Vacation with Your College Kids? Absolutely!

No, I am not suggesting you go on Spring Break with your college kids. Instead, consider vacationing with them while they are home for a longer stretch of time. When work, high school friends or home have lost their sheen. The memories of two unexpected trips we took with our kids this summer keep me going as I try not to count the days until my son starts his sophomore year of college, and my heart still aches from sending my daughter back to school mere weeks ago.

Who Doesn’t Want to Go to the Beach?

Full disclosure, the first vacation was to Turks & Caicos (TCI), and really, who wouldn’t want a free trip to paradise, even if it means going with your parents. Still, we gave our son the choice, since we were flying to pick up his twin sister from her month-long study abroad program on the remote island of South Caicos.

Lest you think she had it easy, our daughter was allowed only one freshwater shower a week, lived without air conditioning in extreme heat/humidity and washed her clothes in saltwater. It was a no-brainer that if we went to pick her up she’d be more than happy to spend a few days with us at a beachside resort.

We assumed her brother would be up for the trip, but you never know. Recognizing it was likely his last summer at home, he jumped at the chance for a five-day respite from working and swimming, lifting and biking to stay in shape for his upcoming college swim season.

Do What Interests Them

The key to getting your kids to vacation with you as adults is to let them choose the activities. Growing up in the Midwest, I am a freshwater lake person. Translation: I abhor ocean creatures that could potentially eat me. I despise the taste of saltwater and generally dislike sand. Still, while in Turks and Caicos, I went snorkeling with my kids, even though my previous attempt had failed miserably. The solution was a full-face snorkel.

I also went sailing, amid seas so choppy that it took us double the amount of time to get back to shore since we had to keep tacking into the wind. We also ate dinner outside on the beach, even though I would have preferred air conditioned dining. Despite feeling hot and sticky, fresh from the shower, I kept my mouth shut and enjoyed the luxury of all four of us being together.

Plan It and They Will Come

Last summer I had broken two ribs and a vertebrae before we left for a weekend getaway to my favorite freshwater lake in the West. So this year I requested a do-over. When we asked our kids if they were interested in joining us, they both surprised us with a resounding “yes!” Years ago, we had vacationed to McCall, Idaho as a family and enjoyed it so much we had returned.

Unfortunately, the only weekend available was after our daughter was already back at school. We erroneously assumed that our son would prefer to stay at home, rather than travel alone with his parents. However, he was still enthusiastic, even if his acceptance was prefaced by a request to go wakeboarding.

We loaded up the car with my paddleboard, three road bikes and settled in for the eight-hour drive north. Other than the length of time to get to our destination, our son didn’t complain. He swam the lake twice, to get in his requisite five swims a week, per his coach’s training recommendation. We all paddled into town to our favorite coffee house every morning for breakfast. Road biked along the lake and saw baby black bears frolicking up a pine tree one evening at dusk. And yes, rented a boat so he could water ski and wakeboard for an entire day.

Word of Warning

The memories, well they are just priceless. Which is the upside and the downside of traveling with your college kids. It makes it that much harder to send them back to school after such a vibrant summer. So even as I get teary-eyed at the snapshots in my mind of all of us sitting on the pristine white sand beach in TCI or watching my athletic son wakeboard like an expert, I know these moments will keep this mama’s heart full.  Even when her babies are all grown up and living on their own at college.