Traveling With Kids – How to Enjoy the Journey

How to Enjoy Traveling With Kids © Katrena

Some people dread traveling with kids. Driving down winding mountain roads with a kid who gets carsick easily? I feel your pain. Have the whiners, grumblers, fighters, front seat kickers, and multiple bathroom breakers? Hang in there. Can't afford a GPS and realize the MapQuest directions aren't exactly what you expected after driving for miles into what seems like nowhere? I can relate.

Enjoy Nature While Traveling © Katrena

Despite the many challenges of traveling with children, I still love to hop in the car and explore with the kids. It can be so tempting to focus only on the destination, but if we never look out the side windows, we might miss the spectacular, yet fleeting, array of colors painted on the edge of the sky. Perhaps that unexpected stop might offer an unusual adventure or ensure that an accident waiting to happen doesn't.

Going Unplugged on a Car Ride - Photo by eleliam at Wikimedia Commons

Although modern technology has many advantages, sometimes the devices tend to divide people into individual worlds. If everyone is wearing earbuds or watching a screen, conversation may evaporate. Going "unplugged" for at least part of the journey may feel risky, but we might grow to have a deeper relationship with the family.

Enjoy Unexpected Detours When Traveling with Children - Photo by Richard David Ramsey at Wikimedia Commons

Traveling with children can be a humbling experience, but those little people in the back seat may all too soon be behind the wheel themselves. Allow extra time for breaks. Be open to the unexpected. Who knows? Maybe the journey will be one of those quirky parts of a trip that everyone fondly remembers years down the road.

Read more of Katrena's articles at Love 2 Travel With Kids and Travel NC With Kids.

Southern Rose Buggy Tour of Beaufort South Carolina

Horse and Buggy Tour of Beaufort SC © Katrena

Learning about history can be awfully dry with a bunch of facts and figures or it can be exciting, fun, and quite memorable. When I told the kids I would like to learn more about the history of Beaufort, SC, they were a bit nonchalant. After they realized we were going on a horse and buggy tour of the Southern town in South Carolina's Low Country, they suddenly decided this might be one of my better ideas!

Learn about South Carolina History © Katrena

We made reservations. The buggies leave at regularly scheduled times, and some of the time slots may fill up. During hot summer months, it might be best to schedule an early morning time if possible. Parking is available in the same lot where the tours leave...for a steep price. You can save money if you park on one of the nearby streets.

See Beautiful Southern Homes in Beaufort SC © Katrena

They have bathroom facilities in the parking area as well. That is very helpful if you are going on a tour with small kids. If you have extra time, a fun playground is right by the bridge and another, larger one is nearby – we walked to that one but my youngest one got a bit weary on that walk. My kids enjoyed visiting the Chocolate Tree after the tour as well.

Learn History the Fun Way! © Katrena

I discovered the Southern Rose Buggy Tour via the internet. I believe two different tour companies leave from the same area – Southern Rose has blue buggies and I believe Carolina Buggy Tours  has red ones. Someone who was staying near us at Hunting Island Campground went on a buggy tour through the other tour company and said they also thoroughly enjoyed the tour and found it to be very informative.

SC Low Country History © Katrena

I particularly like the web site for the Southern Rose Buggy Tour. Half of the fun is the expectation! My girls loved reading about their various horses and could not wait to see which horse would be pulling for our tour. Jake was the beautiful white steed who took us on the rolling history lesson.

See Homes Where Famous People Stayed in Beaufort SC © Katrena

The company does seem to care for the horses well and checked them before and after the 50-minute ride. I was particularly impressed with some of the guys who were doing some construction work beside the road who stopped their power tools while we rode by. Hats off to those guys!

Learn About Rich Southern Heritage © Katrena

I found it interesting that our tour guide said one of her parents was from Beaufort, SC while the other was from Beaufort, NC. The pronunciation of the SC town sounds like "beautiful" while the pronunciation for the NC town sounds like "bow tie." She began talking as we pulled off and continued to share the history of the beautiful town until we arrived back where we started. I was impressed with all of the various details she shared about the architecture, plants, famous people who had visited and lived in the area, older and more recent historical events, and much more.

Tour of Beautiful Southern Town Near Hilton Head © Katrena

My daughters were ages 10, 8, and 4 at the time that we took this tour, and all of them thoroughly enjoyed it and loved having the opportunity to give Jake a treat at the end. I believe they might have even learned a bit about some of our Southern history. When you can experience history in memorable ways, it can be an amazing educational opportunity for folks of all ages!

Learn About Southern History © Katrena

Those traveling with kids to Beaufort might also consider camping at Hunting Island State Park, which is located about 30 minutes away. Find more of Katrena's travel articles at Love 2 Travel With Kids and Travel NC With Kids.

Southern Rose Buggy Tour © Katrena

Visit the Southern Rose Buggy Tour web site for current prices, times, information about their horses, reservations, and more. Readers might also be interested in reading Katrena's article about horse therapy.