Two-fer Travel
Ease; Flexibility
Regular family travel. Exhausting.
Family travel, thought of that way, can be wearing. Too many agendas, abilities, interests, fatigue-patterns, tolerances for uncertainty, and it is difficult to be spontaneous. How to find a place to sleep for more than two, at the last minute? That is not recommended. Family travel also reinforces preexisting roles: who is the parent, who the child, which children conflict, where are the buttons to push. Family travel requires planning.
Modified relationship travel. A dance
Our modified relationship travel sets one adult with one child.
We travel as two, either Dan and me, or Dan and his Dad. Dad likes plans. So they do things that way in the US. Dan and I go farther afield. We even have a song about who are we? We are the Car-Dan Tour Company, ba-da-bing.
The roles change immediately, whether Dad's way or ours. We are two adults on the road.
For Dan and me, all decisions are pooled, and for as many as safely possible, Dan has the last say. Which way to go on this unmarked crossroads? That way! And we're off. What to eat on this unknown menu? The fourth down this time? Fine. Waiter? Dad likes to know where he is going, so they stop more for directions, and call ahead for sleeping. That also works.
Teaching economics.
With costs in Europe so high in 2008, and finances tanking here, we did a smaller road trip to and wandering around Quebec. We have hopes for 2009 abroad, but that depends on currencies.
Travel with Down. Down Syndrome On The Road.
The wisdom of twos. This hiatus gave us a chance to look back. First, you would hardly believe how many welcoming smiles we get - every country. From the most rural Romania, a village tavern where a Down young man and his parents were eating; to Madrid.
Second, we see what changes this direct experience approach had with Dan. Dan has become a man of confidence with interesting tales to tell. See Europe Road Ways, Hub. Where did Great-Grandma come from. He now knows. He has been on his own in cities in many ways, has street-smarts. Anything can happen, but we do our best to gauge what is feasible.
Vienna street scene, with Mozart and DanSee him now. Down Syndrome on the Move! Knows the places when he goes to the movies, wants to see the news, eager to talk with anyone about where he's been.
Third, the FUD people are wrong. Find out that fear of "foreign" loses its hold when you've seen that there are people over there, and you, without a safety net, were welcomed.
The few bad apples we did find, as anywhere, didn't leave a bad taste for long. FUD. fear, Uncertainty and Doubt. In anything, find out for yourself, within reason, and let your child see you finding out, and making decisions as you go. Don't let them tell you what to fear and what not. See Hello, Fodder, Propaganda Study.
Recommendation for a start this way.
Start with Ireland. Food similar, language fine, different side of the road, but so many castles all around, less trodden than England or Scotland. Take one kid to one country. And the next year, the other kid to another country. Skip the camp. See castles, and Cromwell's cannon. Then go further afield.
Next trips. Regret. The destruction of Iraq. The lack of safety now in the Middle East for Americans, anyone. Yemen. A dream now. The tablets, the parchments, the lands of Eden. History anywhere, tenuous. Barbarians do it through the centuries.
Salute to Ali, who owns the coffee shop and plans to return for a visit to Yemen this month, say hello from people of good will here.
Swansongs.
Maybe imposed by conditions nonetheless. Schwanengesang, see Schubert at ://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schwanengesang; or ://encyclopedia.farlex.com/Schwanengesang. Schwanenlied. See ://everynote.com/songs.show/114453.note. Swan song. Look it up, the last song, in legend, at://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/index.pperl?date=19970808. Not for us yet, but as we tell Dan, we have to be prepared to fit the times. My son and I - a child of my heart.
Swans, ever calm except when unsafe and startled, then watch them move.Then it is back to calm. Good lesson.
Crazy House, Sopot, Poland, from an untraceable source (mass email, no attribution) so, fair use?
Korun, Czech Republic currency, honoring 17th C. philosopher, educator, Jan Komensky (Comenius)
Le Sars,France





High Tatras, Poland, Slovakia border








Stonehenge Single Stone, England




