This is a something I shared with a Yahoo Group I belong to, and thought it worth saying it here, too... Just as much as a reminder to myself as for the benefit of any dear reader who may chance upon it.... I hope you find this helpful on whatever journey life may find you taking....
The question was: "Hello – I was wondering if any families have traveled long distance trips by train. This week we are going to adventure on a family vacation to Seattle, WA by train and would like to get ideas about activities, games, food, sleeping arrangements, etc. that you found useful in your train ride to entertain/take care of children (ages 9, 7, 5, 3 and 1). Any advice is greatly appreciated."
My (crazy long) response:
I have traveled by train from Philadelphia to LA, and by car from California to Kentucky (and those are just the record trips, they are not the only ones. In a week, we will embark upon a two week vehicular expedition (aka road trip) which will circumnavigate the Midwest and end us at our new home...
First, the train specifics:
1. If you can, get a sleeper car. They have more room (depending on the size, not much, but a little - enough for nap time and a 'decent' night's sleep)
2. The viewing car is WONDERFUL! Especially if the weather is nice. It has very large windows, on both sides, for your viewing pleasure. You will get to see tihngs you would not see on road trips ("you don't see nothing on interstate but interstate"). Since you are not on the interstate, the scenery is much more beautiful, and you may catch a glimpse of interesting wildlife....
3. If I remeember correctly, you can buy your meals ahead of time. With little ones, it is a good idea.
4. Do not forget dramamine (or some other "happy travel drug"). If you have never been on a train or a cruise, I HIGHLY recommend you taking some - just in case. The cars sway and rock similar to that of a small to midsize water vessel. It can be a little nauseating if you are not accustomed to it.
5. On the same principle as #4, when the train pulls out, talk the little ones through it, especially if they are worry types :)
As far as keeping them occupied and as happy as can be, the things that I have found to work are:
1. Each child gets their own trip backpack. These backpacks are confiscated from the children before the trip (unless you have extras - we need to use the kids' 'school bags') and filled by you with 'trip goodies' and they do not even get to know what is in the bag until the train/car is moving and you are underway.
Inside the bag are items like the following:
a. Rubberneckers Jr game
b. Coloring books and colored pencils (crayons melt in high heat, so this is especially important for car trips, do NOT use crayons unless you are travelling in winter)
b1. (afterthought..) If you do not want to spend all your time at a table in the dining car, make sure you have some sort of lapdesk/clipboard for each child... I bought two of these clipboards years ago, and though I do not like RoseArt coloring products (not as washable as Crayola washable), the clipboard alone was worth it. Now, the kids store their pencils and paper, color book and sudoku in the clipboard.
c. Joke books
d. Tangrams (magnetic ones are best for car trips, but the smaller pieces are a serious health threat if swallowed by little ones, so if you use them, make sure the users are responsible to put them away properly)
e. a book to read (I always get input on this one. I just ask "what book are you planning on reading for the trip?" and I stick it in the bag....
f. a sketch book (again with the colored pencils, or art pencils for budding Renoirs :)
g. I do not know if they even have them anymore, and I have not done this one in awhile, but you can get a disposable camera and give one to each child. It's a nice way to view the events of the trip from their perspective.
h. If you have any kind of little electronic games, usually 2-3 days into a trip, it can be nice to bring out something new...
i. Sudoku/Crossword puzzles for older kids who enjoy them
j. a journal so they can record their thoughts and experiences as they travel
k. some sort of snack that is not too messy, melty or sticky, and that they do not really ever get to have (twizzlers/gummi worms/bears work very well here) A super special 'travel treat' - Lately I have been getting the little Dora the Explorer applesauce squeezers for the babies. Also, a reusable water bottle they can fill up at each stop and is their very own is economical and eco-sensitive :)
l. for the older kids - a sheet of postcard stamps, a nice writing pen, $3-$4 to buy postcards and addresses of family/friends you think they might want to send a postcard to... Then, you get a card from places you are along the way...
m. If your older girls knit/crochet/embroider/cross-stitch, bring just enough for them to complete a 'mini project'
n. For little ones - sock puppets - several - at least, bare minimum, one for each hand
o. Again, for the littles: paper and stickers
p. Toddler books - touch and feel types or lift-the-flaps, something they can look at, an older sib (or you) can read to them or not...
r. deck of cards - war/go fish/old maid whatever... I just went to Target not too long ago and got UNO, "Would You Rather", "Clue:Suspect" and "The Game of Life: Adventures" All card games. All take up very little space. All of them should be fun to play...
s. Check out Fundex Lunchbox games... Their PB&J game is recommended for ages 4&up, but a three year old could play, too. Slamwich and Too Many Monkeys are fun for older kids...(we do not have any of these games, but have played them, and they ARE fun...)
t. A biggish string and a book on how to play strgin games (think Cat's cradle and Jacob's Ladder... I spent TONS of time from 1st to 3rd grade just playing with a string :) My 3 year old right now is LOVING playing with Mr String. He feeds it and makes it hide and take naps. Honestly, his imagination is impressive. I look at it and see a string. He sees a little string person.....
Anything else you can think of (that will fit in the bag) and be a special 'trip thing' and keep little hands busy AND is easily portable.....
2. A "Mom Bag".... Inside the mom bag can be the "special ops" games... The ones you only pull out for major duty...
a.. a video device if you are not opposed. If you have a laptop that will play DVDs, that can be a nice "bedtime" thing... I do not know how that would work in a regular passenger car, though. You would need earphones for each child old enough to want to hear. That would be tricky... If you have a sleeper car, you're golden :)
b. My kids will have their Nintendo DS's, but they are strictly limited on how much time they can be on them...
c. A picture book or three to read aloud to them. I would suggest maybe getting ones that have as the setting the place you are travelling to, or something famous that happened there.
OK, that's about all I have. As I said, we are preparing to embark on our own journey, and I peeked in
my (very unorganized) pile of 'stuff' that I need to sort through and put into the kids' backpacks..... So this is a fairly comprehensive list....
One final thing.... And we do this. It will not be for everyone, and it is difficult to do with train rides b/c train routes do not show up on highway maps BUT.... Each of my children have a Rand McNally Road Atlas of the US. One of the BIG travel ones.... We write in the front inside cover major trips we go on (typically anything over 100 miles). On each State's page, we take a highlighter and highlight the places they have been/roads they have been on.... This upcoming trip will be the first time the two oldest get to take control of their atlases and follow where we are on the map.. Then, at night, when we get to the hotel, I am going to have the highlight that day's trip. It is good for map skills as well as geography, and it's just plain neat :)
Like I said, train routes are not laid out on a road atlas, you can, however, go to the Amtrak site and download maps of their routes as well as itineraries and do a rough sketch highlight of the journey......
God be with you and keep you safe on your journeys!!
Marybeth
Addendum
I thought of this in the light of day:
Another thing for the toddlers..... A string knot Rosary (unblessed, so when they chew and drool on it, it's not so bad :) And they re washable, too!
Also, "Silly Bandz!" - they are little rubber bands shaped like animals or religious symbols cars or princess shapes or whatever.... They are worn on the wrist like bracelets and ome in an array of colors. Anyway, apparently they were a big thing in the schools and my mom sent a bunch to Freya. The babies LOVE them. They put them on their wrists, and take them off... And put them on and take them off... And play with the animal ones like they are animal figures, and put them on and take them off. They are good for at least 30 minutes of distraction :) They can be found at Target with the baseball cards and things by the front registers...
