I have always liked history, and as fortune would have it, I married a man who shares that interest. Maybe it’s because I enjoy stories, but to me there’s something so amazing in the idea that at every point in recorded time ordinary people have been going about their day-to-day business with the same kinds of concerns that we have today. And I’m fairly ecumenical in my tastes – want to share the history of the ball bearing? The pencil? Cheese? I’m all eyes and ears.

But just because I’m a sucker for pretty much any kind of diorama, interactive display, or museum panel doesn’t mean I assume my children will enjoy them equally. I’m lucky that both of my boys like history too, but I know that making sure they continue to do so is part of my job as a traveling mom. If we keep having fun at museums and historic sites, they’ll keep wanting to visit them.

So what are my top tips for making historical attractions interesting for children?

1. Read, read, and read some more. Before we even leave home I make sure that we’ve read up on the place we’re visiting and understand its historical significance. When my children were younger, this might have meant me reading books to them or finding art or history books with lots of pictures that I could share and discuss. Now that they are independent readers, I visit the library and find age-appropriate books for them and then just leave these lying around to be discovered. Series I love include the “Horrible Histories” and “You Wouldn’t Want to Be a…” both of which take a humorous and engaging approach to teaching about history.

2. Take a tour. A good guide can do a lot to breathe life into a historic site or museum and many now offer tours especially aimed at families. The best thing about tours and kids is that sometimes they can be a great way to combine historic information with exercise, as when we rode through Central London with a guide via Fat Tire Bike tours. There’s no better way to keep children interested than to keep them moving!

3. Make connections. Visiting an old school house? Talk about the similarities and differences between it and your child’s classroom. At Hagley last spring, we played “I Spy” in the kitchen of a historic house – I asked the boys to find the antique equivalents of things that we have at home. At the Globe Theatre in London, we talked about how different seeing a play there would be from going to the movies. Another tack is to connect what you’re looking at to things your children have learned at school or to other places you’ve visited.

4. Encourage questions. This may seem obvious, but I can’t tell you how often I’ve been in a museum or at a historic site and overheard families where kids ask questions only to have the adults simply respond “I don’t know.” When your child asks what an item is or how it was used, find someone who can give you the answer, even if it takes a little doing. Most museums now have docents or interpreters throughout who will be more than happy to help you get the information you need. We’ve done this so often that my children will often seek out docents themselves to ask questions.

5. Dress up. This last tip won’t work for every child or in every situation, but one of the most successful experiences we had in historic immersion was at Colonial Williamsburg where we rented a costume for Teddy. He absolutely loved wearing the blouse, rucksack, and hat (we purchased the latter and he very carefully chose a cockade with which to decorate it) and I think it made the entire experience more vivid for him. It helped that the interpreters there continually addressed him in character – expecting him to bow in return and doff his hat – and that he was invited to participate in both seed planting and a muster as if he were an 18^th-century child. I think the takeaway here is that meaningful interactivity and immersion – whether it involves dressing up or not – is the way to go.

Thus far we’ve managed to have very positive experiences at a whole host of different historic sites from the Tower of London to Versailles to the small museum in Milton, Wisconsin. I’ll be honest and confess that I do worry about a bit about what will happen when my children get older and reach that eye-rolling stage when everything is boring. But until then I’m going to enjoy every historical moment.

These are my top tips for engaging kids with history on the road. Now it’s your turn. What are your favorite suggestions?

Trident Booksellers and Café in Boston met all of my expectations and then some. For one thing, I love the ambiance. On one side there’s a bustling counter with a bunch of booths and a long communal table at the back.

On the other, well, there’s this:

A carefully curated selection of books and magazines. So carefully curated, in fact, that the people who choose and sell them have their own bios on Trident’s staff page (one of them contains the word absquatulated – I’m not sure whether that’s a selling point or not).

But back to the food. As I mentioned, it met all my requirements, particularly with regards to portion size. The boys started out their meals with Mango Tango smoothies, containing mango, orange juice, honey, and vanilla ice cream. Finally! We found a place where we can ice cream and bacon at the same meal!

I ordered the Eggs Benedict with avocado. I think I may still have some leftovers tucked away somewhere.

And Matt had the elegantly named Potato Chuckwagon.

I know this looks innocent, but under those fried eggs lies a mass of shredded potato, cheddar cheese, chorizo, onions, and peppers.

The Trident is a busy place, especially on weekends when you may have to wait for a table – although of course there are all those books to browse through while you wait. We lucked out and got to sit down right away on a Saturday morning in July. The service was friendly and efficient but not rushed and our server remembered to bring Tommy the side of whipped cream he asked for to accompany his dainty meal of pancakes, eggs, homefries, toast, and bacon.

