Category: <span>Travel</span>

I spent a significant amount of time looking at how to best structure our days with Sophia before embarking on this and our California trips. I am no longer surprised that there are not as many suggested itineraries or places to visit with toddlers; I imagine that most people are not comfortable venturing out with young children especially to historic landmarks or wineries. So in this post, I’m going to detail places to eat, drink, see and enjoy in and around Charlottesville.

See –

• Monticello — Thomas Jefferson’s beautiful home. Splendid grounds and views. We tried to visit on Saturday but didn’t realize we could have purchased tickets ahead of time. You can only visit on a guided tour and those were sold out a bit in advance. We ended up purchasing a tour for 9:40 AM the following day (Easter Sunday) and the place was devoid of crazy crowds.
• Ash-Lawn Highland — Monroe’s home from the time before he was president. You cannot book tours in advance which is actually a plus. We went to Ash-Lawn Highland right after getting tickets to Monticello and had a lovely morning seeing where he lived and even visiting with resident merino sheep, lambs and chickens.

Eat –

• Eppie’s — Fast and casual lunch with children’s (not to be confused with children’s menu) portions. They are known for their chicken and dumplings soup.
• Shenandoah Joe Coffee — A great coffee shop with pretty good pastries for a continental breakfast. The pumpkin muffins were great!
• Maya — Great eats in more or less relaxed atmosphere with great food that manages to accommodate little mouths. No tablecloths, no cloth napkins, bold, seasonal and fresh menu and excellent m/cocktails.
• Hamilton’s at First & Main — Traditional american menu, well-executed. Great Brunch.

Drink –

• Jefferson Vineyards — A small winery a stone’s throw away from Monticello that had surprisingly good Pinot Gris and Rose as well as a good Meritage vintage.
• Pollack Vineyards –Supposedly worth a visit, though we didn’t make it there.
• Veritas Vineyards — Supposedly worth a visit, though we didn’t make it there.

Especially with Kids –

• Virginia Discovery Museum — It is only fair that at least one of the attractions be tailored to our tiny traveling companion. The museum was reasonably priced and compact in size. I would say it is best suited for children 9 and younger.

Surrounding towns

• Keswick — A small town just ten minutes away from Charlottesville, Keswick is set in the lush, farm-laden countryside offering great views, peace and serenity. Our hotel had hiking trails behind it and even an on-site vegetable garden making it a perfect place to unwind and enjoy and not just spend a night at.
• Barboursville — A small town to explore and enjoy once you’ve grown restless in Charlottesville. The esteemed Barboursville Vineyards are also there.

Promised and delivered…

Since Sophia’s birth, we’ve travelled to Virginia beach when she was 8 months old, Michigan when she was 9 months old, the Caribbean when she was 14 months old, California when she was 21 months old and now back to the Caribbean when she was 26 months old.

Some of those vacations like the California were active and involved changing hotels and a bit of driving while others like the Virginia shore were more relaxing especially since we rented an apartment that had a kitchen.

My takeaway is that even active vacations are doable with a child and the key to enjoying yourself is your own attitude and planning. Before going on any of these, I scoured the internet for advice, tips and tricks to find that the majority of the advice out there was conflicting and incomplete. So when I found nothing that was sufficient, I started to devise my own.

Packing: I always pack generously, but have started to trim down once I set everything out. I usually take enough tops and bottoms such that I have one per day. The reason is, if something soils, I can always wash it in the sink. Kids clothes are small.

Snacking: Even though Sophia eats mostly table food, I always pack snacks and even some baby food that she likes so she can have something familiar when adjusting to a foreign environment. Her favorite snacks are raisins, cheerios, alpha-bits and these mango pouches.

Dressing: I tend to err on the side of practicality. This means layers, onesies, sandals with socks (yes, I know it is a fashion faux pas) and light cardigans are staples in Sophia’s wardrobe.

Beach Time: Some kids are beach kids from the get-go. They love the water and it is difficult to get them out. Other kids are cautious and just getting them to play in the sand is an accomplishment. Sophia falls into the latter category. We found that short stints at the beach (1.5-2 hrs) each day were plenty. Children tire out very quickly in the heat and humidity and nothing is worse than a cranky kid.

Education & Expectation: While we travel for pleasure, traveling with kids is in part for education. They get to learn about new places and cultures where people enjoy different lifestyles and customs. We try our best to adapt to the local regimen and have come to expect that Sophia adjusts as well. For example, while some may shy away from this, we thought it was quite reasonable to tour wineries and expect Sophia to behave while we tasted the offerings.

