Travel Tuesday: Choosing A Stroller

After we had finally settled on where to spend our 3 months of travel this past year (thanks to parental leave), it was time to decide what to bring. Our time would be split between Portugal, Morocco, Spain, Germany, and Scotland, traveling overland as much as possible, and using local transport at each location. The biggest and most difficult decision seemed to be regardng what configuration of wheels we would bring to carry our two young boys about.
A double stroller? One umbrella stroller? Two single umbrella strollers? No stroller at all??

Our past experience with Europe and a stroller was THIS, which led us to our no double decision. The sidewalks simply aren't wide enough in most areas, and with the insane number of stairs we had to tackle, the weight of a double stroller would have been exhausting. I wondered many, many times what someone would do stroller-wise with twins, and then I saw a couple of sets within a few days - both had enormous side-by-side double bassinet/carriage strollers. In both cases I wondered if they had materialized to the location, as only God knows what sidewalk they took to get there...

Bringing no stroller at all was not an option mainly due to travel days and busy crowds. With us each carrying a heavy pack on our back, one of us with a smaller but still weighty pack on our front, and the other with a baby on our front, our older son (2 years old) needed to be safely contained in a stroller to allow us to rush along to catch a bus, plane, taxi, or train. With that kind of extra load on our bodies, chasing a two year old was not an option.

Two single strollers seemed like a royal pain in the butt. It was likely that Levi would want to spend most of his time walking anyway. This option would insure that both of us would be pushing a stroller at all times - empty or not. Boo to that.

What we finally settled on was the same hearty umbrella stroller we brought to Italy, and an Ergo carrier. Looking back, it was the best decision. The sidewalks everywhere were as expected - often narrow, packed with people, frequently with high curbs and crazy obstacles, and sometimes non-existent. When you are without sidewalk you better hope you have the tightest little stroller ever because cars are not inclined to share their space with you.



The Ergo was great (again). We were still able to carry our 2 year old son in it, as the weight limit is 40 pounds. Sometimes, we would go out with Owen (6 months old) in the carrier and Levi walking, which meant no stroller at all. It was very freeing to venture out without wheels!

Our stroller was borrowed from my husband's mom when we went to Italy, and yet still, there it sat conveniently at our home 14 months later as we left for this trip :) - Thanks Mama D! The brand is Avalon, and it is fantastic. Full recline, and a large basket underneath are it's greatest assets, not to mention that it has seriously had it's ass kicked (Jim made a small repair this past trip) and still it hung in there for us. It is, sadly, on it's last leg but has served us more than well! We saw many, many Maclaren strollers and will probably seek one out for our next trip, but this little Avalon is comparable in weight, size and features. I just don't know where you would find another.

*I should add that we also brought a very compact sling with us which came in handy at times when it was helpful to carry both babes, particularly after going through security at the airport, or while hiking.

I'm Dreaming Of A...

Fresh New Trip!

So, our mind wheels are turning like mad trying to decide on the best trip to take this year.
How long should we go? What can we afford? Are we mental (as we'll have 2 youngin's)?? and most importantly - WHERE?

We plan to travel slightly longer than last year as we have the benefit of parental leave for my hubby, and we'd be silly not to take advantage of that right??? Though 6 months to a year would be dreamy...ahhhh... 3 months is what we're gearing towards - if only we could get on the saving train!! Saving for travel becomes intensely more difficult when you go from being a full-time earner to a full-time mom.
Though there are more of us, and I'm not earning a wage we are saving better, and we definitely do less. The spending changes quite a bit when you aren't out on the town on a regular basis whooping it up, eating out, watching movies and all that jazz. Anyway, this is motivating me somewhat to finally post some stuff on Etsy, and we've been doing a healthy clean-out to sell some things locally on Kijiji or Craig's List.

We have brainstormed Central America, the Caribbean, Trans-Siberian railway combined with Japan (mega bucks though which would make this a much shorter journey), or a pop-tent trailer and a cruise across our own beautiful Canada with a big-time emphasis on the northern bits. My greatest wish is to take the Trans-Siberian railway, then a two night boat from Shanghai across to Japan and spend a month wandering about Japan, but we have decided that will not be this year. We would like to take a bit longer and so we need to find somewhere that we can afford to stay longer.
As for Central America, and the Caribbean there are too many issues around immunizations, malaria, dengue and the like that I just can't deal with for two little boys. Travelling to Italy, Levi had a cough which should be no big deal right? Well, with medical help simple and readily available, I'll tell ya it is still incredibly bothersome and scary at times when you are in a new place, so Central America with a malaria risk is not happening - yet...
As for our cross-canada dreams we have yet to invest in the vehicle that can handle a pop-tent trailer, and figure this is an ideal trip when we have more, and slightly older kids so another time.

We seem to be stuck on the idea of somewhere around Spain, Portugal, and Morrocco. Possibly a month each, maybe 3 months apartment rental in one spot with brief, side trips. We shall see, but we are seriously looking into this region. The ease of travel with convenient rail service and of course the cheap (if not slightly sketchy) airlines available make it a great choice, especially with friends and family a hop away in the U.K.
The fact that we have never been to these 3 spots, also make it an ideal option!



All will make itself known to us when we see the disposition of our new little travel companion. We feel that even if they start out a little fussy, taking them on a couple adventures when they are young can only be good training for later right? Levi is a fantastic traveller, and happy as anything on an airplane and a train - just don't bring him on a bus! He's still had to suffer through the odd bus ride, but restrictions do not bode well with him :).



Let the saving and planning begin!

Busy Bees

My week is lacking in the blog world, but very, VERY full in the real world. We have been prepping & packing for yet another journey, running about gathering up things we need, catching up on necessary appointments, sewing up something special for a friend's little baby soon to be in this world (I'll show next week post-baby shower), writing a few long overdue letters (I love mailing a letter, almost as much as I love receiving one), some Etsy browsing - and ok yes, some Etsy buying, a wee bit of baking, and just trying to do a little house cleaning (I love coming home from a holiday to a clean house).

Today, we had a visit to our local library to stock up on guide books about the Maritime provinces of Canada. We have struggled with our itinerary because of course we want to see absolutely EVERYTHING in 2 weeks time but obviously cannot, and we don't want to push it too hard for the little guy's sake. Hey, I would be pretty crabby if I were buckled in to the same position for any great length of time! We want to make sure our driving days aren't too aggressive, and that we have time to stretch them out for plentiful stops so our son can enjoy a bit of run around time in between those sits.

Choosing what to give up on an adventure is one of the most difficult things, but really when it all comes down to it the less you do can actually make the trip. You can immerse yourself in the things you do choose to do without feeling time pressures and stress - which we all have enough of in our regular day-to-day living.

So here we are, making a few last minute decisions. Thank God for the internet when it comes to planning a journey. Being able to connect with others on various forums to hear what their particular must-sees are is very valuable.
A couple of spots we rely on regularly are:
Bootsnall
and
The Lonely Planet's Thorntree forum

The planning and anticipation of a trip are a pretty awesome part of the whole process.

This is my busy bee at the library. He just loves to move things around and organise which is what he is all about here.


If you aren't currently traveling or planning to, you should muster up a serious dream trip. It's the best kind! When we aren't away, we're most definitely dreaming about it...
xo