(I no longer remember why my child asked for a side of whipped cream or why I permitted him to get a side of whipped cream when he also had a smoothie with ice cream in it. Maybe he hit me over the head with a book and I was unconscious when he ordered.)

Trident Booksellers is located at the far end of Newbury Street from downtown Boston toward Boston University. It was supremely hot the day we ate there, so we chose to hop back on the T for one more stop instead of walking to Fenway Park, which lies just a little further out. On a nicer day, this would be an easy walk. You could also easily stroll back up Newbury Street (although beware – much expensive consumer temptation will line your way) to visit the Boston Public Library, the Swan Boats, or the Common. The Esplanade along the Charles River is close by, as is the Museum of Fine Arts and the meandering Fens, a gorgeous green space to get lost in (if you’re there in early summer, be sure to make your way over to the rose garden). Trident is therefore the perfect place to fill up before setting out to burn off some energy in the Back Bay. Or stop by for dinner (or “perpetual breakfast”) at the end of a busy day – they are open every day from 8 a.m. until midnight. The menu is extensive, with something to please everyone, and they do serve beer and wine if your day happens to have been a bit wearying.

For Wanderfood Wednesday at Wanderlust and Lipstick – stop by for some more lip-smacking posts.

Until we reached this crowded stretch of highway, our trip been as smooth as glass. As planned we’d picked the boys up right after school and hit the road. I had snacks, dinner, and plenty of activities all ready right in the car. Our goal was to reach Corolla, North Carolina – the northernmost part of the Outer Banks – by 9:30 p.m. To do so, we drove south through the entire state of Delaware, into Maryland, and finally onto this tiny and desolate spit of Virginia where the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel would carry us across 20 miles of water to Norfolk on the other side.

And then, just like that, with no warning whatsoever, the traffic came to a complete halt. We sat in the middle of numerous idling semis, trying to ignore the fumes and watched as ominous clouds rolled across the sky. After about twenty minutes, I pulled out Matt’s iPad and learned that the approaching storm and its high winds had caused a truck like the ones that surrounded us to tip over on the bridge. Until they could clear it, which they couldn’t do until the storm passed and the winds died down, no traffic would be allowed to pass.

Our predicament was obvious. We’d driven too far down the Delmarva Peninsula to think about turning back and trying to find an alternate route – the next closest bridge was the one in Annapolis, which at nearly 200 miles away was almost as far as we’d already driven. To backtrack and take that route would have meant driving all night. So if we’d managed to turn around our only option would have been to go home and call it quits on the entire weekend. And even doing that would have meant trying to cross a wide grassy median in fading light with all four of our bikes on the back of the car. We decided that we had to wait it out – maybe it wouldn’t be too long.

We started out, as one always does, cheerful and resolute. We told stories and read as the light faded. When the storm really hit, we had to roll up the windows to avoid getting soaked and the air in the car quickly turned soupy. Bickering started as we tried to decide what was worse – being stuffy and hot or being wet. An hour passed. Two hours. Finally the boys fell asleep, and, with nothing else to do Matt and I did as well, waking when the state police car arrived with its garbled explanation or when an especially strong gust of wind hit the car.

At 1:00 in the morning the state trooper returned for a slow parade with his bullhorn, clearly doing his best to make sure everyone woke up. It took another 25 minutes for traffic to start moving, and when it did, we realized just how close we were to the toll booths, probably about a mile from where we had been sitting. Once we got onto the bridge, the rest of the traffic seemed to disappear, perhaps into the seething water below us as we drove on the surreal bridge to nowhere. Descending into the illuminated glare of the tunnel halfway across did nothing to jar us back to reality and we rode like sleepwalkers until, just as we reached the opposite shore, we saw the truck that had caused all the trouble. It looked as if it had been cast aside by a petulant child and then stepped on, its trailer dented and torn.

I stayed awake with Matt for the remaining two hours of the drive, across yet another bridge at Kitty Hawk, up a narrow beach road into Duck and Corolla that was in places covered with water from Hurricane Irene and other recent storms. We arrived to find our welcome packet at our condo soaked almost beyond recognition (someone had left the lid to the box it was sitting in open to the elements) but I was just able to make our the code we needed to get into our house. It was only feet from the rental center, but in my exhaustion I mistakenly directed us back to the main road. Somehow we managed to figure out where to go, and once we got there, how to punch the code into the keypad by the door.

The boys, alert after their few hours of sleep, started to bounce off the walls of their room, which had two sets of bunk beds. Before things got too out of hand Matt actually said some choice things that may have involved the words “beat” and “cr-p” (who am I to judge? I put sunscreen on my toothbrush I was so tired) and inspired by fear they fell asleep immediately, as did we, the blissful dark sleep that only comes at the point of total exhaustion. The last thing I remember was glancing at the clock, which said 4:00.

