Blistering heat and hot cocoa in a motel room. These are the earliest memories I have of vacation.

I was four. It was 1969. McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas was but a small regional airport. The drive-up motel that we stayed at was right near a runway. We needed to be near the airport so Dad and my brothers could watch the airplanes take off. Dad is a bit of an aviation nut. Mom and Dad were exhausted after driving four kids in the 1965 Chrysler station­ wagon 51⁄2 hours through the midday desert heat from Los Angeles. I remember the awful July heat and the wonderful motel room. I hated being outside by the pool with Mom. My feet burned. I wanted the cool shade of the room. Besides, there was hot cocoa in the room with funny pleated paper cups that you could blow into a puffy pillow when you were done. I have no recollection of what else we did. But it was also the last vacation we ever took as a family.

Then my grandparents took me on vacation when I was 13. A week-long bus tour up the West Coast. I was the youngest participant by 50 years and doted on by all. I experienced Hyatt Hotels, first-class restaurants, tipping bell-hops and the thrill of seeing new cities. I was hooked.

Traveling opened up a magical world for me and I credit my grandparents for opening that door. It made me realize that the world was not contained to my little white-bread town in north Los Angeles county. It was vast and colorful.

My husband and I travel with our 9-year-old daughter all the time. We’ve done so since she was a year old. She loves it. Of course, for her, the best part of the all our journeys are the hotels. But the lessons she is learning are priceless, as are the memories we’re making for all of us.

If you have kids, you can and should travel with them. They will do better in school. They will do better socially. They will be better leaders. They will have amazing memories and dreams. How can you not give that to your children?

Jerri
Jerri Hemsworth
Publisher
E: jerrih@natja.org 
B: www.travelworldmagazine.com/blog/publisher