PTA (Post-trip analysis) OR Lessons Learned on the Road

So, here are my thoughts on things that could have made the trip better (hindsight being 20/20)...

1. Administer the Dramamine BEFORE getting on the plane.

2. Make sure that you have everything with you when getting off the plane. This is difficult with children as their stuff (and ours) spreads out and into things over the course of a long flight.

3. Make sure that you have adequate footwear. I had two pairs of sturdy and comfortable shoes (Danskos and Chacos) but both were sandals and I had a hard time at some of the ruins. The rocks are slick and there is a drop off between stones. I really needed a pair of hiking shoes or tennies that had more traction.

4. When traveling with children, build some downtime into the schedule.

5. Avoid areas where there are strikes, protests or riots. Duh.

6. Take wet wipes with you everywhere. (Anti-bacterial gel and disinfecting wipes might not be a bad idea either.)

7. Get good written directions and have a GPS although sometimes following your nose is part of the fun. I might add that following your nose is much less fun with kids in the car.....

OK, here are the things that I am glad that we did and I would recommend for other travelers:

1. Clearly state your objectives before you go on your trip. Ours were to spend time with friends while seeing as much as we could without spending our whole trip in the car. These parameters helped us weed out a few things that would have been cool to see but may not have been worth it considering our goals for the trip.

2. Pack some non-perishable food items. We took trail mix, two jars of peanut butter, beef jerky, dried fruit, nuts and fruit snacks. This meant that most days for lunch we just bought some fresh bread and fruit and had a picnic. Plus, we avoided the panic moment of everyone being hungry and not being able to find a place to eat. Also, peanut butter (a kid staple) is not available in Europe or in most countries, for that matter.

3. One word: ZIPLOCK. There are so many uses for all sizes of ziplock bags when you are traveling. They can hold wet washcloths, bathing suits, dirty clothes, snacks, souvenirs, etc.

4. Small cotton towels were another smart packing item. I used our small pool towels. They are pretty thin so they didn't take up a lot of room when packing. They were useful for cleaning up messes, putting down as a table cloth and for use after swimming.

5. Books on CD. I wasn't sure if our car would have a CD player so this was an iffy item but I am so glad that I took these. We listened to Charlotte's Web by E.B. White read by E.B. White (there is just something about an author reading his or her own work) and also Dragon Tales by Kenneth Grahame and Edith Nesbit. This took up about 12 hours of driving time and was enjoyable for all of us.

6. Journals for the kids to write and draw about their trip. These are keepsakes that they will have forever. I took a few maps of Greece, covered the outside of blank journals and then covered that with contact paper.

7. Consider blogging or at least journaling about your trip. I hate when I go on a trip, take tons of photos and then by the time I get around to getting them in an album or scrapbook, I can't remember the names of places. Blogging or journaling allows you to pull together, mentally, everything that you have seen throughout the day. The upside of blogging is that you can also add photos and friends and family can follow your trip.