Responsible Father

Let them vote!

It is often the case that you already know* or don’t care** what your kids think you should do on a given day of your vacation. But sometimes you don’t know and you do care.

Perhaps you are trying to choose one of two options for the afternoon.  Or you are trying to decide to go out for an adventure of some kind or just stay at your cabin, hotel or campsite and relax.

So find out. Give them the opportunity to say what they think. Let them have some ownership of your itinerary. And they might surprise you with their answer.

* Hmmm, I wonder if the kids want to go to the swimming park today?

** What, the Star Trek Hall Of Fame is only three miles off our route? We’re so going!

See the whole “Dads and Vacations” list of tips here

Readers of this blog will remember that it is the JamFam goal to go on one hundred picnics this year, 2010, which happens to be our tenth year of going on picnics. I thought some of you might be interested in how far along we are in this endeavor.

We didn’t plan it to work out like this but . . .

(1) Today is the last day of the first half of the year, and
(2) Today we went on our 50th picnic.

So progress is being made. We’ll see about finishing. An early winter might make it impossible. But we’re shooting for it.

And happily our kids are not getting sick of it, and are, in fact, commonly requesting more.

Picnic #29: State Capital Mall

One more point (not related to the picture): Yesterday we went to a park that I had heard of in Northern Maplewood called Sunset Ridge. It turned out to have a surprising and spectacular view to the south and West. We could see both Twin City downtowns, the State Capital Building and the Cathedral that St. Paul is named after. Beautiful. Plus a park and a swinging bench that seemed to be popular with couples.

We recommend it.

Find A Place For Them To Run

Even if they haven’t been stuck in a car for a long time (but especially if they have) kids love to run. Find places that are big and open and a little contained. Kids give extra points if there are some limitations in the terrain so they have to figure ways around objects. Anything maze like will do.

Big parks or big rocks are good ideas.

This would be reason number 17 why we like Artist Point in Grand Marais

See the whole “Dads and Vacations” list of tips here

1. If you want a touch of the north shore before actually getting there, try Jay Cooke State Park

2. There’s a lot of cool wooden platforms and nice views on the Shovel Point hike at Tettegouche State Park.

3.  If one day it’s misty and cool jacket weather on Artist Point in Grand Marais . . .

. . . come back the next day and it might be warm enough to make you want wade.

4. If you leave a sink full of dishwater over night, you might go searching in the water the next morning for a fork and come up with a . . .

Yes, that's a mouse.

And just so I don’t leave you with that image in your mind. Here’s one more from Artist Point

I’ve heard people eschew this map as being too America-centric.

But I disagree.  After all people in the United States live in America. But my main reason is – it is because of growing up with maps like this . . .

. . . that, even as an adult, when someone talks about flying to Japan, I picture them flying east.