Despite this, the weekend ended up being just fine – better than fine actually. Later that same morning after I dined on a Southern delight called The Big Meaty, we all played putt-putt golf, and the boys rode in go karts. In the brisk air of the Currituck Sound our long stay at the bridge seemed like only a bad dream. But that evening as we crawled into bed immediately after the boys did Matt pointed out to me that we had actually sat in our car at the bridge longer than we had driven. It was, in fact, the very definition of a road trip nightmare: The drive took more than twice as long as it should have. But you know what? Everyone survived. We had a great time. And now we have a story, one that can grow and become more elaborate over time. I’m sure that by the time Tommy and Teddy share it with their children, we’ll have been sitting on that highway for twelve hours and lightening will strike our car.

And I’ll never forget that silent drive across the bridge when the world seemed both vast and miniscule as I watched my husband in profile and caught glimpses of the roiling water underneath. We were allies in that moment, fellow travelers on an adventure.

To me this story shows that even when the unpleasant and unexpected happens, it’s still worth hitting the road. Although I could have done without the truck exhaust and stiff neck, I’m not sorry we embarked on this adventure. And now it’s your turn. Have your family travel plans ever gone awry enroute?

Photo courtesy of Fire at Will via Flickr.

In the comments from last week’s family travel question, where I talked about our spring travel plans, I was asked how I managed to get away so often with two school-aged children. The answer is somewhat complicated, because while I do respect the fact that classroom time is important, I also think that travel is a valuable learning experience. Even when we are simply traveling within the United States, doing so teaches my children about geography, regional cultural differences and history, and also about flexibility and patience when things don’t go as planned. So how to accommodate both school and travel?

I make sure I know the school calendar. Before the school year even begins, I enter all school holidays, in-service days, and early dismissals into our family calendar. When opportunities for travel arise, I always check to see if they can happen during these times. Being gone from Thursday to Tuesday makes a big difference if the boys get out of school early on Friday and have no school on Monday. All of the 2012 travel we have planned will take place during times when at least one of the days is a school holiday. I also make sure that we never travel during periods of standardized testing.

I’m familiar with the school’s attendance policy. My children’s school allows up to ten unexcused absences a year (all travel is unexcused) before questions about promotion to the next grade come up. I keep careful track of how many days they miss. Generally speaking, careful planning means they miss between 5 and 7 days a year.

I keep the lines of communication open. I always make sure that the boys’ teachers know well in advance when they will miss school – and I’m honest about the reason. Where it is appropriate and fits with what the class is studying (as when we visited Colonial Williamsburg) I offer to have the boys share stories or write reports about their experiences as well.

I make sure my children have their work completed. I have no expectation that time off from school means the boys are excused from the work they do there. When they return to school, it is with all homework and assignments completed. I always offer to have them take tests or complete assignments early as well. To me it is a sign of good faith to take the boys’ schoolwork seriously, just as I’m asking the teachers to respect the value of our family time.

With all of this said, it’s obviously each person’s individual decision about how to handle travel and school. Some children don’t handle disruptions in their school routine well and others have trouble catching up when they miss school. I’m also aware that as the boys get older (next year Tommy enters the unknown waters of middle school) it may be harder on them to miss class. If at any point our family travel starts to affect the boys academically, we will keep it only to school holidays. However, I will point out that more than one of the boys’ teachers has mentioned to me the positive impact that they see travel having on my children in the classroom, how it offers them a wider world view. I say this not to brag, but merely to humbly suggest that there is more than one way for children to learn about the world around them.

I’ve shared a few of my key strategies for traveling during the school year – now I’d love to read about yours. How do you plan school-year travel?

I’m starting a new feature today called Travel Questions. Every Thursday I will share a question and my own response to it. Then I’ll open up comments, my Facebook page, and my Twitter stream to your answers or tips. Got a burning travel question of your own? Feel free to send it to me and maybe I’ll include it at a later date.

I don’t know about you, but school and work schedules in my house necessitate that I plan any travel of more than a day or two well in advance. I’ve already written a bit about our 2012 travel schedule, which I started working on in October. But it’s only during the past few days that I’ve committed most of our plans to paper, buying plane tickets and making reservations. I don’t know about you, but I enjoy planning and daydreaming about trips almost as much as the actual taking of them, so this has been a fun and exciting time.

So far, we’ve got five family trips planned between now and August. We’ll be skiing in Vermont in February and at Keystone Resort in Colorado in March. April brings the boys’ spring break, which we’ll spend in Phoenix with Grandma and Grandpa. June will bring our big European trip of the year, with stops in Switzerland and France (including a visit to Bordeaux, a region whose wines I love but which I’ve never had the pleasure of seeing). And then we’ll spend the last three weeks of summer break as we always do, swimming and hiking in the Mad River Valley.

