[parsig9]

Just as the title explains fellas, I'm considering taking the family this summer and have a few questions. Taking the family will allow more road trips than would otherwise be possible. Get it?

1. Do any of you do this with the little guys and what has been your experience? My kids are 3+ and almost 2 years old. Last summer I took the 3 year old and he lasted about 2-3 hours...not too bad but I was alone w/o mom. +Mom= more hours I think
2. We do not yet have a portable DVD and I know some swear by them. Do you recommend them and which one? Shopping online and need advice.
3. Other tips and advise are appreciated as I am a rookie on the family trip but can't sit here any longer.

Thanks

[PappyB]

Originally Posted by parsig9

Just as the title explains fellas, I'm considering taking the family this summer and have a few questions. Taking the family will allow more road trips than would otherwise be possible. Get it?

1. Do any of you do this with the little guys and what has been your experience? My kids are 3+ and almost 2 years old. Last summer I took the 3 year old and he lasted about 2-3 hours...not too bad but I was alone w/o mom. +Mom= more hours I think
2. We do not yet have a portable DVD and I know some swear by them. Do you recommend them and which one? Shopping online and need advice.
3. Other tips and advise are appreciated as I am a rookie on the family trip but can't sit here any longer.

Thanks

I'd never do an airshow with the little ones WITHOUT Mom:

1. Because I don't want to spend my entire 2-3 hours with eyes glued to the kiddies at the bouncy houses
2. Because I can't be trusted to do #1 when there are planes flying about. Sad, but true.

It can be done with Mom's help quite welll though as there is usually plenty for the little one's to do -- and I think 3+ is a great introductory age. Under that... well... your results may vary. Ear plugs are a must, as is lots of water, of course. ANd be sure to indulge the wife with whatever her vice is before AND AFTER the trip

As for the DVD question -- we were going to buy one and then decided to use my wife's laptop instead. If you have a fairly new laptop, it should be good at DVD playback. Don't know what type of car you have, but we have Dodge Grand Caravan minivan (sigh). We put a cooler on the floor between the two kid's seats, put the laptop on top of that, plug it in to the car with a special AC adaptor we got at RadioShack, and we pipe the audio through the car's speakers with one of those generic converters you can use via your tape player to play your ipod or whatever. Works great! Most of those portable DVD cars systems are pretty poor, and cost more than they're worth. We were a bit surprised to find we had most of the parts for a better solution already for our work -- the nice thing is you then have the laptop on the trip, too, for email and picture transfer and storage, etc. The viewing angle isn't as great for the kids, but it works fine, and you get a bigger screen -- another nice thing is you can rip a few movies to your PC and have them queued up to play in Media Player-- so you can even leave the DVDs and cases at home.

[Elmer]

Originally Posted by parsig9

Just as the title explains fellas, I'm considering taking the family this summer and have a few questions. Taking the family will allow more road trips than would otherwise be possible. Get it?

1. Do any of you do this with the little guys and what has been your experience? My kids are 3+ and almost 2 years old. Last summer I took the 3 year old and he lasted about 2-3 hours...not too bad but I was alone w/o mom. +Mom= more hours I think
2. We do not yet have a portable DVD and I know some swear by them. Do you recommend them and which one? Shopping online and need advice.
3. Other tips and advise are appreciated as I am a rookie on the family trip but can't sit here any longer.

Thanks

Have their mother read to 'em. It's less expensive, and you won't have to hear her 'yackin at 'ya over the noise of 'yer engine.

[STARMAN 352ND]

I have gone on a few airshows with my son and daughter without mom a few times and it's not the best thing to do when their young like that...
I found out the hard way...But i was a little lucky too my friends wife watched them half the time we were there too..
They seem they don't care too much about that sort of thing at that young ages to be there anymore then 2 or 3 hrs and then it's boring for them.
Now that they are older they can roam all over the place for hours and wear me out just trying to catch up with them...lol
JP

[parsig9]

Ah the laptop Pappy. That's an idea. We do have one and it's fairly new. The tape thing for sound is something I did not know about.
I appreciate the helpful comments fellas and will take many of them to heart for sure.

