Travel not so much July 19, 2006
Posted by spacemom in : Seeing the World Through Astronomy, Spacemom , 3 commentsOnce upon a time, I was a homebody. I never liked to travel. Getting on an airplane made me hyperventilate.
Now, I miss travel.
Sure, we go lots of places, but not as much as we used to. Dr. Jay and I have a plan to see the world through astronomy. When I was 24, I spent a week in Chile. We had an observing run at Cerro Tololo and it was a blast! The food that was cooked was right out of 1970. We stayed in Santiago for a few days and then took an 8 hour bus ride to La Serana. Beautiful City. We even when down to the wharf a few nights to enjoy the local markets and the food. I have been in the Andes. That is where the telescope is. Amazing to realize that I first saw the Pacific Ocean from Chile!
Next month, Dr. Jay is going to Prague. I was planning to go with him, but it is clear that Luna isn’t ready for that long of a trip. Instead, the grandparents (his side) are coming to stay for half of the time, then we go to Long Island. Dr. Jay will fly into JFK and meet us out on the Island. His brother has a house out in the Hamptons, so we will visit while the OTHER brother is staying at the house. We get a hotel (don’t get me started)
I miss travel. I have been to Corsica, Paris, San Diego, Victoria (Canada), Orlando, Huntsville, Tuscon, Seattle, DC, Baltimore, Atlanta, Boulder,Hawaii… all in the name of work. Cool? Yes. (We also went to Madrid as a honeymoon, where Dr. Jay continued on to a meeting in the Canaries)
Since having the kids, it is expected that I stay home more. Mostly because Dr. Jay has the PhD and does the research and I do the Master’s level work of busting ass. However, as the kids get older, I can see more travel in the future.
In November, I plan on going to Pasadena. There is a cool star meeting there and my parents have agreed to stay with the kids. I will leave Tuesday and return Friday. Okay, a short trip, but HEY! At least I will go!
In January, there is another AAS meeting is Seattle. I want to go. The kids may stay home,
In May, we have another trip to Hawaii. We are talking my parents into coming to that and to get them a room at the meeting rate (which is usually 1/3 of the regular rate). This would be a family trip!
In August, our nephew is having his Bar Mitzvah, so we are off to Seattle with the family again.
We are working on keeping travel up. Dr. Jay still has 3-4 times more trips than I do, but that’s okay. I can see that, as a family, we will do more travel as the kids grow. Next year? Busy, the year after? ITALY!
I think travel is one of the biggest things I miss from pre-kid life. But I love that the kids are learning how to travel with us. That is great!
