Hill Country Slacking Part Deux

After our hotter n' hell hike at Enchanted Rock, we made our way back to the hotel for a nap. That is the first commandment of traveling with a toddler ' Thou shalt respect nap time for the toddler is a tired toddler and her wrath is mighty.' The second commandment is something along the lines of 'Thou shalt have no other blankie than the beloved blankie for I am a picky toddler and will forgo the nap if thou should try to foist another blankie upon me'. Fortunately, the preferred blankie was merely hidden under the bed in the hotel and a short nap ensued vitalizing the wee one and her parents for our jaunt to Luckenbach.

What was once a real town is now the coolest beer joint in all of Texas. Kitty couldn't wait to kick her shoes off and hang out. There was a pickers circle going on and familys, bikers, retired couples and local poets all hung out in the shade of the trees enjoying the music and some cold beers. Okay, the kids enjoyed dancing on stage to the music but did not have beer. No drinking until you can order it yourself. A really great way to spend a late afternoon and early evening, just doing a whole bunch of nothing. Highly recommended

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We headed back to Fredericksburg for dinner. Since Fredericksburg trades on its German heritage, every restaurant in town serves up hearty faux German food. My favorite name of a dish was schweineschnitzel überbacken. I didn't actually eat it, but it is fun to say. I was able to find stuff to eat at most of the restaurants that was appropriate for 100f+ weather. Except at the Bavarian Inn that is. We went in to look at the menu and while the early 1980s did not delight my aesthetic senses and there was a weird odor, what put me off was the menu listings for 'On the Lighter Side'. A German sausage sampler plate or chicken fried steak. They have a very different definition of what constitutes light than I do.

The next day we headed out to Johnson City to see a man about a camel. And a zebra. And some goats. This was the highlight of the trip for Kitty. She not only got to hand feed a buffalo( who has a very raspy tongue) and play with some goats but got to actually pet a zebra foal as well. She has been kind of obsessed with zebras lately. I grew up on a farm so the first thing I noticed was the condition of the animals. All of their feet were healthy (the first thing I look for), their enclosures were big and roomy and everyone appeared to be really well fed. Its actually a good business model. Breed and raise the exotic animals you love and have tourists pay to  feed them. They also have highland cows. I love highland cows.

We drove past vineyards and sunflower fields on the way back to Fredericksburg. We procured the ubiquitous peaches and preserves. After an afternoon nap and long soak in the pool, we wandered around the shops of Main street. We opted to skip dinner and instead had peach pie with Blue Bell ice cream at the Tootie pie company. It was worth every single calorie.

We woke up bright and early the next morning, hit the road and by late afternoon, Mark was back on the boat working. Seems that it was time for our regulator to receive some attention. More on that later but all in all, Fredericksburg provided a much needed opportunity to do a whole bunch of nothing. I hope to be doing a whole bunch of nothing on the boat very, very soon.

Traveling with Toddlers

There were several products we used which were key in helping us to successfully complete 2 10 hour + flights, 10 hours of train time and 2 weeks of nights in a different hotel each night with a toddler. If you are traveling with a toddler who is as active, busy and opinionated about her surroundings as Kitty some of these might help. While most are geared towards traveling by conventional means, some will translate nicely to sailing and living aboard.

1.BABYBJORN Travel Crib Light 2, Silver
- If you have ever struggled to open or close a conventional Pack and Play and had to schlep the heavy, awkward thing around you will appreciate the simplicity and light weight of this design. We had to assembled and disassembled in less than a minute. While the folded dimensions are bigger than a standard Pack and Play it weighs only 11 pounds and is incredibly stable once set up. We hauled this thing, along with our luggage and toddler all over airports, rail stations and buses with ease. Its the weight that makes it easy. Kitty is one who likes consistency in her sleeping arrangements so being able to have the same bed every night, rather than a hotel crib that may or may not be comfortable and may or may not be safe was key. They are expensive- but worth it. British Airways took it as checked luggage with no additional fees.

