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Lisbet
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| Posted: March 14 2006 at 12:28pm | IP Logged
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Sorry this is the second thread I've started today, I'm feeling a bit gabby I suppose!
I have a question about traveling with little ones. We are leaving Friday for our big trip to the coast! We are driving from northern Ohio to Florida. I figure once we get there we will be fine, we've rented a beach house that is bigger than our own home! I'm hesitant though about the drive down. We have 7 childen, the oldest will just turn 11 while we are down there. To add to it, I am 7 months pregnant. We plan on drivng 12 hours the first day, staying in a hotel, then the other 8 hours the next day.
Now, what about the hotel? I know that 'our occupancy exceeds the maximum number allowed' but we simply can't afford to get two rooms. How do the rest of you handle this? Some friends of our with 9 children said that just one of them goes in to reserve the room and then they all go in through another door. Will that mean we have to lie when we check in if they ask how many will be staying? Neither one of us are comfortable with that. My husband thinks that if we explain our situation, the clerck should 'understand'. I'm not so sure.
Anyone have any tips to pass along to make the car ride run smooth? We will be eating out of the cooler, and I plan on premaking most of the meals for the trip. We also got The Lord of the Rings on audio to listen too. We've never done a trip longer than about 6 hours to visit my parents before. I almost panic thinking about it!!
Thanks for any advice!
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Lisa, wife to Tony,
Mama to:
Nick, 17
Abby, 15
Gabe, 13
Isaac, 11
Mary, 10
Sam, 9
Henry, 7
Molly, 6
Mark, 5
Greta, 3
Cecilia born 10.29.10
Josephine born 6.11.12
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Rachel May
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| Posted: March 14 2006 at 12:44pm | IP Logged
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We drove cross country (8 days) with our kids this summer. We found lego x pods were great for the boys, crayons/markers with clipboards and paper/coloring books for everyone worked well. Warnings: Crayons melt in a hot car, and I have pictures of what happened with the markers but it washed off in the tub so no harm done.
We bought the Narnia series on CD which pleased everyone, and we took all our kids CDs along in a case so there was a rotation. Each child got to pick what to listen to in age order.
We went ahead and got 2 rooms since we didn't want to lie either. Could you camp that night?
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Rachel
Thomas and Anthony (10), Maria (8), Charles (6), Cecilia (5), James (3), and Joseph (1)
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stefoodie
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| Posted: March 14 2006 at 12:48pm | IP Logged
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I don't know if anyone will agree but we really just reserve one room for the 6 of us when we travel together -- usually one with 2 doubles or a King and a sofa bed. The max occupancy usually will say 4 people but really, with small kids how can one be expected to get two rooms? Not only is it impractical, it's also unsafe, even if I had my teen and oldest son take the other room. We've also often gone through the front door and no one has ever called us on it.
hth,
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stef
mom to five
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MEBarrett
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| Posted: March 14 2006 at 1:47pm | IP Logged
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I just went through a similar situation. We take long car trips often. I have found Comfort Inn and Hampton Inns to be the most "large family friendly". I get the number for the actual hotel off the internet and I call directly. Comfort Inn usually has a two bedroom suite for very little more than the price of one room. You have to ask for it specifically. I have found that the people I have spoken to are very sympathetic when I explain the situation and try very hard to accomodate me affordably. I try always to get a suite or two rooms with a connecting door.
This past February I took all five kids, by myself, to Savannah to visit my parents. I drove about 8 hours the first day and six the following. Going south I stopped at a Hampton Inn where I had two rooms with a connecting door. I kept the door open and put the big kids in one room and the toddlers in another with me. It was more money than I would normally spend but I was alone and I wanted to be in safe, clean place that would be hassle free. The upside is that a full breakfast was included.
