

August 21, 2017 by Julie 23 Comments

Dealing with my Biggest Full-Time Travel Struggle, Missing Family While Traveling

A major concern for full-time travelers is missing out on events and time with their extended family. In this article, I’ll share some personal experience with my biggest full-time travel struggle, missing family while traveling.

Family on boardwalk

 

Extended Family

The extended family wasn’t as much of a factor is our decision to travel full-time because ours in not located in one main geographic location. Having moved a lot as children, then meeting in the military, my husband and I are from different states. Our parents are in Florida and Tennessee. Our siblings are in California, Georgia, North Carolina, and Washington. We figured as full-time travelers, we’d actually see them more than we currently do.

Children

I’m not going to lie to you, this is my greatest full-time struggle. I really miss my boys!

We started our full-time journey our first year as empty nesters. It was perfect timing because traveling saved me from wandering around our large four-bedroom house. It was a little tricky as we had a son in college, but he ended up enjoying visiting us in the RV during his breaks. We have a toy hauler, and the garage became his bedroom when he was visiting, complete with a television and bathroom. You can see a tour of it here. When our older son was ready to complete an internship, he spent the summer with extended family.

However, I was not fully prepared for how hard it would be not seeing them often. This is really more of an empty nest struggle, than a full-time travel struggle. Even living in the same city, as they became building their adult lives we didn’t see each other as often as I’d like. My oldest son and I even resorted to scheduling weekly hikes. Now we have to find other ways to keep our relationship strong.

Tips for Keeping in Touch

Phone

Obviously the telephone is a simply way to stay in touch. Now you can use it to go beyond hearing each other’s voices.

Video Chat

video chat on cell phoneWe like to video chat with our family with the free iPhone app, FaceTime. If you don’t have iPhones or MacBooks, you can also use the free video chat app, Skype. We are very fortunate that we have the technology today to “see” each other regularly.

 

Text

Texting is a simply way for us to keep up a conversation throughout the day. Anytime something strikes us, we can send a quick message or photo. Sometimes we even send audio chats back and forth.

Family Visits

In the last few months we’ve visited our oldest son in Virginia, Sean’s brother in North Carolina, my parents in Tennessee, and Sean’s parents in Florida. So traveling in the RV really has allowed us to see them more often than we were able to in our previous, busy lives.

We’ve ensured our itinerary over the next year will take us to Texas to see our two younger sons, as well as getting us back to Virginia in time for our oldest son’s wedding!

We also include 2 plane tickets per year for each son to come visit us at a place of their choosing. And when all else fails, I fly to see them!

What the Future Holds

I’m not sure what the future holds, but I don’t think I’ll want to continue full-timing once I have grandchildren. I want to develop close relationships with my grandchildren, so I’m thinking we’ll need to slow down our travel even more to spend increased time by wherever they live.

I’d love to hear your suggestions about how you stay close to your grandchildren while full-time traveling! Please let me know how you manage it in the comments below. 

Filed Under: Family, RV Resources Tagged With: family, missing family, relationships

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