2.CARES Child Aviation Restraint System We were loathe to schlep around Kitty's HUGE Britax car seat, especially since most of our travel was by train. This harness is designed for kids 22-44 pounds and made the flight portion of our trip much less stressful. It is simple to install, provides much more protection during takeoff and landing than holding the kid on your lap and it was also useful in keeping Kitty in her seat for a large portion of our flights. It doesn't have a crotch strap so really wiggly toddlers might be able to escape but we found that Kitty just accepted it, probably because she is used to wearing a harness in her car seat. Its small and comes in a carry bag which is easy to slip into your luggage. You can find them to rent on Ebay if you only need it for a one off trip.

3.Goldbug Animal 2 in 1 Harness, Lion We got so much use out of this! Kitty prefers to walk but there were times on busy streets and in bustling train stations when her lightening fast dodging abilities had to be tamed. This allowed Kitty to feel that she was independent while allowing us to keep her out of the path of oncoming traffic or to prevent her from running through airport security like a little terrorist on her own (Which she tried to do. Twice) Its got a tiny backpack which was the perfect size for a small notebook, crayons and stickers which was handy when stopping in restaurants to eat or riding on buses or trains.

4.Melissa & Doug Sticker Collection- Blue These were very best purchase we made- hands down! We got the pink and blue collection. The pages are large so I cut the sheets in 2 and along with a composition notebook, we had the answer to "how do I keep the toddler entertained for hours"? We carefully selected the animals for our farm, we fed the puppies,  we made up pirate stories, we dressed sticker kids in sticker clothes for hours and hours. Once done with stickering, we made up stories for each page and Kitty would happily flip through her book naming all the items. This kept Kitty happy and entertained for the majority of our travel time. On the 5 hour train trip to Edinburgh and on the 11 hour flight back to the US, Kitty shared a page of paper and a sheet of stickers with 2 toddlers who were suffering melt downs and they were both instantly engrossed and entertained for a long, long time.  No more crying. Happy fellow passengers. WIN! They are rated for kids 3 and up but we like to live on the edge and gave these dangerous stickers to toddlers. No toddlers were injured by this product.

5 .Beco Gemini Overall-Sierra We didn't buy this for our trip but have used it extensively while sailing, traveling  and just generally living life. We like the Beco Gemini because it allows you to pass the toddler off to the other parent without taking them out of the carrier. It is rated for kids up to 35 pounds and allows you to carry on the front or back. This carrier is extremely comfortable and made hauling luggage and a toddler around the London Underground simple and easy.  Kitty would sleep while in the front position and was happy to trek while on our backs. There are several carriers on the market that offer the same functionality but do not waste your money on front carry infant carriers like the baby Bjorn- they don't offer the same flexibility for different carries and they aren't comfy for the kid because they put all of the kids weight on their crotch- OUCH! Stick with a Beco Ergo Baby Carrier Black with Camel Lining , BabyHawk Mei Tai Baby Carrier Feeling Groovy on Espresso Straps with Bonus Dainty Baby Reusable Bag or the like.

6.Wee Squeak Baby Girls Hot Pink Peony Maryjane Shoes 4 How I love these shoes. These are so useful when you need to have your back turned- like checking into a hotel or waiting in line to purchase train tickets. Your toddler is done being carried, done with being restrained in general and is insistent on going free range. These shoes allow you to keep tabs on your little one by following the squeak the shoes make. We use these on the boat too  because no matter how vigilant you are, there are times when you are below that you will have your back turned. We can hear when Kitty is climbing the companionway steps for instance. They are well made, slip resistant,comfy and cute too. You can also remove the squeakers for times when silence is golden.

These products made our travels relatively stress free. The only real mistake we made was in buying a cheap stroller. The thought was that it would come in handy and it was cheap enough to leave behind but really, with the Beco and backpack harness we never used the stroller. The stroller was just a hassle on the buses, trains etc and next time we will just skip it all together. Fortunately, it was cheap so ditching it was no big deal.

So there you have it. My 2 cents on what works for traveling with a toddler and keeping your sanity intact. Now if you will excuse me, I've got to go purchase stock in Melissa & Doug. Did I mention how much we loved their stickers?