Part One: The plan
After much research and a LOT of help on twitter (thanks, tweeps) I am happy to reveal Camp Mom 2013!
To recap, Camp Mom is an idea I pioneered in 2012 where I spend the money we would have spent on our kids’ summer camp on a super-cool trip. As a budget guideline, I use the average day camp rate in the DC area of $400 a week, which I think is fair. That makes my budget guideline for this trip $1600 (2 kids, 2 weeks). Obviously, the trip needs to be for three people, which means our budget stretches thinner, but our travel time is actually 11 days, so I think that evens out a bit.
Some notes for the math watchers: I count hotels and transportation only, as most of our sight-seeing is of the free to low cost variety, and we’d buy food if we were home. Also, I had a friend ask me to do a separate “opportunity cost” tally-taking into account points that could have been spent to pay your bill such as Chase Ultimate Rewards. If I’m using those, I’ll count them at a penny a point-their value paying a bill. I’ll also count any points I purchased at the purchased price. I don’t count points earned because either a)they were bonuses that are chain specific, or b) I had fun earning the points and consider whatever I did to earn them money well spent.
By attaching Camp Mom to the end of our previously scheduled 25k round trip tickets to Ireland, I’m able to leave from Dublin. From Dublin we’re flying to Salzburg, where we’re renting a car to drive to our first destination: Schloss Grubhof, a 14th century castle that was home to both the King of Bavaria and Kaiser Wilhelm II. I chose this location because there is tons to do in the area when we’re not just lying in bed looking at the ceilings and saying “We just slept in a castle!” over and over again.
We’ll have four nights left before returning from Dublin to play with, so I asked each Deal Kid for an idea. Deal Girl shouted “Paris!” before I even finished the question, so we’re taking the train to Paris! After three nights there, we’ll take the EuroStar (the item that most interested Deal Kid) and breeze through London for our last night before heading back home in the morning through Dublin. Bonus…I accidentally booked Paris over Bastille Day!
So there you have it! Now, for the fun part…did I make budget? Let’s tally up (opportunity cost is in parenthesis):
Flight Dublin-Salzburg: 37,500 United Miles +$120 in tax ($300 as 30,000 Ultimate Rewards points were transferred to United)
7 nights in castle: $589 using my skyauction certificate and a $340 upgrade fee
Car Rental Salzburg: $242
Train Salzburg-Paris: $116
3 nights hotel in Paris: $0 using 150,000 Club Carlson points earned last year (I have a reservation at the Radisson Champs-Elysses as a placeholder but am open to suggestions as finding rooms in Paris sleeping 3 has been a real challenge!)
Eurostar: $152
1 night Park Lane Hotel, London: $0 using 14,500 Starpoints for a studio suite earned with a credit card signup bonus. The room rate is $729/night, meaning I’m getting a value of over 5 cents per point. I can live with that!
Flights London-Dublin: $201
Grand Total…(drum roll)…$1420! So can I say that traipsing around Europe is cheaper than staying home? Well, not exactly. Adding in the lost opportunity cost of $300, I get to $1720, which is slightly over budget for you sticklers for the rules. Good thing I’m much better at asking forgiveness than permission!
People are always asking “how do you do it”? in regards to traveling so much for so little. Rule #1 is PLAN EARLY! I’m starting a series sharing with you today how I’m getting my whole family to Ireland next summer for two weeks with almost nothing out of pocket. I thought it would be fun to go step by step so you can see the whole process, and see what steps might work for you!
Step one, Plane tickets!
To start,an amazing usage of Avios (British Airways) points a few months ago is travel to Ireland from Boston for just 25k miles round trip. Between the sign-up bonus offered for the BA credit card and 50% transfer bonus offered by American Express in May, I’ve racked up 189,000 BA miles so far.
Knowing most airlines release seats 11 months out, I decided to call BA today to see if they had flights available next June yet on the BOS-DUB flight, lo and behold, they’re booking out to the end of June 2013, so I was able to book four tickets one way for a grand total of 50,000 Avios and $20 tax! I’ll call back in a few weeks to book the return. I’m not worried about the IAD-BOS flights just yet…I may check Avios, or just buy them as tickets usually are less than $100 each way. I’ll wait to see if anyone offers a bonus!
Original publish date July 20, 2012.
Stay tuned for updates from Camp Mom, and please share how you’ve done with your kids in Europe.
