I’ve been hearing some parents whining about going places with their kids lately– Whaa, flying with kids is scary. Boo-hoo, taking a road trip with a toddler is hard.

They’re all pussies. We just got back from dragging three kids and their grandfather all over British Columbia. There were airplanes, ferries, public transit trains, long car rides and exhausting walks. But, not only did we survive, we had fun. So, suck it up you candy-asses and get yourselves (and your kids) on vacation!

Minneapolis–>Vancouver–>Victoria–>Vancouver–>New Denver–>Nelson–>
New Denver–>Vancouver–>Maple Ridge–>Vancouver–>Minneapolis

Ten Days
* Bags of Luggage: 12 (between six of us)
* Airplane Rides: 2
* Ferry Rides (one way): 3
* All Day (12+ hour) Car Rides: 2.5
* Public Transit Train Rides: 2
* Messed Up Hotel Reservations: 2
* Hotels Without Electricity: 1
* Hotels With Free Internet: 2
* Hotels With Laundry Service: 2
* Hotels with Temporarily Unworking Elevators: 2
* Times the Garmin Messed Us Up : 4
* Total Number of Fish Meals: 31 (between the six of us)
* Drives Through Winding Mountain Roads in the Middle of the Night: 1
* Gone Forever: 1 backpack (in the Boston Pizza bathroom in Salmon Arm—in it were: 3 books, 4 diapers, 1 toddler t-shirt, and 1 travel pack of baby wipes).
* Licked Shoes : 1
* Temporarily Misplaced Children: 1
* Wildlife Spotted:
1 seagull on our balcony
1 stationary deer eating cherries
1 pack of deer on the side of the road, waiting to leap into traffic
1 small black bear on the side of the road
bunches of pigeons at outdoor restaurants
bunches of geese and ducks in Granville Island
* Children Sick For a Few Hours: 2
* Barfing on Hotel Floor Incidents: 1
* Workout sessions: 3
* Swimming sessions: 2
* Days with 3+ hour walks: 3
* Thought Was Lost, but Found at the Bottom of My Purse the Last Day: 1 (fish charm for a bracelet)
* Giant Trees That the Children Posed In: 2
* Never Before Met Relatives: 7
* Relatives I Have Met Before: 1
* Books read: 0
* TV Shows Watched: 0
* Newspapers Read: 0
* Bags of Laundry to Bring Home: A hell of a lot.

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