My, How Times Have Changed: Holiday Travel Then & Now

Disclaimer :: This post is brought to you by Capital One Venture Card, a card that Alamo City Moms Blog believes makes travel easier for San Antonio families.


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I often look back at my pre-child days and laugh that I ever thought travel was tough. With relatives who live all over the state and country, my husband and I have always spent at least a portion of our holidays hitting the road to get in the necessary face time with all sides of the family.

Before kids, I would get slightly tense at the thought of organizing travel for two: having to pack my bags for a few days and make sure I didn’t forget something crucial like my eyelash curler, leaving work early enough to head to the airport so that I could have time to grab an obligatory Dunkin’ Donuts coffee before cracking open my latest book, pumping up the volume on my iPod and zoning out until I arrived at my next destination.

Oh, how the times have changed! In four short years, my pre-holiday trip planning looks quite a bit different from those carefree days of eyelash curler worry. Let’s start with the fact that we now have to purchase FOUR tickets for flights…without my cushy extra salary that my office job brought in. Saving for travel starts a little bit earlier than our fly-by-the-seats-of-our-pants, book-our-last-minute-tickets than it once did. We also put quite a bit of planning into the timing of our flights since we have to consider naps, snacks, and meals for two of the four traveling companions that don’t exactly fly-by-the-seats-of-their-pants.

And packing? I’m lucky if I make it to my destination with underwear these days! I’m now responsible for packing for both of my children and myself. Packing the kids also comes with some thought and detail, considering we have diapers, wipes, PJs, clothes, extra clothes for any unforeseen accidents, inhalers, “just in case” medicine, tear-free shampoo, lovies, sources of entertainment, snacks…should I keep going? Packing for myself usually happens at about 11:00 P.M. the night before we leave, and I somehow seem to always leave something crucial behind.

And do we really need to discuss how luxurious those pre-flight hours I use to roll my eyes at now sound? The thought of reading a new book, drowning myself behind some ear buds, and zoning out sounds flipping incredible. (Note to all of you childless people out there: ENJOY THAT TIME! Soak it up, roll around in it, lick it if you can. Post-kids, it’ll be years before it happens again.) I now spend my pre-flight time trying to get my kids to sprint laps around the airport, changing diapers last-minute, shoving snacks down their throats, and trying to ensure we are using “inside voices” while running a constant dialogue of what’s appropriate and not appropriate to do in a security line/airport/loading ramp/plane.

One thing is for sure, now my family can at least make planning easier by racking up points so that travel costs and flight availability during the holidays isn’t a massive hurdle. A huge reason why I love telling our readers about the Capital One Venture Card is the ability to use points earned on any aspects of travel. So remember those flights I now need to time perfectly around naps, snacks, meals, etc.? I can book any flight on any airline with the Capital One Venture Card. And that Dunkin’ Donuts coffee I now MUST have to have the energy (aka: caffeine-induced mentality) to hold me up during the travel chaos? That can go towards my points, too! Hotels, flights, gas, meals…points with the Venture Card can be used towards all of your travel expenses, no restrictions. As I’m checking my holiday shopping list off, I’m using our Capital One Venture Card and earning points for our upcoming trips.

Don’t get me wrong: traveling with the kids might make me want to pull my hair out, but the memories we make each holiday spent with our family are well worth the headache. I wouldn’t trade the thrill of seeing my kids wrap their arms around their cousins for anything in the world….even that blowout diaper just as we take off.

To learn more about how you can make your travel easier with the Capital One Venture Card, just visit here. And let us know how easy the Venture Card makes travel for your family by tagging us in social media with #YesMiles!

Brooke
Brooke graduated high school from right here in San Antonio. After twelve years of living everywhere from Colorado to Greece, London to Atlanta, she and her husband have made San Antonio home and have become parents to their daughter and son. Brooke loves finding undiscovered activities around the city and dragging her kids along! She is a runner, an amateur cook that loves trying out San Antonio’s growing culinary scene and is actively involved in non-profit organizations in San Antonio.