April 22, 2013
Part two: The Best Meal We Ate in Dublin Faced the Bedding Department
Sometimes travel bloggers are in the know and sometimes we just get lucky. This discovery is a bit of both.
The in the know bit: if you want to get away from the tourists, head north of the River Liffey. Having lived in Dublin, I can tell you first hand that few residents choose to shop on Grafton street or to eat in Temple Bar if they can avoid it (with the possible exception of the original Bewleys Teahouse).
Another in the know bit: if you want a good, reasonably priced meal, look for the tea shop in a department store. They all have them and they’re all pretty good.
I remembered the one in Arnott’s on Henry Street (a pretty pedestrian mall about three blocks north of the Liffey crossing O’Connell) from my days in Dublin and we headed there for lunch.
The lucky bit: Celebrity Chef Clodagh McKenna (Ireland’s answer to Gordon Ramsay) has just revamped Arnott’s Tea Room into a two level food court/restaurant that served the single best meal we’ve eaten in the entire country at pub grub prices.
I’ll be honest; I had no idea who the “Clodagh” of Clodagh’s Kitchen was upon entering. We splurged (if you can call it that when your view is pillows) on the upstairs restaurant where Deal Dad savored free range Irish Lough Erne Summer Lamb and I discovered that (organic) Irish Sea Trout is actually a pink fish that is more like salmon than the white stuff we get at home. They don’t have a traditional kids menu, but whipped up some pasta and sliders for the Deal Kids, which got raves from them. Even the potatoes were amazing, and we’ve eaten a LOT of potatoes over the last two weeks!
Both of us were blown away by the food and after the first bite knew something didn’t match as our entrees were 13 and 16 Euro, which in Dublin you can pay for a sketchy kebab. Asking an Irish friend and some quick googling when we returned to the hotel confirmed our suspicion that the meal we had wasn’t any normal food court experience. I can’t recommend Clodagh’s highly enough- either the food court downstairs or the kitchen for a meal. You’ll just wish Macy’s could import her!
July 2, 2013
Part three: Poppin’ Tags in Belfast
love nothing more than when my interests intersect with my travels, and we hit the jackpot in Belfast in a most unexpected way. My love of thrift stores is well documented. Strolling down Botanic Avenue to the Ulster Museum (recommended, especially for the Botanical gardens themselves), in a three block stretch we passed no less than SEVEN thrift stores! Called “Charity Shops” on this side of the pond, the biggest and most notable chain is OxFam, but we also saw ones raising funds for cancer research, fighting hunger, homelessness, and other local charities.
Of course, Deal Kid and I were chomping at the bit to get out there, so we split from Deal Girl and Deal Dad (who lose patience after one or two stores) and hit them all! Deal Kid’s biggest score was a huge stash of Pokemon cards (close to 1000) for 5 pounds that revealed some he’d never seen before…a rare treat indeed!
I used the opportunity to sample a few brands of clothing I’ve never tried before…I went on the feel of the fabric to test the quality. Some googling after the fact revealed I’d picked up some great quality yoga gear for 3 pounds 99 and a wool/cashmere cardigan that sold for 90 pounds originally for 6. That came especially in handy as it’s been a LOT colder here than the sun setting at 11PM would suggest.
Luckily we also picked up a suitcase for 3 pounds to stash all of our new discoveries! Have you had any charity shop steals on your travels? Please share!
June 11, 2013
Part four: Top Five Reasons Belfast is Better than Dublin
Deal Kid was born in The Rotunda Hospital so my status as a Dubliner can not be questioned. However, it pains me to admit that taken as a whole, Belfast has more to offer tourists than Dublin. Here are my top five reasons why, please add your own (or tell me why I’m wrong) in the comments!
- Tea on the Titanic: Some would say the entire Titanic Belfast museum, and it is quite striking, but I’m focusing on the Tea held every Sunday. The Tea, which especially for kids is a good value, is enough food for two meals if you plan it right and is held in a historically accurate re-creation of the grand staircase of the Titanic. The Deal Kids didn’t have any real understanding of what a “Tea” was and I can’t imagine a better introduction. Add in the fact that the Amazing Race filmed in that exact spot and you have a winner!
4. The (lack of) crowds. We went directly back to Dublin from Belfast and our first thought was “wow, it’s SO crowded!” Belfast just didn’t feel rushed or harried at all, no matter where or when we went. Dublin pretty much always felt bustling, which can be dynamic, but can also be draining with two kids in tow. In Belfast, tourists are still a bit of a novelty, so folks were much more likely to want to chat…not that any Irishman anywhere isn’t up for a chat! Also, the Belfast accent is MUCH stronger than the Dublin one…not better per se, just more “Irish” (compare say a Maine accent to a Mid-Western USA one).