Going home I took one room at a Comfort Inn with a roll away. I didn't bring up how many kids were with me and no one asked. I trooped them through the lobby so I didn't feel as if I was being sneaky. The problem with this situation and the one you will face Lisbet is that fitting six people in this one small room, even small people, was intensely uncomfortable. The roll-a-way bed did not unfold anywhere in that room. There was not enough space. I ended up pulling the mattress off the cot and sleeping on the floor with my head up against the TV stand. Not fun for someone pregnant with twins. Breakfast was included and I felt the distinct urge to throw it at someone after the night I spent.
You might have trouble physically fitting everyone in one room. Being seven months pregnant you also might experience the longest, most uncomfortable night of your life.
Some other options are Econo Lodge and Travel Inns which are very inexpensive.
I hope whatever you decide that you have a safe and wonderful trip.
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Blessings,
Mary Ellen
Mom to seven beautiful kids
Tales from the Bonny Blue House
O Night Divine
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Lisbet
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| Posted: March 14 2006 at 2:01pm | IP Logged
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Thanks for all of your advise. I do realize I'm trying to fit alot of people in one room. But, 3 of our children are still in our king bed at home. (It's not a good idea to say outloud to your husband and WalMart "No, I won't pick that quilt, it's too girly for the 3 guys I share my bed with!  )" We are pretty used to sharing cramped quarters. It's gotta be more comfortable than the tent camping we did when I was 7 months pregnant in the past!!
I'll keep the names of those hotel chains in my notebook, and we'll check those out first!
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Lisa, wife to Tony,
Mama to:
Nick, 17
Abby, 15
Gabe, 13
Isaac, 11
Mary, 10
Sam, 9
Henry, 7
Molly, 6
Mark, 5
Greta, 3
Cecilia born 10.29.10
Josephine born 6.11.12
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Jen L.
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| Posted: March 14 2006 at 10:57pm | IP Logged
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Since you are traveling on a Friday when some (many?) school systems have spring break, I REALLY recommend making reservations somewhere before you leave (estimate: I know it's hard!) or at least a few hours before dinner time while on the road. We waited too long one year (driving from Virginia to Florida) and almost didn't get a room at all! Do you have AAA travel books? They have a decent listing of hotels by city/town. At least bring a few 800 numbers for the chains mentioned.
DEFINITELY make day 1 longer than day 2 if you can (I see you are planning that). The 2nd day feels SO much longer.
Some people I know put their kids in the car around 3 in the morning so they have longer with sleeping kids while traveling. I, personally, am always afraid that they won't go back to sleep (especially the littles) so I haven't tried this.
Have fun!
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Jen
dh Klete,ds (8/95),dd (12/97), dd (11/00), and ^2^ in heaven
"...the best state in which to glorify God is our actual state; the best grace is that of the moment..." St. Peter Eymard
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teachingmom
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| Posted: March 14 2006 at 11:24pm | IP Logged
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On our last long trip, we got a two-room suite for each of our nights on the road. As someone mentioned, it is more expensive than one room, but much less expensive than two. I won't outright lie, but dh and I do follow the "don't ask, don't tell" philosophy with hotels.
It makes me so mad that there isn't more flexibility with numbers when it is one nuclear family with young children. I know that the reason they would give for limiting occupancy is fire hazard, I just don't buy it with young kids. I think it is a sign of our culture of death that there isn't more understanding for large families.
Did you know that some campgrounds actually want you to have two campsites if you have more than 6 people in your group?! Even if it is in one large family! Unbelievable!
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~Irene (Mom to 6 girls, ages 7-19)
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rivendellmom
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| Posted: March 15 2006 at 7:45am | IP Logged
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We also do the "don't ask don't tell" policy at hotels. I've driven form the Chicago area to Florida alone with the kids 3 times. I've never been asked how many people would be in the room. We leave our home at about 4am, that gets me to Indianapolis by 8am, and all the kids are usually awake by then. I've done the drive a couple ways. I've made the first day 12 hours, the second 8, and the third 4 hours. And I've done it where the first day is 8 hours, the second 4 and the last 12. I think the atmosphere in the car is better the first day, so that had better be the longest. We've also taken longer trips down there, so I could drive 12 hours and stay the weekend, before driving again. We pull a pop up camper, and if we are camping enroute I make those reservations ahead, as I refuse to pay the extra per person charge that some campgrounds have. I know that those are not safety issues that a hotel would have, that's plain greed!
