AK on the GO

Wildlife cruising with kids can be a great experience for everybody, provided you follow a few simple rules

AK Fam woke up this morning to glorious sunshine and cool autumn temperatures; just right for getting out on the water and enjoying one of the last wildlife cruises offered by Stan Stephens Cruises  in Valdez. Stuffing the daypack reminded me that perhaps others may be interested in knowing our secret fora  busy, happy AK Kid during the sometimes hit-or-miss wildlife cruise.

We’ve done a few of these cruises, which incidentially share many characteristics of road trips with a few notable exceptions. One, we can’t stop and let the restless child run around a grassy stretch of highway, throw rocks into a river, or sit in a snowbank. A second exception lies in the discipline department, something all parents everywhere know can be difficult in a crowded public place, much less a boat filled with paying customers who do not want their Alaskan experience sullied by a whining child who shrieks over and over that he wants to go back. There is no place to pull over and do a time-out along the roadside.  Ah yes, travel with children. Remind me again why we do this?

Anyway, below are a few tips and items for survival we always include in the wildlife excursion cruise backpack. And yes, you need a backpack, preferably one with many pockets to hold not only the kids’ stuff, but yours as well.

1. Warm clothes. Even though the sun may be shining brightly in the azure Alaskan sky, temperatures on the water are at least 10 degrees cooler, even cooler than that when you are close to a calving glacier. We always take fleece and a packable windbreaker for everybody. And a warm hat, too.

2. Food. Many outfits allow you to bring your own food. Ask ahead of time what this means; even the most stodgy will allow kid-pleasing munchies aboard in the interest of peaceful cruising. Some provide meals, like Stephens Cruises, but AK Kid won’t eat soup so we’re bringing apples, juice, and some trail mix. Sometimes we bring peanut butter and bagels. Don’t forget money for beverages  if you wish to quench your adult thirst, which we sometimes really, really need.

3. DVD Player or portable game. I’m all for making kids enjoy the experience, but frankly, most kids will do so for a few hours then cast aside the whale search in favor of something else; and if you don’t have that something else ready, katey bar the door, as my sweet grandma used to say. This is no time to be purist, bring the darn DVD player or DS, and don’t forget to make sure it’s charged up before you go. There is nothing more irritating than a kid attached to a wall outlet in the way of everybody else. We bring movies with a theme pertaining to the day; Free Willy today. Oh, bring those headphones, too.

4. Notebook, pens, crayons. I don’t bring pencils because they always break. I don’t bring felt tip pens because they always end up with caps off and lines drawn everywhere but the paper. Crayons are king. We play “the shape game”, where AK Dad or I draw a shape on the paper and AK Kid needs to make something from it. You’d be surprised at how fun this can be. Some kids enjoy playing “reporter”, journaling the experience for absent family members.

5. Binoculars, even for the kids. AK Kid loves to watch for animals, even if he has no idea how binos work. That’s okay, because he has his own pair and that looks cool.

Put all this stuff in a big daypack with the camera and get ready for a glorious day on the water. We’re going to be late, so off we go. Stay tuned for some wild-life, AK Fam-style photos tonight when we get back!

How many times have we reminded our kids to “remember their manners” when out in public? Heck, how many times were we ourselves prodded to use manners during our growing up years? If you are anything like me; many. And not just at home, either. Manners count everywhere, as we remind our sons time after time. Especially in hotels.

Why? I’ve been on both giving and receiving ends of kid-dom when staying in guest lodging. When all is well, staying with kids at hotels means swimming pools, yummy breakfasts, and an opportunity to explore hallways and lobbies away from our own safe bubble of residence at home.  But when things go wrong, they can go horribly so, and it is everyone who must suffer.

For instance, those hotel walls and floors? Not so insulated. Every jump, slide, and/or screech of either laughter or tears will indeed leach into the room next door. Jumping on beds is verboten, as is seeing how far a head start one needs to launch from one cushy double to the other. Nada is our rule. Ditto for playing the Saturday morning cartoons at a decibel level rivaling that of a hockey rink.

Elevators are great, aren’t they? Such fast and fun things to jump into, especially when they look kind of like a space ship. Except when the rocket breaks down between planets because somebody was in the cockpit unattended. Oops. We had a little discussion with AK Kid the other night after a bigger kid did exactly that. I don’t worry too much about him jumping into an elevator alone, my issue is his propensity for all but pressing his face to the doors so that the person stepping out has a heart attack due to a small blonde child waiting silently on the other side.

Have any hotel horror stories to share? Lay them on us, and we’ll publish the best, or worst. It sure makes me think twice about letting my young traveler roam the halls, let me tell you.