3. The Natural Beauty (and Ease of Getting to it): Here I’m referring to how easy it is to get out of the city if you want to see some natural wonders by car and the natural wonders themselves, and I’m giving it to Belfast hands down. I related in detail the hassles of car rentals in the republic of Ireland compared to the UK (Belfast). As far as the sights themselves, at this point I’ve seen just about every shore in Ireland and I don’t think any compares to the Antrim coast drive north from Belfast to Giant’s Causeway. I also want to mention driving safety here. Maybe it’s just me, but I just felt the UK side was safer; in fact the week of driving in Western Ireland was about the most unsafe I’ve EVER felt driving, and I’ve driven in some unsavory places!
2. The History: This may seem a strange choice given much of Belfast has almost no age to it (courtesy of Hitler- did you know that? Me neither!), but a visit to the Ulster Museum shows that Belfast has been ground zero for conflict for pretty much all of it’s history. A Black Cab tour is highly recommended if you have time, but one quick drive around and you’ll find yourself deep in the neighborhoods with the wall murals and razor-wire fences- they’re all still there, living memorials to how little it takes for people to kill each other. Like your history with a little more age to it? Take the train or a car to nearby Derry- lots of castles and such there.
(Drum Roll…)
1. THE VALUE!!!: Not even close.
In Dublin, we paid an average of 11 Euro for a pub meal and 5 for a pint of Guinness. At current exchange rates that’s $21 for a single pub meal. In Belfast, we paid 6.99 pounds for a pub meal that INCLUDED a pint of Guinness, or $10.57!
How about hotels? Using Radissons downtown b/c they have properties in both cities that are comparable in location and amenities that I have seen and can vouch for. I had to pick different Fridays in September to get standard room availability:
Dublin: $286.35
Belfast: $127.96
Using points the difference is not nearly as stark, Dublin is 44k vs. Belfast being 38k, so clearly earn your points in Belfast to spend elsewhere! I’ll be publishing a full review of the Radisson Blu Belfast soon, but definitely give it high marks. There’s also a Park Inn in Belfast in a good location at 28k that gets good reviews.
June 11, 2013
Part five: The Horrid Adrenalini Deal Kids
One lesson learned the hard way is that you can’t force culture on kids…you have to meet them where they are. Opportunities abound to spend WAY too much money on “kid-friendly” castle tours, medieval banquets, broadway type shows, expensive dinners, etc. etc. etc., but if the kid isn’t open and ready, you might as well throw your money down the drain.
I’m not saying don’t do ANY of that stuff…what I AM saying is maybe think about dialing it back just a bit. We’re now on our 3rd foreign trip with the Deal Kids (now 6 and 9). At this moment (day 12) the kids are outside playing ball (that came free with a happy-type meal from Supermac) on the grassy yard with some Irish kids also on vacation, Deal Dad just cracked open a new novel on his kindle, and, well…here I am.
The Irish family is from County Offaly, deep in the center. As Moms often do, we had a nice chat and she shared that the day before they had all been to Bunratty Folk Park and that it had been a surprising disappointment. Her kids were bored after the 2nd display and begged to get back to the hotel to play with the American kids! I was glad to hear that some things are universal.
We had the opportunity last night to attend one of these medieval banquets, in a real castle, even. It looked pretty cool. But here’s the thing about Ireland…castles are all over the place. We’ve seen at least 50, been in a bunch in varying states of decay, and toured two that were fully intact and furnished. By day 10 both kids were kinda over it, and spending 150 Euro on dinner with folks in costume seemed kinda gratuitous. So instead we strolled around Galway (we met up with an old friend which made the decision loads easier) and fed the kids at the Supermac mentioned earlier for 11 Euro. Which do you think made everyone happier?
Which brings me to the Adrenalini Brothers and Horrid Henry. Both are new shows the kids have discovered over here, much to their delight. The Adrenalinis are a real hoot…kind of a cross between Pink Panther, Road Runner, and Spongebob (if everyone was as dumb as Patrick Star and only spoke Italian).
But I’m most excited about Horrid Henry. HH is actually a book series I’ve been trying to interest Deal Girl in for months, to no avail. However, once they found the TV series, both kids begged for the books to be downloaded to their kindles ASAP and have read four in the past three days.
