Author by : Jennifer Kay Johnson

My eleven year old niece’s birthday is December 23rd. Between Linnea’s birthday and Christmas, the child collects so many books, dolls, stuffed animals, video games etc., she can hardly move around her bedroom–even if she did decide to pick it up. Last December, I said instead of giving her more “stuff” for her birthday and Christmas, I offered to plan an outing with her. As we had gone on outings before, I figured I was in for another visit to the zoo or the Air & Space Museum in Washington, D.C. Instead, having spent a couple of weeks in a “Colonial Camp” the previous summer, Linnea requested a trip to Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia.

Fine, I told her, but with Williamsburg over 4 hours away, this could not be our usual day trip and would require planning. To complicate matters, Linnea requested that her cousin Liz (my 17 year old daughter) accompany us. Between the girl’s schedules and mine, it took six months before I began to plan our trip. While I knew we would all enjoy Williamsburg, my daughter and I had enjoyed a nearby water park during an early visit. I decided to check things out on Williamsburg’s web site.

Figuring Out How to See & Do Everything

I was immediately overwhelmed by the sheer number of activities and programs available at Colonial Williamsburg–children’s programs, a “Women of Williamsburg” tour, Colonial-era dance lessons and much more–you couldn’t really do it justice in several days! In addition, the nearby water park, Water Country, USA had greatly expanded since my last visit and I had totally forgotten about nearby Busch Gardens Amusement Park. Both girls would want to visit Busch Gardens, and truthfully, I’m always up for a roller coaster ride. What should we do first? What day(s) should we go to Williamsburg? How much time at Busch Gardens? What if the weather was really hot–all day at the water park?

Finally, for flexibility’s sake, I booked a hotel package that included entrance to all three parks.That accomplished, I wanted be sure we experienced some of Williamsburg before getting sidetracked–after all, that was the original destination. So I asked both girls to look at the website and see what interested them most. We only had three days! While my daughter verbally gave me her choices, Linnea must have sensed the anxiety in my request. She created a “rating system” for the activities at Williamsburg she wanted to do and emailed me her choices, complete with descriptions she had copied off the website. Luckily, an early evening “Legends, Myths, Mysteries & Ghosts” tour was a top choice for both girls.

Keeping the Original Goal in Mind: Relaxation, Fun and an Experience to Remember

My niece’s rating system made more sense to me as our trip approached. Linnea had picked out several programs and activities at Williamsburg but she had given only one activity a 5 Star “Have to do it!” rating. While Linnea was excited that we had tickets to Water Country USA and Busch Gardens, she didn’t seem concerned about exactly when and what we would do. Except for a couple of activities, she was willing to be flexible. Her attitude reminded me of the original goal for this trip–a gift–a trip where we could relax, have some fun and experience something different than our everyday existence.

The “See & Do Everything” Travel Mentality is Not Compatible with a Good Travel Experience

Trying to see and do “everything” is not compatible with a good travel experience if you keep in mind the goals of relaxation, fun and an experience to remember. Trying to “see and do everything” is more of a marathon than relaxation. And, how much fun can you really have if you’re worried about catching the shuttle bus to the next sight or activity? As for an experience to remember, the “see and do everything” mentality leaves no opportunity to actually take in what you’re doing. You’ll come home with lot of photos but no lasting memories to what you’ve done because you’ve spent your time running from one place to the next. Finally, not trying to “see and do everything” on a trip means you can always go back again.

A Travel Lesson from an Eleven Year Old

At age 11, Linnea shows a lot more travel sense than I do. Linnea didn’t even attempt to figure out how to see and do as much as possible but rather chose a couple things she really wanted to do and then remained flexible.

Everyone has talents and obviously, trip planning is not one of mine. I lost sight of why we were taking the trip the second I started to make plans. Linnea currently tells everyone she wants to be a geneticist when she grows up but I think she could make a good tour planner someday.

[tags]Travel, Advice, Trip Planning, Women, Children[/tags]

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