Ahhh, travel season. While you know the destination is going to be swell there’s the journey to contend with. Airport layovers, the eternal search for a clean restroom, juice boxes that explode in the hot parked car while you’re eating lunch and the attention span of kids too little to know why you’ve confined them to a small space for hours on end. Fellow Junior Society member Beth describes the challenge that awaits her this summer:

“We are going to be taking our first airplane trip with our daughter who will be 15 months at the time. I bought some nesting stacking cups, some finger puppets, a magna doodle and an I Spy bag. Can you think of any other fascinating, entertaining, small, and quiet toys that would be good to pick up before we go?”

I like Beth’s list so far. Stacking/nesting cups - are surprisingly fascinating to a toddler. Finger puppets are versatile entertainers, telling stories, singing songs and playing peek-a-boo. See the post I wrote about Lucuma Designs’ huge range of knit animal finger puppets. You’re a knitter? Check out the fantastic patterns at Jelly Bums. And I’m a long time fan Cheryl Smith’s hand sewn felt characters sold individually or in sets.

We played I Spy as kids all the time. You’d start with something like, “I spy, with my little eye, something blue…” And then everyone looks around at the surroundings and tries to guess whatever that blue thing you’re thinking of might be. The I Spy bag is basically a hand held version of the game where trinkets and small objects are hidden amongst filler in a clear container. The Greathouse Women make fantastic fabric versions with clear windows that would be easy to pack.

And the magnetic drawing tablet - brilliant. Similar to an Etch-a-Sketch, but with an attached stylus which is easier for little hands to hold. When you’re finished with a drawing, you use the magic slide eraser and start all over again. They range from the fancy Magna Doodle Color Plus to basic models with pocketbook-friendly prices.

Some other options to consider are:

Story and picture books. Consider lighter weight paper back and cloth books. Too many hard bound books can add a tremendous amount of heft to your carry-on.

Play Silks. Very popular amongst the Waldorf set and natural play circles, these simple squares of silk come in a rainbow of colors with finished edges. Ultra light weight and easy to pack, they are great for all manner of imaginative play. They’re hats, head scarves, neck kerchiefs, capes, skirts, doll blankets, peek-a-boo cloths and great for wrapping up surprises. And when Junior gets sleepy, their silky softness transforms them into comfort blankets.

Snack & Play Trays. These smart gadgets help contain activities and food, keeping them in front of and in reach of your child (and off the floor!) I like this ’soft’ version by Star Kids that has been crash-tested and collapses on impact.  Those are mesh pockets hanging down on either side.

Arts & Crafts. Limit yourself to a few item, perhaps contained a small zippered pouch. You’ll be surprised at how many activities can be crafted from:
a pad of paper (plain, lined or graph)
crayons (go for an 8-pack of large washable crayons)
removable stickers (raid the office supply!)
pipe cleaners (create animals, figures, crowns, jewelry)

MP3 Player. Load up your iPod with favorites stories, songs & audio books and bring along a pair of kid-safe headphones. Fisher Price makes a rugged version designed just for pre-schoolers. And check out the volume control ear buds by iHearSafe.

Photo Credits:left, right

Take a few minutes to read Ten Tips for Keeping a Toddler Busy on a Plane compiled by Delicious Baby. Smart and practical from SkyMall catalog scavenger hunts to barf bag puppets.

There are plenty of blogs and shops geared towards travel with toddlers - here are a few for starters:

Blogs & Shops
Delicious Baby
Flying with Kids
Kids Travel Happy
Madallie
Mother of All Trips
Travel Mamas
Travel Savvy Mom

Loving this line of ride-on children’s luggage! It makes so much sense as I’m sure most parents would rather pull their children through the airport on a Trunki as opposed to dragging them tired and cranky by their arms. If you have a few minutes watch the video at the bottom of the post that features the designer Rob Law - a nice bit of inspiration for anyone whose ever had an idea and struggled to bring it to fruition. You can also see the video here.

When I was an undergrad at USC I chose to write a research paper on roadside vernacular architecture - fancy term for those oversized and usually outlandish buildings proprietors constructed along main thoroughfares to attract drivers to their businesses. A post WWII trend found families across the US taking to the country’s expanding highway system in their station wagons and airstream trailers set to explore our National Parks or venture cross-country on Route 66 (which would become known as ‘The Mother Road’.) And so it was, in the mid-twentieth century, that the burgeoning American car culture spurred the development of diners in the shape of enormous coffee pots, hotels with two-story teepee cottages and refreshment stands masquerading as giant oranges.

Coincidentally, during this same time period, major fossil discoveries ocurred creating ‘dinosaurs fever.’ These old bones captured the nation’s imagination and soon we saw everything from Godzilla stomping across the silver screen to enthusiasts building mini Brontosaurus in their backyards. Business owners anxious to capitalize on the craze installed large scale beasties at campgrounds, built dino theme parks, incorporated them into hotel signage and created plaster-over-chickenwire models on top of their truck stops.

Now more than fifty years later, many of these structures have disappeared from the landscape or fallen into disrepair. But they continue to generate a nostalgic fan base that have written guidebooks and compiled online archives to document and share the locations of those remaining.

One of the most extensive online resources I’ve seen has been compiled by a woman named Debra Jane Seltzer whose site RoadsideArchitecture.com categorizes these structures by theme (junk food, cows, figures, etc.) with a great section on dinosaurs (my favorite) subdivided by US states along with their specific locations. SO all of this to say, if you’re beginning to dream of summer vacations and have a junior paleontologist at home you may want to consider your own modern prehistoric advenure! Renting an RV for a week could provide an economical holiday and allow you to explore roadside dinos in your neck of the woods.

All images in this post are from RoadsideArchitecture.com and you can also find more of Debra Jane’s finds at her blog Roadside Nut. Below is a sampling of the brilliant dinos.