Is it Shakespeare? No, but they’re engaged with something new, so I’ll take it!
July 2, 2013
Part six: Epiphany, Electrified
A question I get asked often is “Why do you do all of this with the kids?” I mean, it IS a hassle. Yesterday the three of us were up at 2:30AM after getting to bed at 11PM to catch a 520AM flight out of Dublin on Lufthansa, connect in Frankfurt (which is a blog post in itself) and get to Salzburg at 10AM after a time change. We had to drag four bags (three suitcases and the carseats) through two airports, meaning even the 6 year old had a bag to carry…quite a sight! Then we had to all get set up into the rental car and get going into Austria, then Germany, then Austria again to make it to our hotel…speaking no German, and having nothing but a map to guide us (remember maps?).
This post is not going where you think it is. I’m not going to talk about the amazing vistas of the Alps that greeted us upon arrival or the settee in the castle I’m sitting upon as I’m typing…this post is about plugs.
If you’ve spent any time in Europe, you know that every country has it’s own version of the electrical plug. Well, this is a new concept to Deal Kid, so as we arrived in Austria, he was baffled by the holes in the wall of our flat as they didn’t match the settings on our universal adapter from the plugs in Ireland. I showed him which one was for Austria and he said “Austria sure has weird plugs.”
Then he was quiet for a minute.
I could see the wheels turning in his head and actually SEE the light bulb go on…
““I’ll bet they think our plugs look weird, too.”
And THAT, my friends, is why I travel with my kids.
BTW, If you don’t have a world travel adapter already, get one NOW. Use my aff link here or buy it elsewhere, but trust me on this!
July 6, 2013
Part seven: Eis Capades
Just a quick post today about what happens when you get too cocky. I consider myself a language natural, picking up phrases easily when I travel, but German has evaded my reach. I had to stretch in the Bavarian Alps, when an unexpected road closure on the way to Berchtesgarten caused us to stop in a tiny Gasthaus that only had German menus.
After three weeks in Europe, I start to get cranky about a few things, the biggest of them being ICE in my sodas. I know it’s totally petty, but I just don’t like warm soda, and being solo with the Deal Kids beer was out of the question until we got back to the Schloss. I ordered a large bottle of vasse mit gas then ordered a seperate glass of eis.
The waiter gave me a quizzical look then showed me the menu where eis was priced at 2.50 Euro. I thought “well, that’s expensive for ice, but it must be a bucket for the table”, and I said “OK”.
Ten minutes later, a clownishly large ice cream sundae arrived at our table. Eis in German is ice cream, not ice.
Lesson learned: Life is short. Eat dessert first!
July 10, 2013
Part eight: Charlemagne’s strudel
The Colonel isn’t the only one with an original recipe.
It’s not often you get to eat 1200 year old Strudel. But in Salzburg, you can visit St. Peter Stiftskeller, which is widely known as the oldest restaurant in Europe, having been first documented by Charlemange’s visit in 803.
As we were enjoying our strudel, which was rumored to have been on Sir Mange’s plate, Deal Kid’s eyes lit up in the way only a 9 year old’s can. “Hey Mom! Wait a minute…Charlemange was here in 803, right?”
“Yes, Deal Kid”, I replied, taking a bite of the raisn-y, cinnamon and nutmeg filled pastry, richer than what I think of as “strudel”.
“Well, Mom…what are the chances that Charlemange was there for the restaurant’s grand opening? Don’t you think the restaurant opened in like, 802?”
Um….I took a sip of coffee…
“Or Maybe it was more like they heard he was coming through and they quick made up some food and a banner and were like: Hey, Charlemange! Eat Here! Grand Opening!”
Well, I’m afraid history is vague on that, Deal Kid, so we’ll never know if indeed Charlemange did indeed attend St. Peter Skiftskeller’s Grand Opening or if it opened in 802, but either way, the strudel was tasty, but expensive.
July 11, 2013
Part Nine: Europe Train Travel with Kids: The 1 Question You MUST Ask!
Now that I’m a seasoned veteran of European train travel with the Deal Kids, I’ve learned there’s one simple fact that made the difference between a mellow boarding process and a complete malay, and is now the one question I will ask before booking ANY train journey in the future with kids:
Am I boarding and dis-embarking at the end stations for this train?
When you’re traveling solo, possibly with only a backpack, questions like this might not cross your mind. I have LOTS of experience with trains in Europe and Asia and it certainly didn’t cross mine!
