A relaxing vacation for our family does NOT include plane travel. We've flown to California 3 times in the past year (we have family there), and I have a hard time really relaxing when I know that I have to go through the stress of flying home. It's just tough for us to keep a very active little boy (now 17 mos) occupied in the confines of a plane for 5-6 hours. Oh, and going through security with him is another headache!

For a good vacation, I'd rather stay relatively local. We can stop when we need to, pack everything we want without worrying about paying $25 per bag, dealing with jet lag and a time change, etc. We usually stay in New England for a laid back trip, but we've also driven to NJ and DC in the past. (DC is a great trip with kids because the Smithsonian is all free...so even if your kid gets cranky, you're not lamenting the fact that you spent money on admission!)

Two great close-by trips we've taken have been Martha's Vineyard and the White Mountains. Lots of lodging can be kid-friendly but sometimes it's better to rent a house from a site like HomeAway.com. It's nice to stay somewhere with a washer and dryer so you can pack light and even bring cloth diapers if you use them. Sure, it's not exotic but the less further we have to travel, the more time we have for fun and the less stress we have, too!

Almost all of our trips involve plane travel to family, always a challenge especially during holidays! Our oldest is a good traveller, baby doesn't seem to be shabby but having good travel strategies helps a lot. If we're going to a new destination, I store info for the nearest hospital just in case of an emergency. We try to pack light, difficult if we need carseats. We skimp on clothing - there's always a washer or stores wherever we go. We don't do blankets, pillows, or big stuffed animals. Our oldest has a small beanie baby "travel bear" which is just for trips. She can pick a few small things to bring with her but knows that *anything* she brings could get lost so prize items stay home or get checked. I like to split the boarding process. One boards early to get us arranged, other boards last with kids. We bring snacks, activities, enough for round trip, to keep busy & a new surprise in case of lengthy delay. A must for all are traveller cups so we can ALL avoid spills from plastic plane cups. If we need to change the baby on the plane then pants get stripped off in the seat so we're only dealing with diapers in the teeny bathroom. At our destination, all of our carryon activities are re-stocked & set aside for the return trip. I also like to make sure the house is clean and I've got a few freezer meals & pantry stocked for our return. We can ease back into our regular routine without cleaning & shopping on top of getting ourselves unpacked & back on schedules.

We haven't actually traveled with Anabella yet, barring a few 30 minute trips to Grandma, so these tips are helpful! We'll be taking our first vacation to Maine this summer. I anticipate bring a lot of books for a long ride.