I’m also excited to announce that the picture at the top of this post, which was taken on our trip to Fort Myers in 2010, has earned me an unexpected travel opportunity as well. Last fall I entered a contest at Caribbean Joe, submitting that photo for a chance to win a Celebrity Cruise. I promptly forgot that I even entered, so imagine my surprise when I found out that my photo was selected as the grand prize winner! (On top of the cruise I’ll also get some of the company’s breezy resort wear and a set of luggage.)

Now one thing you’ll notice on my blog is a marked absence of big boats. Our family has never taken a cruise and up until now had no plans to do so because they make Matt nervous. But when I won this prize, he and I realized that we haven’t been away for more than two nights in a row since before I started this blog; our last significant trip without the kids was to Ireland in January of 2008. Much as I love traveling with my children and writing about it, that’s an awfully long time to go without a grownup getaway. So with the chance in front of us to take a really nice trip together for very little money, he decided that he’ll find a way to manage his phobia (I’m guessing that the fact that we’ve selected a Wine Cruise will help). We’ll be embarking Memorial Day weekend for a five-night cruise from San Diego to Vancouver with stops in San Francisco and Victoria, British Columbia. I’m very excited to see two cities I’ve never visited and also to get back to Vancouver, which I visited solo last June.

Of course, I’m sure there will also be numerous, as-yet-unplanned day- and weekend trips on our 2012 agenda. After all, I’ve got all 16 of Delaware’s State Parks to visit as part of my State Parks Project! I’d also like to get back to Baltimore because we only managed to fit in half of the activities I had planned on our recent visit. A recent article I wrote for USA Today about Lancaster, Pennsylvania has me excited to spend some time up there. And then of course there’s Philadelphia. In fact, the boys and I will be taking the train up there for the day on Monday, since they don’t have school.

2012 is going to be another great travel year for The Mother of All Trips family. What about for yours? I’d love to hear where you’re going in the next 11 and half months.

That doesn’t mean I’m in any way ready to give up on blogging. But it has led me to take a step back and start thinking about how I can make sure what I’m doing is worthwhile for me, for my kids, and for my readers. With that in mind, I do have a number of resolutions this year, but they relate less to the actual act of traveling (I’ve already got lots of trips planned, so any goals in that direction are well accounted for) and more to the act of blogging. I don’t usually spend a lot of time writing about blogging, but if you’ll indulge me, that’s what this post is going to cover because it is what has been on my mind these first nine days of 2012.

(Prefer the straight family travel side of things? You might instead enjoy my recent series of posts about our trip to Baltimore.)

So without further ado, here are my 2012 blogging resolutions:

1. I’ll add new types of content. One of my stated goals from 2011 was to visit every state park in Delaware. What didn’t happen last year has become this year’s opportunity as I plan in the upcoming weeks to launch The State Park Project, where I not only visit (and write about) all of the state parks in my home state but invite other bloggers and readers to share their own experiences with state parks around the United States. I hope to increase awareness of these gems to be found in our own communities, especially in the face of budget cuts that are leading some of them to close.

In 2012 I’ll also add a new section called Itineraries where I offer suggestions of places to stay and eat, things to do, and other family-friendly information for some of the popular destinations I’ve visited. I plan to offer printer-friendly pdfs of these posts and even aspire to eventually offer versions that will be accessible on mobile devices.

And I know it will make some of you sad to hear it, but after more than two years of dedicated posting, I feel that it’s time for my Mondays are for Dreaming feature to say farewell. That isn’t to say that I won’t ever share any of my travel dreams, but I’m not going to do it regularly and will no longer be including the linking tool. If you feel nostalgic, you can of course read the archive of over 150 dreamy posts.

2. I’ll spend more time hanging out with my readers. I’m so grateful for each and every one of you that reads my site, but I’m afraid that in my attempts to find still more readers I don’t always show it. And so it is that in 2012 I promise to spend more time answering your comments instead of trolling the Internet for tips on growing my traffic. I’m also going to introduce a new weekly theme called Family Travel Questions. Every Thursday I’ll share a question having to do with travel and will offer my own answer. Then I’ll open up comments on my site and on my Facebook page and Twitter stream, where I hope we can create some meaningful conversations. If you’ve got a burning travel question or need advice in planning your next trip, feel free to drop me a line so I can feature it.

3. I’ll blog like no one is reading. Although I’ve listed this last, in my mind it’s actually the most important of my resolutions for 2012. You’ve probably heard the Irish proverb, commonly trotted out at weddings, “dance like no one is watching.” I’ve decided to apply that very principle to my blogging life. You see, it’s easy as a blogger to get caught up in the popularity game – How many unique visits do I have in Google Analytics? What’s my follower count on Twitter? Are people talking about my posts on Facebook? Did I get listed in the latest “Best of” contest? Do I have Klout? I’d be lying if I said that this Internet version of those high-school yearbook contests didn’t sometimes often affect me.