I have come to understand that successful travels are 25% planning and 75% attitude. It may be daunting to try traveling with a toddler, but it is really quite fun. Not only do you get to see and experience new places, but you get to see your kids experience that too.

The payoff is worth it…

I am sure some of you are wondering why Growing Up Savvy has been so quiet. We were away.

Some traditions just sort of happen. For the second year in a row and the third time ever, we’ve joined Evan’s family (his parents, sister and her fiancee) for a winter getaway. Depending on how everyone gets along, family vacations can be either great or miserable. We have a great relationship with my in-laws and look forward to and cherish our time together.

The winter getaway tradition, as it has become, has a rhythm; My father-in-law plans everything — he is a seasoned traveler. Though serious travelers and planners ourselves, Evan and I are happy to hand over the creative reigns and go with the flow. This year, the family settled on an 8-day cruise with a few extra days in Puerto Rico afterwards.

The cruise was lovely except for some rough seas. I was quite affected by the motion in the ocean though luckily, Sophia and Evan’s adventures were not impacted. Switching gears from small islands, we disembarked from our cruise and landed on the beaches of San Juan.

Since this is the second year we’ve travelled with a baby, I’ve accumulated quite a few pointers and will happily share them in the next few posts.

… is how long a flight from Dulles International is to San Francisco’s International Airport. Strike that. That is how long the flight was supposed to be until we were delayed and forced to stay on the airplane. Six and a half hours later, we landed at SFO (the code for San Francisco’s airport), picked up our two suitcases, a stroller, a diaper bag, a camera bag and hightailed it to the rental car.

This post is really a recap of our flying experience and also some advice for parents of children between 1 and 2 years of age. Here’s how we went about it. 1. We submitted two pieces of luggage to free up our hands as much as possible. 2. packed toys, books, snacks (cheerios, lollie pops, dried sour cherries, raisins and prunes), lunch foods, water, videos and pictures to entertain Sophia. 3. Gate checked our stroller and rented a car with a carseat so as to not lug ours. 4. attempted to get Sophia to nap as long as possible and then tried to make her comfortable for the other 4 hrs. Embraced (or in my case, really tried to) the fact that she’ll be jet-lagged and possibly never adapt to the 3 hr time-change.

All in all, it was a pleasant experience and we thankfully, were not THOSE parents whose child had many a tantrum. We also opted not to give her Benadryl or anything like that because 1. we didn’t want to mess with her Circadian Rhythms and 2. because we wanted to persevere on our own and wanted her to as well. I advise everyone who owns a smartphone, an iPad or tablet to download the Doodle app immediately. You can thank me later :-).

The Sea, the art, some mai tais, and then some dim sum.

I am told San Francisco is gorgeous and has many diverse neighborhoods. I read that it is flanked by the sea on the one side and is afforded mild climate. That was what I was told and read, and here is what I saw. I thought it was loud, big, sprawling, overrun by even louder tourists, windy (20 mi/hr gusts anyone?) and cold (53*F … brrr). Oh and don’t even get me started on those hills. I am not a triathlete, but I am not incapable of walking up a steep hill, though maybe not 7 hills which is 7 blocks while pushing a stroller and hauling a bag of goodies for little Sophia. Walking down another 7 hills is even worse than walking up the hills.

We arrived on Thursday afternoon right after Sophia’s nap and decided to promptly head to Fisherman’s Wharf. I advise avoiding the walk, and the wharf itself at all costs. Since we had made the error in going there, we thought we’d enjoy the picturesque views of the bay and Alcatraz.

After having taken Sophia’s first cab ride (the best 18$ decision I ever made), we stuck close to our hotel and enjoyed tapas with a side of Sesame Street and Crayons for dinner. Having [for the first time in what seems like forever] doubted my planning skills, hubby insisted in planning our Friday’s activities himself. I gladly handed over the reigns.

After coffee and “cake” (muffin) at a laid-back, hippie-occupied coffee shop in the Haight/Ashbury neighborhood, we walked a few blocks to the Golden Gate park and strolled among the various gardens and ponds to the de Young Museum where, much to our surprise, Sophia loved, loved and did I mention loved?! the ancient Mayan pottery and all the works of Dale Chihuly at the Dorothy and George Saxe exhibit. We wished we had more time to browse the 2nd floor gallery that featured some of the works by American landscape artists, but alas, there is always next time. One of the best parts of the museum is the observation tower that affords glorious views over the city … foggy and all.

