Each year we try to plan one big family vacation. After a few trips to Disney, Tucson and Denver, we are road tripping it to Nashville this summer.
We chose Nashville, TN, since we’ll be able to see friends + the distance is very manageable with a 2 and 5 year old. It’s roughly 10 hours, so 5 hours each day is what we’re planning, with plenty of sight-seeing along the way (Ahem, bathroom breaks at nasty gas stations, lets not sugar coat this.)
How do you plan a vacation while considering allergies?

  1. Since traveling with kids can be challenging in and of itself, we have been using the website www.vrbo.com, part of the home away family. We enjoy having our own space for the kids since they usually go to bed quite early. When our daughter was very young, we quickly learned how difficult it was to rent a hotel room and “vacation” –it was not enjoyable for anyone.
  2. VRBO is great – we usually find a nice home with plenty of space and bedrooms and I’m able to tell the owner in advance of our nut allergies.
  3. Since we’re traveling with our own car, we don’t have to worry about sanitizing an airplane seat or calling the airline in advance.  The last time we flew southwest, a woman was so mad at me for boarding first (allergy peeps board first on SW to sanitize seats, etc.)  with my toddler that she called me a fu**ing asshole. Nine times. I can’t make this stuff up. It was the rudest thing someone has ever said to me in public, with my kids listening. So yes, flying with an allergy is probably the thing I stress over most.
  4. I’m going to google stalk some of the restaurants we want to visit and call ahead to see if they can accommodate our allergies. Most of the time, we don’t have an issue, but I haven’t been to Tennessee in quite a while, so we shall see.  Always better to be prepared.
  5. Lastly, when we get to our rented house near Vanderbilt University, we are going to make a quick trip to a near by farmers market or grocery store to pick up some essentials (wine, wine and more wine. Oh and maybe some Gin.). Mostly breakfast items and lunch, maybe a dinner at the house with friends. The hardest meal to dine out for is breakfast. Cinnamon rolls, pancakes, French toast, croissants, etc. are not safe for us.

That’s planning for the week – I’m going to finish watching my chic flick. Feel free to follow me up on Instagram: jamiekeehn