Would I like to be the Number One Family Travel Blogger with a million followers and advertisers beating down my door? Yes. But only if I could achieve it by creating the kind of content I find compelling. And the simple fact is that my traffic numbers and my presence as a social media superstar have not one thing to do with writing blog posts that contain the kind of quality writing I aspire to.

And so I pledge anew in 2012 to focus on what truly matters: Offering inspiration for family travelers everywhere by sharing the best stories and essays that I know how to craft.

For my readers this may ultimately mean fewer posts, a bit less advice, and not as many product reviews or contests. On my end, it means more time writing and less time checking my blog stats. But hopefully the end result will be happy for all of us: Meaningful content that reminds us that every part of our planet – from the park up the street to the much-loved summer house to the faraway palaces we dream of visiting – offers us a chance to experience the world with our children. I feel that no matter how rich or poor we are, these experiences are our true treasure as parents. And they are a treasure I hope to continue to humbly share with all of you.

Regi’s

Located just a few blocks from the Maryland Science Center, Regi’s American Bistro is a great neighborhood joint, absolutely perfect for weekend brunch with kids (they serve it from 9:30 until 3 on Saturdays and Sundays and on warmer days you can eat outside). I love that the food is prepared using vegetables grown on the roof or purchased from nearby farms.

We started our meal with one of the house specialties – A.J.’s Tater Tots, which are topped with melted brie and applewood bacon. Loyal readers will know that I pride myself on the fact that I know my pig meat. The bacon at Regi’s gives other famous bacon a run for its money. And as for this application to potatoes, well, let’s just say I think it’s probably a good thing for my heart that I don’t live up the street.

Salmon eggs Benedict, a bacon-and-egg panini, and a pumpkin waffle with cranberries and pecans followed this initial indulgence, all equally good.

If you prefer your food to be more lunchlike, there are also big salads and sandwiches on the menu. And Regi’s has been singled out as a place to sample crab cakes, no small feat in this crab-loving city. The staff here was accommodating too – Teddy didn’t want the entire half-pound Black Angus burger, so the kitchen made him two sliders instead.

I feel that I should point out that this restaurant is also an easy walk from both the baseball and football stadiums, if the sports are what you’re after.

BOP

“Mom, look! Guy Fiori ate here!” was Tommy’s cry when he discovered a poster from the Food Network star on the wall of Brick Oven Pizza in Fell’s Point. This alone was enough of a selling point for my oldest (he’s a fan) but I liked the fact that slices at this Baltimore institution can be custom designed with a huge number of toppings before being slid into the eponymous oven. Matt and I were still full from breakfast and didn’t create our own slices, but both boys did and enjoyed them mightily.

Another bonus is that BOP sells Sprecher’s Cream Soda, a nectar-like beverage if ever there was one and which up until that point I had only ever seen on our trips to Wisconsin. Should you feel really ambitious (and flush) you might order the 18-inch pizza complete with all 52 toppings.

P.S. Step next door for a cappuccino or a cup of sipping chocolate at Pitango Gelato. You won’t be disappointed.

Vaccaro’s

Baltimore boasts its own Little Italy, which to me means one thing and one thing only: Cannolis filled to order while you watch. Rumor informed me that Vaccaro’s is the place to pick up these cream-filled treasures and I’m happy to say that the clove-scented cannolis here did not disappoint. It may be heresy to say so, but I think I liked them better than the ones at Mike’s Pastry in Boston. (Not that I’m trying to start a New England/Mid Atlantic rivalry or anything).

Is it possible that my cannoli was eaten before I thought to take a picture of it? Yes, yes, it is. But I did get a shot of the cookies while I waited in line. This is known as the place in Baltimore to stop for dessert. The café menu also includes panini and salads, but with all the pastries available here, I’m thinking you might just want to have cake for lunch (as even their awning suggests).

B&O Brasserie

A later Saturday dinner with the kids in a nice restaurant is a new thing for us, something we’ve just started to try now that the boys are a little older. The B&O Brasserie in the Hotel Monaco did not disappoint with its friendly but impeccable service and kid-friendly touches. The dimly lit and cozy dining room felt completely comfortable with the kids, especially since a screen separated our table from the next.

Although I was somehow completely remiss in the photography department and didn’t snap any photos of our drinks, I highly recommend that you choose from the list of artisanal cocktails. Matt tried the Carthusian Frappe, a citrusy, lime green delight (who knew that anise and lemon made such a nice combination?) and at the recommendation of our waiter I sampled The Cadizian, which is the restaurant’s very up-to-date and delicious version of an old fashioned. And Teddy wasn’t left out either – he ordered a fruit punch, which the bartender custom made for him, and which arrived with a beautiful frothy top after being concocted in a shaker. This proved to be as carefully prepared and delicious as our alcoholic drinks, and he happily consumed two of them.