However, picture yourself with exactly THREE minutes to board a train with two kids and four suitcases! That’s what happened to me in Salzburg, Austria when I quickly realized that having a train that was a “through” train was a BIG deal. The train arrived and a throng of more savvy folks jumped off, then another throng jumped on while Deal Kid frantically looked for our number car, which of course was 12 cars away from us! Then the conductor blew the whistle and the doors shut, leaving us screaming, “WAIT!” on the platform. Fortunately, he saw us and heaved us and our bags onto the moving train.
The exact same process repeated itself in reverse three hours later in Stuttgart, Germany, when again we had three minutes to de-board our “through” train, with me tossing the Deal Kids, then four bags, then launching myself off of the train with seconds to spare as I fought against the crush of people trying to board.
Compare that to the luxurious feeling of the 20 minutes we had to board the Enterprise Rail from Dublin to Belfast (both end stations), where we glided onto the train, stowed our bags, got drinks, and snuggled in for a nap before the train even departed.
Hope this story helps you learn from my experience!
July 12, 2013
Part ten: The Hyatt Etoile and the upgrade that ruined my vacation
“Madame, You have been upgraded to the Ambassador Suite as a Diamond Gold Passport Member with Hyatt.”
The words every hotel guest dreams to hear…until my follow up question.
“What is the view?”
“It’s a lovely South facing Paris view, Madame.”
Uh-Oh.
Let me stop here and explain that I had specifically booked the Executive King with the Eiffel Tower View because I had brought the kids to Paris for the Bastille Day fireworks, and the Eiffel Tower faced North.
At this point I politely declined the upgrade and asked to be put into the room I reserved, the Executive Club King which states it has views of the Eiffel Tower. The front desk then told me it was no longer available since they had assigned me the upgrade!
As we were checking a day before the fireworks (and were exhausted from an 8 hour train ride) I decided to go ahead and take the suite and deal with the view in the morning.
And now the review:
Hyatt Etoile
Location: More convenient than I expected! There’s a mall attached to the hotel with the Porte Maillot metro in the basement. It’s a 15 minute straight shot down the Champs Elysses to the Rue Rivoli/Louvre.
Hotel: HUGE. At 34 floors and 950 rooms, the hotel is the tallest in Paris, and is terrific for views, even of the side that doesn’t face the tower. It’s literally a “bucket list” location for the Bastille Day fireworks (spoiler alert: we found a way to get a view, but it’s not what you might have expected).
Service: Not to Hyatt standards at all. Perhaps my view was skewed by the fact that they were jammed full for Bastille Day, or that I have SUCH high standards for Hyatt, but on every level things were just a bit “off”. Some examples:
- The reservation mess (which gets deeper in the next post).
- I called to get extra sheets and blankets so Deal Kid could sleep on the sofa because even though the suite was comically large it only had a king sized bed. After three phone calls over six hours they never arrived and he ended up using a bathrobe for a blanket.
- The Club Room was PACKED, to the point that one morning we waited almost 30 minutes for a table at breakfast.
In the next post I’ll review the actual rooms I saw and address how the view issue was handled.
July 13, 2013
Part eleven: Mom! Blood on the carpet!
It’s ok, Deal Kid. I think it’s nail polish. Equally unacceptable, but not quite as gross.
When we last left our story, we had checked into the cavernous, but wrong direction facing, Ambassador suite. After a good nights rest, the Deal Kids and I came down to the lobby to chat with the Front Desk Manager about switching rooms. The Duty Manager the day before assured us that plenty of turnover would be taking place and we’d have no problem securing a view the next day. I was pretty skeptical considering most people were there for Bastille Day as we were, but he told me he made a special note and the morning manager would take care of us.
I’m sure you’ve already guessed that the morning manager had no idea what I was talking about! She also had no idea why I would want to leave such a room as the Ambassador Suite, as if having a view of the Eiffel Tower fireworks was no big deal at all in comparison with the giant living room.
The kids are standing there with me, the clock is ticking away on my already limited time in Paris (now nearing an hour standing there at the front desk) and the manager finally manages to find a room available with an Eiffel tower view and offers to move us into it. She does say “Madame, I’m afraid it is a bit petite…”
July 14, 2013
Part twelve: The accidental Bastille Day mattress run
When we last left our story, I had been finally offered a room with the view we needed for the evening’s fireworks, but at a stiff penalty: it was 80 percent smaller than the room we were already in! I had a decision to make…so I decided to throw some money at the problem.