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Jen in suburban Chicagoland Mom to Connor(91), Garrett(93), Reilly (95), Mary Katherine (98), Declan (05), Ronan in ^i^ 6/28/08
visit our new blog: http://recreationalscholar.blogspot.com/
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ALmom
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| Posted: March 15 2006 at 6:26pm | IP Logged
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We call and make reservations - but the 800 number won't help as they cannot make exceptions to the fire code. The local manager can and often does for us.
For roominess, we bring a few sleeping bags for dc - they love that and have pushed two chairs together for smaller children. Also sleeping sideways on the bed is great for fitting lots of short folks in. The main problem with folding cots, etc is that it really can block entrance and exits. One of our dc thought it was neat to sleep in the closet .
If we are driving at non-busy times, we just catch what we can - but during spring break in Florida, you'll need reservations somewhere. We have never gotten two rooms except in DC. Hotels in the south are much roomier than the DC area.
Janet
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jdostalik
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| Posted: March 15 2006 at 11:08pm | IP Logged
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Lisa,
We really, really like Hampton Inn...they are family-friendly, have the free breakfast and do have connecting suites at reasonable prices...
Have a great vacation!!!!!!
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God Bless,
Jennifer in TX
wife to Bill, mom to six here on earth and eight in heaven.
Let the Little Ones Come
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ALmom
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| Posted: March 16 2006 at 9:58pm | IP Logged
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One thing I forgot to mention is that one hotel wanted us to get 2 rooms until they realized that we were not going to be getting a crib or a cot - evidently that made a difference as they cannot have doorways obstructed by furnishings. You have to be willing to be persistant in conversation (where the southern blabbiness comes in handy).
I also pointed out the age of my oldest when she was in the 11 or 12 age range and freely shared my safety concerns and need for economy with the real live person from the specific hotel at the specific location where we were intending to stay. Sometimes I had to call a few hotels before finding one where the manager would make a fire code exception (these are not set in concrete and are at the discretion of the local manager). In Florida over spring break - hotels are mostly concerned with teens and college students piling into a room and trashing the place so the 800 number will be absolute on maximum occupancy but the local manager may be thrilled to death to rent his room to a family and make every accomodation. You just have to call the long distance # to find out, also call during the day when a manager is likely to be in. That way the person answering the phone can ask the manager and get the OK.
We have also found that I always get a better deal than my dh, so have the female do the calling and reservations.
When we are winging it at night we always ask for a room with 2 double beds (usually indicating 2 adults and a bunch of kids - once we were asked if the kids were all ours but other than that the hotels generally could care less when you are showing up late at night, they're just glad for room occupancy at that point) - we don't go out of our way to say anything else and don't try to hide anything either. We do know that hotels we are staying at have a family plan so none of our dc would require us to pay extra. There is nothing that we sign that indicates maximum occupancy and nothing posted in the lobby. If asked for numbers, we give an honest answer - but add the ages of dc as a help. We have never had any trouble here - but then again we are showing up at 1 AM and hotels are happy to just fill the room.
If making reservations, be sure that the hotel will guarantee adjoining rooms if you go that route. We tried that in DC and could not get that promise. Actually, they wouldn't even promise that they'd be on the same floor so we told that hotel, "No thanks" and took our business elsewhere. We ended up at a pricier hotel, but one that did let us get one room and gave us a significant discount. I don't know what will happen now that we have an 18 yo - probably have to do the two rooms now.
Janet
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4Real Forums : Mothering and Family Life
Topic: Traveling Question