There are lots of options at the B&O, which offers both main and small plates, another reason it’s great for kids. Teddy chose pizza from the children’s menu, which turned out to be a simple and cheesy version of the flatbread served on the regular menu. Tommy ordered a plate of short ribs with fingerling sweet potatoes and bacon from the main plates on the dinner menu and didn’t even mind that it accidentally came served on Brussels sprouts and not the bourbon apple puree he had requested (the waiter immediately realized the mistake and brought Tommy a big dish of the puree on the side).

Matt and I decided to share a number of small plates including chorizo and mussels, clam and poblano fritters, and the wild mushroom flatbread – all delicious. But it was the small plate of pork belly that really stole the show as far as I was concerned. Topped with pickled pears, this sweet, salty, smoky dish was perfectly prepared and melted in my mouth.

It’s just a shame that my husband can’t stand the texture of pork belly and I had to eat the entire thing myself.

The hotel graciously offered us a complimentary breakfast at the restaurant the next morning and Matt was thrilled to discover that the same short ribs Tommy had enjoyed for dinner were served in omelet form – Brussels sprouts and all.

I tried the cornflake crusted French toast, which was served with syrup laden with lardons of bacon and crystallized ginger. It was an interesting although perhaps not entirely successful combination of flavors and texture (I think perhaps the bacon would have been enough).

Whether or not you’re staying at the Hotel Monaco, I definitely recommend the B&O as a great place to try some slightly fancier family dining. It may be sophisticated, but it’s also welcoming and we felt completely comfortable. It helped that our waiters were friendly and knowledgeable about the menu as well.

I’m sure you’re not surprised to read that I can’t wait to return to Baltimore for more yumminess! But right now I invite you to head over to the Wanderfood Wednesday at Wanderlust and Lipstick, where there’s sure to be even more delicious posts.

Our breakfast at the B&O was paid for by the Hotel Monaco; we covered the expenses for all our other meals. The opinions shared here about bacon and everything else are my own.

I’m going to admit more than a little sheepishly that up until today I’ve unfairly ignored Baltimore. There it sits, an hour from my front door with its harbor and water taxis and museums, and for years now I’ve either turned my back on it and headed for Philadelphia or driven through it on my way to Washington, DC. I’m happy to report that this situation has now been rectified by the lovely people at the Hotel Monaco Baltimore and Kimpton Hotels, who invited me to spend a night there last weekend to see just what the city has to offer (which, as it turns out, is quite a bit). I’d like to point out that before this post has ended, you’re going to have an easy chance to win two nights at a Kimpton Hotel yourself. But first, let’s visit Baltimore, shall we?

My feelings about the city will certainly be forever altered by the friendly staff and low-key elegance of The Hotel Monaco, which is located a quick half-mile from the Inner Harbor attractions like the Maryland Science Center in the former headquarters of the B & O Railroad. The magnificent marble street-level lobby is worthy of any early twentieth-century industry baron. The Beaux Arts steps and ceiling are especially spectacular. I also liked the elevators, although I wish that an arrow still indicated what floor they are on, just like in the movies!

While the décor of the rest of the hotel is chic and modern, there are thoughtful references to the trains in its past. My favorite may have been the transom over the closet door of our room, which showed a photo of train wheels and when illuminated served as one of the coolest nightlights ever.

The Kimpton brand is all about small details that make you feel taken care of and at home. For example, let the hotel know in advance that you’re arriving with kids (or just like animals), and they’ll be happy to provide you with your very own goldfish in your room. If your kids are like mine and, thanks to some wicked allergies, don’t have any pets, discovering a fishbowl in their hotel room was a pretty exciting moment.

We had adjoining king and double rooms, a set-up that would be perfect for a family with three or more kids. Both rooms were spacious, and we all could have comfortably stayed in the double room, although of course the boys were thrilled to have their own space – and their own beds – and quickly made the most of those upholstered headboards. They also liked the kid-size animal print robes and the thermal bags stuffed with crayons and coloring pages that greeted them on arrival and which they promptly made their own. The rooms also sported comfy chairs and ottomans, which were the perfect spot for lounging with the paper.

Another big plus in my book is the Kimpton brand’s eco-friendly policies, which shows in many small details throughout the hotel from the Aveda products in the bathroom to the clearly marked recycling bins to the fact that there are non-paper cups and glasses to use. I would like to suggest that leaving the lights on and the radio playing upon arrival and after turndown are a bit less than environmentally sound and might be dispensed with. (Another minor complaint is the wi-fi charge, although you can avoid these by signing up for the Kimpton InTouch Loyalty Program, which offers other benefits and discounts as well.)