I asked the front desk manager if she would be willing to rent me the smaller room at a reduced rate since we really only needed it for the hour of the fireworks and we could remain in the Ambassador suite. I think at this point she was relieved to be offered any face-saving out and offered me a rate of 100 Euro. We shook on the rate and the Deal Kids went out and enjoyed our day in the city.
About 10PM, we retired to the (as Deal Girl named it) “Party Room” with our Parisian snacks and chocolates, opened the window (not something I expected on the 19th floor!), and turned on the TV to hear the simulcast of the festivities below. As you can see, we did indeed have a great view.
What you can’t tell from the pictures is the magic of the 180+ degrees of it all…there must have been 5 suburbs also doing fireworks in the background, and some of the fireworks themselves seemed to be coming right AT us. I’ve seen the show in Downtown DC numerous times, and Paris blew it away.
Also of note was the musical selection, which to my “God Bless the USA” trained ears made me LOL at times. Nirvana? Hair? Madonna? Besides “La Marseille” at the very beginning, it was definitely more “Party Rock” than “America the Beautiful” in tone.
Tres cool.
I know fireworks on 14 Julliet are new to the French and I love the irreverent way they’ve embraced it. I can’t recommend this event highly enough and the Hyatt Etoile, warts and all, as a place to witness it. Book your room now for next year and hope Hyatt has the bumps evened out by then.
July 14, 2013
Part thirteen: An unexpected education in the Ambassador Suite
f you’ve seen Cars 2 and/or traveled with Kids to an Asian hotel you may know where this post is going…
If you take a look at the photo of the Ambassador Suite 3301 at the Paris Hyatt Etoile you’ll a heavy East Asian influence in the decor. That Asian influence stretched to the bathrooms, which the Deal Kids discovered, to their great dismay, before I did.
We got to the suite after a very long day that started at 5AM featuring 8 hours of train rides featuring two frantic boarding experiences. I crashed on the sofa while the kids explored the cavernous suite, which featured a shower and toilet in one room and a separate room with a bathtub and vanity down the hall.
After about five minutes, during which I almost dozed off, I heard a shriek coming from the shower/toilet room. I dashed into a scene that reminded me of, you guessed it, Mater in Cars 2.
Turns out that our toilet had a super-modern bidet attachment so the handle on the side that Deal Girl thought was for flushing actually shot out a high velocity stream of water. Since she had already dis-mounted, the water shot out about 5 feet into the air, across the room, and hit the mirror on the opposite side of the bathroom with an impressive “splat”! Of course Deal Kid got there before I did, so it had been repeated before I got there, so there was a nice puddle on the floor by the time I arrived.
Further experimentation with the bidet attachment showed it had pulsing and temperature control. Once I explained what it was for, Deal Kid was fully on board…Deal Girl was still skeptical.
Have your kids ever discovered any foreign hygiene routines? What did they think? Please share!
July 15, 2013
Part fourteen: Camp Mom Recap: Holy Crap, It Worked!
- 26 Days: 14 with Deal Dad, 12 with just Mom and 2 Deal Kids.
- 5 countries – 4 of them more than once.
- 10 Airport check-ins.
- 5 immigration officers, 1 of them private.
- 7 train stations.
- 2 missed connections.
- 2 rental cars. One broken driver’s side mirror (not saying which car as the agency didn’t notice!).
- 7 hotel rooms-8 if you count the room we had to rent but didn’t actually sleep in, 3 upgrades, 0 Swimming Pools.
- 2 pharmacy trips in 2 countries, 1/2 day lost to illness.
- 1 McDonalds and 1 Burger King visit
- 3 bags and 2 car seats at start, 4 bags and 2 car seats at end.
- 2 Mommy Meltdowns: on days 11 and 23
Those are the stats, in black and white. I’ll be breaking down the last month over MANY blog posts: what worked (more than I thought would!), my mistakes (including some embarrassingly rookie ones!) and tips for those of you considering a Camp Mom of your own.
Bottom line, though, is that Camp Mom worked! Transitions were OH SO stressful, Food was more costly than planned, and gas at $8/gallon was a killer, but all in all, the kids had fun and learned a ton (thought not in ways I had intended…more later) and I return both motivated and energized…just not right now. Jet lag is a killer as you get older!
July 19, 2013
Ed note: Dates are when the events happened, not exactly when each post was written so they may read a bit out of order.
