I have been away for ten days vacationing with my daughter and her small but growing family. I was able to once again see Passion through a Child’s Eyes. My wife and I had planned since March for a September vacation to Southern California. Back in May my daughter, who is expecting to deliver my grandson in December said they wish they could take a vacation before the baby comes. So we decided to bring them along. I am very proud of my daughters.

This one daughter in particular lives a frugal and balanced life so that she only has to work part-time. She will be a 100% stay at home mom once baby number two comes. So my daughter, her husband and my two and half year-old granddaughter joined us for a ten-day road trip. A trip that took us through a couple of other cities on the way there and back. We added some end-of-year visits to extended family to our beach and Disneyland vacation.

Family Comes First

Whenever I mentioned that I was taking to the road with a toddler and visiting Disneyland the general response was you poor bugger. But they were so very wrong about that.

One of the things I held highest when I retired early was to put family first and enjoy every minute. When we are too busy with careers, earning money and paying off debt we can let family turn more into a frustration instead of enjoying the moments with them.

When raising our kids I know I was concerned about teaching them, protecting them, and taking care of them. Then there is all the demands of our careers and finances. All important but as we are so busy doing that we forget to see things through their eyes. We forget to take the time to marvel at their little personalities. At how they experience the world.

Feeling Passion through a Child’s Eyes

I have spent a lot of time visiting extended family this summer and this trip was the perfect cap on a great vacationing season. As an early retiree and having the time to spend with family I can assure you that being a grandparent is something I am passionate about. I believe most retirees with grandchildren are too.

I was driven near to tears a few times as I watched my granddaughter get excited about things we were doing.

The first time she saw the ocean. When the waves moved up past her tiny feet while holding hands with her parents. When a wave came in over her knees.

The first moment she entered Disneyland and Ariel (Little Mermaid) was right there for her to see. Then her dad getting a high-five from her favorite Disney character. This little girl would get so excited that she couldn’t contain herself and many times would break into what I can only describe as running in a little circle as fast as she could. All the while chattering away like some uncontrollable happiness, passion and energy release. What a crack-up.

Saving Money When We Can

The trip was not cheap. Finding good deals was a little difficult to come by. I did score a lower cost for our Best Western Plus hotel rooms because I booked way early saving about $20 a night per room. This was for both our Beach location and across the street from Disneyland. The hotels do sell out even in September after school starts and the traditional vacation period has ended so they start raising the rates. I have a Best Western reward account so I did rack up some good points toward free rooms and paid for everything with a reward credit card.

We were able to get our Disney Park Hopper passes at a slight discount when buying a multi-day pass at our participating hotel. Anyone who wonders what a two and a half year old would like to ride at Disneyland and the Disney California Adventure Park let me tell you.

Two and a Half Year Old’s Disneyland Ride List

Little Mermaid – 7 times

Fantasy Land Carousel – 8 times

CA Adventure Carousel – 1 time

Winnie the Pooh – 8 times

Jungle Cruise – 3 times

Tea Cups – 4 times

Peter Pan – 1 time

Mr. Toads Wild Ride – 2 times

Snow White – 1 time

Pinocchio – 1 time

Small World – 1 time

Pirates of the Caribbean – 1 time (she hated it)

I am sure I am forgetting some.

It Wasn’t Limited to Amusement Rides

There was also plenty of running through all the character houses in Toon Town. We were able to join her as she experienced these childhood pleasures on most of these rides. We only broke loose a few times to do more grownup rides but we have been to Disneyland many times and weren’t concerned about hitting everything.

Being only two and a half there was no cost for her to enter the park. They start charging at age three. For the rest of us it was expensive but this is a perfect time of year to go to get your money’s worth. Most of the time we only had to stand in line about 15 minutes. Some less and a couple (Peter Pan/Pirates) a little more.

Since it has been many years since I was around small kids for extended periods of time on a road-trip there were a few things to get use to again.

When Traveling With Small Kids – Prepare For:

• Lots of extra stops to change diapers. Sometimes you can’t find a place to stop fast enough to relieve your senses. My daughter was waiting to start potty training after this road trip.
• Kids waking from a nap in a car seat must feel like crap and results in some cranky crying and when in traffic can be distracting for me the driver. I stayed calm repeating to myself, there were two qualified and skilled mothers in the car to handle things.
• The car’s back seat is trashed within 5 minutes with whatever food or drink the little-one is given or comes into contact with.
• The car radio seems to always be too loud for everyone but me, the DRIVER. Could it be that my musical taste for Classic Rock and Grunge isn’t appreciated?
• There are as many opinions about the correct interior temperature as there are people in the car.
• When you are truly living in the moment enjoying what you are sharing with people you love, there is never enough time on the video camera SD card to capture everything you are experiencing together.

I learned a lot of other things too.

Watching the extreme joy of your grandchild is worth any extra cost for a once in a lifetime vacation (she will only be 2 once). I will have to make up the budget over-run with money from the slush fund but I am at a point of financial independence where I don’t worry too much about the little things like that anymore. It’s not going to be a spending habit so it is easily accounted for.

Whenever I would bring up Disneyland or the Beach on our long travel home my granddaughter would light up all over again and start chattering in her own version of English of which 75% I understood as she would re-live a moment and I could once again see passion through a child’s eyes.

For Some, Their Special Moments Were Missed

While we were at Disneyland I witnessed more than a few occasions where the parents were not able to fully enjoy their kids. Parents upset and arguing with each other or yelling at their kids for doing what kids do when they are overly excited and not paying attention. Too many times parents dragging their little ones from ride to ride or waiting in line glued to their smart phones. I wish they all could disconnect from their frustrations and their always connected technology because kids grow up so fast.

How about you, do you take the opportunity to really slow down to be in the moment and see things through your child’s or grandchild’s eyes?