Every evening the Hotel Monaco hosts a wine reception in the more intimate lobby space on the first floor. I loved the distressed glass surrounding the fireplace and the cozy sofas. The boys loved the seasonal hot cider and the Wii. What I thought was especially brilliant was that although the video game is in plain view, the seating has been configured so that it isn’t intrusive at all. Drapes on the windows and wall muffle the sound in the event that things get exciting. I felt completely relaxed sipping wine and watching the kids play seeing that they weren’t bothering anyone else (and the other seats were completely full). If we were interested in quieter pursuits, we could have also played a board game.

You’ll definitely want to connect with Laurelle, the concierge at the Hotel Monaco Baltimore ahead of your stay or as soon you get there if you’re arriving with kids in tow. She’s got a great list of recommendations that you can use to plan your Baltimore outings, and she’s happy to email them to you. Be sure to get her restaurant suggestions too – I did and on our first day we ended up in a great neighborhood lunch spot, eating with loads of locals instead of the hordes of people at the Maryland Science Center’s small café. She can also set you up with another cool family-friendly amenity: The hotel’s bicycles (designed in colors to match the logo). Borrow all four and bike around the Inner Harbor on a nice day.

I’ll be sharing more about our trip to Baltimore and what we did later this week, including the story of our meals at the hotel’s own B&O Brasserie, which gets high marks not only for its food but for its friendly service. But before I do that, I have some other exciting news.

You can win a special Kimpton Hotel giveaway for your family including a two-night stay at any Kimpton Hotel property of your choice to help you experience your own family Kimpton Holiday!

In this I’m so happy to be joined by four other fab family travel bloggers, each of whom spent a night this past weekend at a different Kimpton Hotel with her family. Since we’re all participating in the giveaway, you have up to five chances to win. Here’s how to enter:

Leave a comment on this blog post answering the following question: “At what Kimpton property are you dreaming about staying the weekend?”

Each day from today through Saturday, my fellow family travel writers at Hip Travel Mama, Pit Stops for Kids, Ciao Bambino, and The Vacation Gals will be sharing blog posts on their Kimpton Holiday experiences, so make sure you check their blogs for additional chances to win.

You get one entry for each of the five participating Kimpton Holiday blog posts you leave a comment on (up to five entries, or one per blog).

Entries close on Sunday Dec 11, 2011 at 11:59 p.m. PST. The winner will be announced Monday, Dec 12, 2011

Promotion Rules: The Kimpton Hotel Holiday getaway prize is a gift certificate for two-night stay at any Kimpton Hotel in the Continental US and is valued at $500. Up to five entries per person. No purchase necessary to enter. Void where prohibited by law. You must be a US resident, 21 or older to participate. Employees, partners, agents, vendors, or immediate family members of Mother of All Trips, Hip Travel Mama, The Vacation Gals, Ciao Bambino, and Pitstops for Kids are not eligible to enter. This is a random drawing, so odds of winning will depend on number of entrants. Rules are governed by the state of Washington. Hip Travel Mama, The Mother of All Trips, and other participating sites reserve the right to cancel, suspend, and or modify a promotion if any problem corrupts the administration, security or proper play of the promotion. In the event of a dispute as to the winner’s identity, entries will be deemed made by the holder of the email account associated with the entry. Entrants agree that Hip Travel Mama, The Mother of All Trips, or any of the other participating sites are not responsible and cannot be held liable for any unauthorized intervention, technical errors, printing errors, mail delays and any other errors in connection with the administration with this program.

And one more disclaimer: Kimpton Hotels paid for our rooms at the Hotel Monaco and also treated us to breakfast at the B&O Brasserie. You can always count on me to tell you when I’ve received something for free – and also to honestly share my opinions.

If we do end up in Los Angeles, I just might try finding a place to stay using Enrout, a new lodging search engine that emphasizes both value and living like a local. The site offers hotels, bed and breakfasts, and short-term apartments or houses all around the world, with a good inventory in many cities. I’ve got my eye on an adorable two-bedroom bungalow in Long Beach that goes for $125 a night during the week in the winter time.

What’s that you say? I have to put up the Christmas tree? But this house is walking distance from the beach!

Even if you’re more focused on the home front than I am, I definitely advise you check out Enrout before December 16, because they are running a $500 holiday giveaway. There are lots of different ways to enter, so even if you aren’t going anywhere imminently, I suggest you give yourself the holiday gift of checking out this contest. And maybe while you’re there you’ll discover that April in Paris sounds pretty good right about now – and that $500 might just get you a few nights at cute little Left Bank hotel….

And before I leave you for the weekend, I want to make sure you’ve checked out my Passports With Purpose prize – this year we’re raising money for libraries in Zambia. Because what’s better than books?

Obviously very little about your time in Croatia turned out as you planned it. What was the biggest surprise for you?

