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Media Contact:
Tom Easthope
(206) 325-2830
tom@generationstouringcompany.com
GRANDMOTHER AND SONS GO ON LEARNING ADVENTURES
Full story:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/travel/2002002758_kristin15.html
Seattle, August 13, 2004 – Some parents and grandparents get nervous about taking kids on a weekend trip. Then there's Mary Gallwey, an adventuresome 73-year-old who over the past 10 years has taken her two grandsons to England, Japan and other far-flung places.
Such trips give Gallwey, a Washington State University retiree who lives in Seattle, deep bonds with her grandchildren — and provide her with energetic, youthful travel companions. Her grandsons get to see the world; pursue their interests, from seeing fossils to learning Japanese; and get the gift of time with their grandmother.
Gallwey first started traveling with her oldest grandson, Jacob, when he was 9, taking him to Washington, D.C., where they zeroed in on the Smithsonian Institution and its natural-history displays, fostering his love of fossils.
Later, when he was a teenager, they traveled to Britain, where grandmother and grandson took non-credit summertime courses at Oxford and Cambridge under the auspices of University Vacations.
"Obviously this kind of vacation is not for young children and not for every teenager, either," said Gallwey. But her grandson enjoyed the first study trip so much they went a second time. They stayed for a week or two in the British universities' historic residences, studying everything from landmark novels to the history of money.
Roaming Japan
This summer, Gallwey took Jacob, now 18, and his 13-year-old brother, Rowan, on a two-week trip to Japan where they explored Tokyo, Nara and Kyoto.
Beyond exploring the city streets, Japanese gardens and temples, both boys studied Japanese before and during the trip and got deeper into manga, the Japanese comic books/graphical novels.
Gallwey has an underlying mission for her travels with her grandsons: "I want them to have experiences that they could not otherwise have. Their parents don't have the time or the disposable income to take them on trips like these. And I want them to experience cultures other than that of the United States."
Already, said Gallwey, the boys "are both interested in a much broader range of things in the world than they would have been without the benefit of travel."
While Gallwey wants the boys, her only grandchildren, to learn on their trips, she also wants them to have fun.
"The purpose of the trip is first of all for them to have a good experience — visiting places that have something to offer to their interests, not setting too fast a pace, being willing to revisit places, even 'wasting' time in the hotel because the kids are just wanting to take some time off," said Gallwey.
To make it easier on herself and them, Gallwey has stuck to destinations where she doesn't have to worry about the safety of drinking water, malaria or other health issues. And she warns the boys about how jet lag will hit them, and how there may be delays and other frustrations on trips.
Family-trip specialists
While Gallwey is able and willing to shepherd her grandsons through Japan, not every grandparent (or parent) is ready to take on such responsibilities.
For those who would like some help in planning or taking an inter-generational trip, some travel companies offer family tours or customized itineraries.
Generations Touring is a new Seattle-based and family-run company that began offering tours this year for families, including grandparents and grandchildren. Started by Tom and Margaret Easthope, it will expand to 60 family trips next year in North America, Central America and beyond.
"The reason we started the company is we saw how our own family was evolving," said Tom Easthope, a travel-industry veteran who's the father of two teenagers. "My wife's parents and my parents got to a certain age, and they wanted to have more focused time, more intimate time with their grandchildren."
Grandparent-grandchild trips were the best way for them to go, said Tom Easthope, providing quality time on neutral ground.
"Grandparents are an under-served (travel) market," he said; hence Generations Touring.
Savvy traveling
Wherever, and however, you travel with a grandchild or child, here are some things to consider:
Planning: Make sure older children are involved in pre-trip planning. It helps make the trip theirs and is a good way to start learning about a destination. And be sure to give kids a say in how to spend some free time.
Documents: Take a letter of permission from the parents to cross international borders. (One parent traveling with a child may also need such a letter.)
Mexico requires such documents in order to prevent child abductions in custody disputes; Canada has similar requirements. Letters may need to be notarized.
Check with foreign countries' embassies/consulates on the rules. You can get contact information through the country-by-country consular information sheets issued by the U.S. State Department: 888-407-4747 or www.travel.state.gov.
Health: Make sure you have the child's health-insurance information. Also take a letter from the parent(s) authorizing you to make medical decisions for the child in case of any emergency.
Packing: Promote the virtues of traveling light so you're not burdened with luggage. Buy children small, wheeled suitcases; what they can fit in is what they can take. Make it clear they need to handle their own luggage.
Phone home: Some children get homesick, even if they love the trip and you're a beloved grandparent. Have a small gift ready as a distraction; be ready to comfort the child; and let them phone or e-mail home frequently.
Kristin Jackson's Family Matters column runs the third Sunday of each month. Comments are welcome: 206-464-2271 or kjackson@seattletimes.com
Generations Touring Company SM is the premier touring company providing "unique and interesting" intergenerational tours throughout North America and the world. GTC tours are designed around a variety of activity levels, are limited to small groups and create personal connections to a destination through family stays, family meals and structured cultural exchanges. The company’s "off the beaten path" itineraries are substantive and encourage global awareness and responsible tourism themes and content.
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