Vacationing with Kids

We have 3 children -- currently aged 6, 4 and 2. This summer, they'll all turn 1 year older :)
I LOVE to go on vacation. It's basically the only thing that I'm really willing to spend money on. I'm not really a luxury vacation kind of person, but I have to get away several times a year, or I go crazy. That's why I have a job with lots of vacation built in :)

Before I had children, I used to rent out my apartment every summer, take my giant summer pay check and go to South America for the summer. Things become more complicated with kids, especially when there are 3 of 'em.

Four years ago, we took the two oldest (at the time almost 3 and almost 1 -- I can't believe we did this, looking back) to Spain. We had a great time, but we spent a LOT of money... and this is before the Euro was where it is now. We also realized that because of the fact that we were traveling with kids, we couldn't really do the things that we used to do when we traveled on our own. That's frustrating at times, but can also be good because the nice thing about kids is....

You're "allowed" to do things with kids that you might not normally do as an adult.

For example:

• inhale marshmallows straight out of the package if there's a burn ban and you can't make a fire.
  
• float down the river on a giant sea horse raft.
• Dance in a circle, twirling a girl on each arm.
• Play mommy cat and baby cat.
• Lay under the stars, trying to figure out what that moving star is... (aliens?)
• Swim "in place" in a river current, with a cheering crowd
  

I did all these things just this past weekend. Sure, I could have done them on my own, but it doesn't feel goofy at all with kids... it just feels normal.

After our trip to Spain, C and I decided that we needed to focus more on vacationing close to home. It's less expensive (and also creates fewer emissions b/c of no flying!) and is just more realistic for us. When we took the kids to Spain, we spent almost all of our time at the playground or at the beach. When we went to the Prado, my kids kept trying to touch the paintings. They also had a super short attention span. We had a great time eating at bakeries in the mornings. We had fun meeting other families (guess where? beach and playground). To me, it didn't really make sense to travel so far to go to places that we have close to home. (Don't get me wrong... I LOVE Spain... and I know that the beaches and playgrounds are different... but still...)

This weekend, we went to one of the many Texas State Parks. I LOVE the state parks, but had not really spent any time in them until I had kids. Then I decided that they needed a dose of nature and we needed a cheap vacation. We spent 3 nights and 2 days for a total cost of 30 dollars in lodging, 10 dollars in popsicles, and 15 dollars in floats (plus groceries we brought from home). Totally worth it.

Ah... but is it a green vacation?
Yes and no.

Yes:
outdoor, off the grid (no electricity)
give kids and parents appreciation of nature
much better than flying somewhere
picked up some cans and bottles thrown around and brought them home to recycle
State park recycles aluminum :)
Saved shower water & heating of water by bathing in river for 3 days
Saved washing lots of clothes by wearing almost nothing but a bathing suit for 3 days
No:
drove there (I just can't escape this problem it seems... Texas is too darned big)
bought giant plastic sea horse float (I'm sorry! But I swear I'll use it again! And I have a patch kit in case it gets a flat!)
massive use of sunscreen ( but this is really unavoidable in the summertime in Texas unless we stay inside all the time. Of course not the perfectly green kind...)