[Captain Eddie]

Originally Posted by parsig9

Just as the title explains fellas, I'm considering taking the family this summer and have a few questions. Taking the family will allow more road trips than would otherwise be possible. Get it?

So Parsig, does this mean that we might be able to meet your family at Thunder Over Michigan?

[brunowbe]

I took my daughter and wife to Thunder Over Michigan in 2006. My daughter was 6 and lasted longer than my wife. So..........I'm leaving the wife at home this year and my daughter is going with me (she's actually quite excited about going). I just hope it's not as hot as 2006 (upper 90s).

[parsig9]

Originally Posted by brunowbe

I took my daughter and wife to Thunder Over Michigan in 2006. My daughter was 6 and lasted longer than my wife. So..........I'm leaving the wife at home this year and my daughter is going with me (she's actually quite excited about going). I just hope it's not as hot as 2006 (upper 90s).

Oh yeah, I remember that year. Gotta get there early and get a seat under the wing of that Stratofortress. That's the place to be! It'll be close to where the battle will be too. The Jabos will be strafing just behind you.

Originally Posted by Captain Eddie

So Parsig, does this mean that we might be able to meet your family at Thunder Over Michigan?

Maybe so Captain although usually I just go w/ my step-dad but I might take the 3 year old at least. We'll see.

[Cruver Collecter]

When my son was pretty young, he and I used to make fairly frequent road trips from Vegas to the Chino museum. We had quite a bit of fun on these trips.

[skydriver]

Originally Posted by parsig9

Just as the title explains fellas, I'm considering taking the family this summer and have a few questions. Taking the family will allow more road trips than would otherwise be possible. Get it?

1. Do any of you do this with the little guys and what has been your experience? My kids are 3+ and almost 2 years old. Last summer I took the 3 year old and he lasted about 2-3 hours...not too bad but I was alone w/o mom. +Mom= more hours I think
2. We do not yet have a portable DVD and I know some swear by them. Do you recommend them and which one? Shopping online and need advice.
3. Other tips and advise are appreciated as I am a rookie on the family trip but can't sit here any longer.

Thanks

OK Drew, You have helped me out with some good deals, so now I am going to return the favor 10 fold.

As the father of an 8 and 5 year old who has been taking them on vacations since the first one was only 1 year old, listen up and listen good. First, family vacations are fantastic and can really show your wife what kind of father you will be...either the "easy going and not stressed out" kind, or "there is no way in hell I will ever let him take my kids on a vacation again" kind.

Fist of all, no matter what, you must take a plastic portable potty with you so when one of the little ones has to go, you can simply pull off at the side of the road and let them go. They do not understand what "can you hold it until we find a bathroom" means. We used the plastic bags from the grocery store to line the interior bowl, which made clean up and disposal very easy.

Second, as long as mom does not matter being the primary kid watcher then go for it. Other than that, I can think of better things you can do with your family when on vacation than an air show at their age. No matter what, she will not want to be the one watching the 2 year old the entire day while you and the 3 year old have fun. You might want to also invest in a portable tent so the little one can take a nap during the day and stay out of the sun while at the air show in case you don't get a spot under a wing. We purchased an "insta-tent" for use at the beach and pool, and it was worth it. Amazon.com: ABO Gear Tot Insta-Tent for Children - Blue - SPF 50: Sports & Outdoors We actually still have it and the kids love to camp out in it in the basement.

Third, buy or borrow a portable DVD player. You will need this, especially for the 3 year old during the car ride. But be forewarned, within 3 hours you will completly want to strangle Wags the Dog, Dorothy the Dinosar and Calliou. If you don't know what I am talking about, ask your wife, I guarantee she knows what I am talking about. I purchased a great DVD player from Costco. It was a Mintek brand, and well worth the cost. But, almost any brand will work fine, just check it out in the car along with the cigarette lighter adapter to make sure it works. You should be able to buy one for less than $80.00. Otherwise, you will become the "stressed out" father as mentioned above.

As far as other tips and advice, all I can say is have a great time. Vacations with the kids can be hectic, but also fun. Enjoy yourself, and let us know what you saw.

Oh, and did I mention to bring a portable potty with you.