When I was a child, we rarely went on big family trips.
Part of that is generational. I was born in the ’60s, when the lives of children and their parents were more separate. Air travel was still special and, in my family, reserved for the adults. But there was something innate, too. I think some people are wanderers, and others are not. We had a vacation house in the same state as our “real” house, and when vacation time rolled around, that’s where we went.
In my own life as a parent, I’ve leaned hard the opposite way. I have a photograph of my son at 2½, peering into a fancy bathtub at a hotel in Paris. Before he was 10 he’d traveled to China. I didn’t take an international flight until my junior year of college.
The pandemic put our journeys on hold for a while; our 2020 trip to Japan is now planned for later this year. But it seems as if everyone is on the move and families aren’t leaving anyone home with the babysitter. Hotels are ditching “no children” rules. Generations are heading off together, often with grandparents and grandkids sharing their own adventure and leaving parents out of it. That kind of shift in how we vacation inspired me and my colleagues on The Times’s travel desk to put together a special package published this week on family travel.
Why take the kids along? I think that those of us who do hope our children will be more curious, more tolerant and better able to negotiate the world. We take our children to museums, hoping our love of culture will rub off; we explore the natural world, hoping to get them to look up and experience the earth’s beauty; we mix in some history with the child-centric activities to help them understand the tides that continue to carry us along.
On that trip to France when my son was little, we went to Giverny to see Monet’s house and dragged him through the Louvre in a stroller. We also rented a farmhouse in the south of France that was surrounded by vineyards. One morning, a big blue grape-harvesting machine arrived, driving through the rows of vines and pulling the ripe grapes into its maw. My son was enthralled. For him, it was the highlight of the trip.
And who is to say he was wrong?
For more
THE WEEK IN CULTURE
-
Donald Trump prepared to surrender in Manhattan next week in the first indictment in the U.S. of a former president, and the police there braced for protests.
-
The Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, resurrected the Trump case by converting a skeptic in his office and adding a veteran lawyer to lead the inquiry.
-
Trump’s Republican rivals shied away from attacking him.
-
Some previous Trump voters said it was time to move on in seeking a 2024 presidential nominee.
-
A deadly storm system spawned tornadoes throughout the U.S., causing destruction from Wisconsin to Texas. At least six people were killed.
-
Russian troops captured criminals as they withdrew from a Ukrainian city and took some of them on an odyssey through five prisons and five countries.
CULTURE CALENDAR
🍿 “Tetris” (out now) and “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” (Friday): Just a few weeks past the season finale of HBO’s hit series “The Last of Us” and we’re crashing into two consecutive weekends of ’80s video game adaptations — Apple TV+’s “Tetris” and the highly anticipated big-screen animated version of “It’s a me, Mario!” Maybe the industry is finally realizing that because games are many things, their adaptations can be anything (a zombie post-apocalypse series, a Cold War dramedy, a silly family film).
📚 “Finding Me” (Tuesday): This year, Viola Davis became one of the rare artists to notch an EGOT, having won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony. She joined the club by winning a Grammy for narrating her best-selling memoir. You can get that audiobook or wait for the paperback, out this week.
Huevos Rancheros
I’m a strong advocate of eggs for dinner, especially when they are paired with rich beans and zesty sauce, as they are in classic huevos rancheros. But of course you could make Kay Chun’s majorly flavorful version of the dish any time of day, and with remarkable ease.
REAL ESTATE
Window shopping: The interior décor store KRB in Manhattan is part shop and part workshop for experiments in blending objects of varying quality and provenance.
LIVING
Super bloom: 10 places to see flowers in the West right now.
Dating: Seeking romance? Try moving abroad.
Avoid the scale: Three ways to find out how fit you are.
Run better: Use your diaphragm to breathe.
Shoulder pads: A resurgence is coming.
ADVICE FROM WIRECUTTER
Elevate the Easter basket
Easter morning is just a week away, and if you’re gathering goodies for the kids, Wirecutter has ideas. There’s candy, of course; we’re partial to Cadbury Mini Eggs, Jelly Bellies and seasonal treats from See’s. Simple springtime toys like bubbles, sidewalk chalk and jump ropes are classic. We also like anchoring a basket with a special book, stuffed animal or toy — a sweet Folkmanis hand puppet and a white Lego rabbit are new favorites. Searching for a basket? Instead of a junky version that’ll end up in the landfill, a cute canvas tote or an inexpensive plastic beach bucket can sub in nicely. — Kalee Thompson
Women’s N.C.A.A. basketball championship: Iowa upset South Carolina last night, 77-73, ending the Gamecocks’ perfect season behind yet another remarkable game from Caitlin Clark, who had 41 points. The Hawkeyes will play Louisiana State, which beat Virginia Tech. The Tigers have made a major turnaround in just two years under Coach Kim Mulkey. It helps to have Angel Reese, a star forward, whose 33 double-doubles this season tied an N.C.A.A. record. 3:30 p.m. Eastern tomorrow on ABC.
NOW TIME TO PLAY
