Cousins' New Mexico Road Trip: A Learning Experience Hey there! Welcome to Travelin' Cousins today. I saw this quote today and it was so fitting for the trip we are about to take to New Mexico. I know that most people with school-aged kids plan trips during school vacations, as opposed to having them miss days of classes. It's completely understandable not wanting your children to miss valuable lessons and/or having to catch up on school work. I do, however, believe that there are certain times during the year that are just perfect for traveling or visiting a particular place and that the learning experience of the trip outweighs whatever book knowledge might be acquired during that same period. Take this upcoming road trip to New Mexico. My girls will be missing an entire week of school this coming week, only one month after beginning a new year. But, considering that the first week in October is when the world's biggest annual balloon festival takes place, if I only took my kids on trips during school vacations time, they would never experience this amazing event!! I believe the education my daughters will acquire attending this event and traveling the state of New Mexico, will be something they will remember for the rest of their lives and help to shape their personalities and curiosity to explore and try new things. And in the end, open their minds to learning in school in a way that they may not have without such experiences. Now, it just so happens that this year, Gianna will need to research one of the 50 states and create a presentation for the school's social studies fair. Because she has a very forward-thinking teacher, she will now be able to turn our family trip to New Mexico into a hands-on research project for this upcoming school requirement. So, while most kids will be acquiring knowledge out of a book or on the internet for their assigned state, my daughter will have seen, heard and felt what the state of New Mexico (her newly assigned state) is all about!  Sedona - 1995 - on my way up  Sedona - 1995 - on my way down And I think that's pretty cool. That's why I love traveling with my children so much!! Ok, so back to our blog - don't forget to read Tanya's Throwback Thursday story today, Scary Wildlife Encounter! I thought I would give you a good chuckle with a Throwback travel photo of me today! This was in 1995 during my trip to Sedona - hiking! Not really the outdoorsy type of gal, but I did my best! I know Tanya had a long drive yesterday and I'm looking forward to hearing all about her road adventures! Remember, it's important to break the rules once in a while, especially if it's to experience new things!! -E “You’ll learn, as you get older, that rules are made to be broken. Be bold enough to live life on your terms, and never, ever apologize for it. Go against the grain, refuse to conform, take the road less traveled instead of the well-beaten path. Laugh in the face of adversity, and leap before you look. Dance as though EVERYBODY is watching. March to the beat of your own drummer. And stubbornly refuse to fit in.” | It's Throwback Thursday from Sedona, Arizona!Greetings from Sedona!  Although we got on the road later than planned, as well as managed some interesting issues during our lunch time & gas break, in addition to hitting some construction traffic as we got closer to our destination, we still made it to this lovely artist town in pretty good time! As planned, we headed straight to Bell Rock. Arriving there a bit later then I had originally planned, I decided that we would just stop there to stretch our legs and snap some photos rather than start with a hike. Just as soon as we stepped out of the vehicle, the kids had noticed that the car parked on the passenger side was the exact same make/model/color of the putt putt mobile which we had dismissed from the road trip earlier yesterday morning! It was even from California! The putt putt mobile followed us!! It was quite a funny coincidence, I had to double check the license plate number to see if it really was the exact same car! It wasn't...whew - that woulda been weird!  Since the sun was hidden behind some clouds, and the lighting just about sucked. I swapped it out this hike with a trip to Airport Mesa (which was on todays schedule); a short hike up to the top and we enjoyed the amazing panoramic views, staying up there until after the beautiful sunset.  Cosette climbing Airport Mesa  Sitting atop Airport Mesa And the most amazing thing about yesterday was actually how much Cosette loved it! She is a girl of many opinions (like her mama), and in general hates road trips and hiking (not like her mama). She expressed with me how much fun she's having, how much she's enjoying herself, and absolutely loving everything! Now that was truly remarkable! Once we checked in, the kids opted to just relax and skip going to the pool. The kids both loved the unit that we're staying in. I went straight for the kitchen, and continued keeping busy. I even made them a homemade vegan cheesecake, to which they both commented how sorry they feel for everyone else (in the family) who isn't on this trip with us! Travel and Food...these must be my kids! As for today, we will be doing a fun hike at Bell Rock, and we'll also step back in time and head to Tuzigoot National Monument - where the remains of dwellings of the 12th century Sinagua Indians are preserved. Speaking of stepping back in time, it's Throwback Thursday and today I've shared my Scary Wildlife Encounter experience from Costa Rica with you! Hope you enjoy!  Montezuma, Costa Rica And finally, as I sign off, I wanted to share a TBT picture with you from our first visit to Sedona. Ciao 4 now, -T  My first visit to Sedona. Look at these little kiddos! Also in the pic are my sister Brigitte and brother Michael. |