Isn’t how that always is for a mom? I think the biggest surprise was how hard it was to adjust. I’ve been a travel writer for a decade now, and I thought I’d be the one leading my family around. Oddly enough, it was the exact opposite. I had culture shock, jet lag, the bends (not really). But pretty much every made-up travel ailment you can come up with. Meanwhile, my architect husband and my two very young children went skipping off into the mountain meadow, and I didn’t see them until four months later. I’m fairly certain this is because they had no expectations. And I had too many.

One of my favorite scenes in the book is when you arrive in Mrkoplaj to find the apartment yo were to live in unfinished. You felt responsible for your children and guilty that things were so topsy turvy and uncertain. But they ended up being fine that night and the next morning. Do you think this speaks to the ability of children to adapt in new situations?

I put a lot of heavy baggage on myself that whole first week in the village. Iowa is a conservative place, and I heard a lot of questioning about my decision before I left. “Isn’t that the country that’s in a giant war?” Well, yes it was. Fifteen years ago. And now it’s over. But things like that work on your psyche when you’re under stress. So that things weren’t as settled as they are at home made me worry for my kids. Was I a horrible mom to give in to my wanderlust and drag the kids along like this? I don’t know what I was expecting. Of course they’d be unsettled in a different country. And I would, too.

And you know what? They did great. I think we spend a lot of time trying to help our kids have perfect lives. I’m not so sure that’s good for them. My kids really grew and thrived in Mrkopalj because not only did they have challenges there, they had their parents close by to teach them how to deal with challenges. As long as you’re there for your kids, loving them and giving them support and attention when they need it, they can pretty much deal with anything. And couldn’t we say that about humans in general? That’s why travel is the ultimate growing experience. Every moment you get a new thing thrown at you. And funny enough, you deal, and often, you thrive.

It interested me how freedom much children had in Croatia. Did this benefit them? Has it affected them now that you’re home?

We did let them roam the way the kids in the village roamed. They were pretty much in eyeshot of us all the time anyway. It was good for them, and for us. I feel like our generation does more face time with their children than any before us. It’s tough on everyone. Because here’s this mom with a master’s degree who spends her days cleaning up Cheerios and having full conversations with a rear-view mirror. That’s a good thing, yes, because kids rock. But there’s so little separation between kid world and grownup world, I think it hinders the independence of both.

Can you share a bit about the traveling you did after you left Mrkoplaj? What did you see? How did it go?

We were in a compact car with two small children and two antsy adults for three full months. Let me reiterate: Compact car, three months, family of four. Sometimes I can’t even believe we’re all alive and relatively unscarred. Essentially Jim and I made a wish list of cities in Europe we liked, and the kids added to it with things they’d studied with Jim in homeschool. Then we hopped in the car and ticked every single place off the list: Lausanne, Switzerland; south of France; Paris; Lisbon, Portugal; London; all around Spain but especially San Sebastian, Barcelona, Bilbao. It was awesome and awful at the same time! Moving to a new currency, new language, new set of streets every few days is totally exhilarating. On the other hand, you’re doing that in Mommy-Daddy mode, so it’s probably four times as stressful. Or maybe eight jillion times more.

Still: There are so many inside jokes we now have as a family because of that time. And so many memories that are part of our in-house language here. I feel like that road time cinched us together as a family in a way that we’d have to work pretty hard to loosen. We became a team then. Or maybe a troupe of clowns. Either way, that feeling is still with us. And that’s what I’ve always dreamed of in a family.

What was it like to come back to the United States? How did your children adjust?

We were never more grateful to be Americans than we were on that first day home. We live in the greatest country in the world. We really do. And the fact that we were back with family and friends, in a place where we knew all the good deals again and how to get half off at the deli counter at our local grocery, was exhilarating as seeing the Eiffel Tower. As Grant Wood said, “I had to go to France to appreciate Iowa.”

What have you been up to since you came back to the States? Any future travel plans?

The first year was spent with our heads down, working to recover financially. We like to have a savings account built up, so we really focused on that, because you never know when that wanderlust will hit again. We’ve talked about following Jim’s roots, which are really interesting. His people are from a fishing village on the fjords of Norway (how awesome would that book be?) and from the Alsace-Lorrain region of France (training grounds of Thomas Keller; also awesome).

What’s your advice for parents who are planning long-term travel with their kids?

Prepare for baptism by fire when it comes to preparing for the journey. But when you make it through that, you’ll know that your desire to go was pure, and you’ve just earned the most amazing experience of your life. Also, buy Elisa Bernick’s The Family Sabbatical Handbook. I can tell you about the emotional roller coaster of excellence in Running Away to Home, but Elisa will give you logistics. We followed it to the letter.

Purchase Running Away to Home or visit Jennifer Wilson’s site where you can see video and more photos from the family’s trip.