A long weekend in Huntsville, Alabama with a preschooler

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On the hunt for a little fun in Huntsville, Alabama

When Skyler was 3.5, we took a little family getaway to Huntsville. Before the trip, we made our ABC list of preferences and activities: our Must Haves, Nice to Haves, and Perfect World Utopia Ideas.

Right at the top of our A-list was a hotel with a pool. I had some free Marriott nights that were going to expire soon so we picked a nearby place we’d never been. We stayed at the Element by Westin in northern Huntsville, which was conveniently (if boringly) connected to an outdoor shopping center with myriad food options and plenty to entertain a small child post-dinner pre-bedtime.

The hotel’s location was also only a few minutes away from the second item on our A-list: the Rocket Center. To maximize our time, we decided to do the rocket center on our last day, after checking out and before driving home.

We planned to take an extra long lunch on Friday to drive down and then finish up the work day from our room before going somewhere nearby for dinner. That left Saturday for one more A-list item: seeing downtown.

When planning for this little two-night trip, I ignored all of my inclinations to google “must see” or “must do” attractions because every single one of them would have been on the C-list and this two day trip just wasn’t going to have time for the C-list. I knew this, because I know my audience, and my audience includes a 3.5 year old who loves exercising his autonomy, voicing his (loud) opinions, and refusing to nap or eat when we think that he should. Any time that we have ignored the message our son was communicating or set our expectations too high without leaving room for that necessary flexibility, we’ve been disappointed and the experience has ended with everyone far more stressed, exhausted, and disappointed than we would have been had we expected less from the situation. We really needed to be nimble, able to pivot on a dime should we accidentally trigger a meltdown or ignore the warning signs before it’s too late.

So, #sorrynotsorry Huntsville. We may not have done your town justice, but we did enjoy ourselves! And that’s really all that matters. Alas, no botanical gardens or Brahan Spring Park splash pad for us (though both sounded lovely). We also abandoned our attempt at completing the Lucky Duck scavenger hunt downtown; it was just way too hot to wander aimlessly around an unfamiliar town figuring out clues. If there had been a predetermined path for us to follow and the scavenger hunt was bingo-card style, that would have been more doable for us. Instead, we skipped that B-list item and focused on the A-list:

• have lunch and walk around downtown (with open containers, no less! check!)
• swim at the hotel to beat the heat (check! and our kid even braved the pool steps! #progress)
• find a place to walk to dinner both nights (staying by a shopping center, check & check!)
• sleep in (check, check!)
• visit the Space center (check!)

As a result, we had a lovely time and enjoyed many small pleasures: sharing macarons, laughing as Skyler tried to strip down in the splash pad, riding the little train around the shopping center, snuggling in the hotel bed watching The Office, letting Skyler “open” all of the “magic doors” and push all of the elevator buttons, schooling some older kids on the rules of Marco Polo, and eating some crazy tacos.

Pre-child Ashley would have planned for us to go out and do something Friday night, a fully mapped-walkabout downtown and dinner/night time plans, and a much more comprehensive visit at the space center. But parental Ashley was satisfied with the amount that we did.

What have YOU learned by traveling with kids? How has your travel style changed post-children compared to your pre-child life? Have you ever overloaded your A-list and been disappointed by a trip because you didn’t get to do everything you wanted? How do you avoid disappointment while traveling?