All that art will make one very hungry, tired and thirsty. San Francisco has an impressive Chinatown and dim-sum here did not disappoint … chicken feet and all. We headed back for a much needed nap followed by pre-dinner drinks at this amazing find courtesy of many a source including The Layover. It was dark and cavernous, the drinks delicious and we did it with a kid without a muss or fuss. Fear not, there was plenty for her to see (like the giant pool of water in the middle of the bar) and the occasional rain that pours down from the ceiling. Very cool.

The only thing that could stand up to a day like that is some crab and chicken soup from the R&G Lounge. And that, ladies and gentlemen is how we spent a day and a half in San Francisco. This rounds out our trip and all the details. There will be one minor post about the flights themselves and how we survived those.

This trip was different in its pace, but like we do for all the trips that came before, we prepared well and had a plan with things to do, places to eat and sights to see. I am happy to share the list/maps with anyone who inquires.

Compromise is not a way of life, it is THE way of creating a happy life. We compromised on the pace at which we travelled on this latest trip (the first one alone with Sophia), but we didn’t compromise where we went and what we did. After staying in San Jose for a few days, we happily moved on to California’s Wine Country. Napa, Sonoma, and Calistoga awaited. We didn’t really know what to expect in both the scenery, the lay of the land, the pace of living there or what the environment would be like at the wineries.

Our initial impressions are that the landscape and weather are gorgeous. If you didn’t know where you were, you’d think you were in Rioja, Spain or Algarve, Portugal. The destinations are close to one another and you can embrace your own pace and style of traveling there. There are those who stay at very exclusive (adults-only) enclaves and travel to the wineries by hired car and then there are those who backpack through the national forests that surround the vine groves. We fell somewhere in the middle opting to see three wineries during the two days we were there. Wineries also vary in their accommodation to children and even spontaneous adults. In other words, some wineries mandate prior reservations and insist on tours with tastings rather than just tastings.

We sought out small wineries that produced vintages not easily exported outside the state or even the winery choosing to focus on sustainable growing rather than marketing and growing the business. Those wineries also happened to be most accommodating to children, lack crowds, not require reservations and provide the best views. A win-win all around if you ask me. Alas, here’s where we went: The Hess Collection, Landmark and Arrowood.

Sophia was a little restless at the Hess Collection but did well enough when occupied with crayons, paper and a tour of the art gallery and gardens on premises.

She was much better the next day at Landmark where she happily sat on a very cool wooden bench and smelled all our glasses. Perhaps she will grow up to be a Le Nez. We toured the gardens of Landmark along with the koi pond. It would just be a shame to not take in as much of the outdoors as possible.

The hosts at Arrowood happily whipped out a game of checkers for her, but really, the view there was enough. It was simply breathtaking.

We sat out on their wraparound porch having the entire space to ourselves, listening to big band tunes and taking in the view. Our work, home and the general the hustle and bustle of life seemed far away. It was a perfect way to spend a mellow afternoon.

Traveling with a toddler is not really a vacation but rather a change of scenery. That said, there is nothing more exciting than witnessing your child(ren) discover the world that surrounds them. We had planned to be in San Jose, CA for four days or so including the day I had at my conference. After checking out the children’s museum, and the computer museum, we decided it was time to branch out just a little further. Only 70 miles away, Monterey lies on the coast of California south of San Francisco. Its climate is vastly different than that of the Silicon Valley where it was warm and dry. We drove out in the morning with a plan to see the famous aquarium, check out the sea lions, have some sea food and return home to warm up our chilled extremities. The aquarium was spectacular. It wasn’t too large, its exhibits interesting and we were there early enough to avoid a huge crowd. Sophia looked like she had encountered creatures from outer space. She was especially mesmerized by the jelly fish.

Big ones,

Little ones,

Pink ones and even blue ones.

One had a little dot.

And all the other ones I have now forgot.

That was clearly [loosely] inspired by reading all those Dr. Seuss books. We’re now into the Green Eggs and Ham and the One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish.

Once we spotted the sea lions sunning themselves just outside the aquarium and visible from its patio, Sophia couldn’t be dragged back inside. She ran around and kept looking at the sea lions and the birds.

Alas, hunger prevailed and we set off to get lunch. Seemed appropriate to get seafood after looking at a lot of it in tanks ;-). Overall, Monterey seemed lovely for a day-trip. This was Sophia’s first time at an aquarium and I am sure we will now make time to go the one in Baltimore (just an hour away from us).