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Megan Elizabeth

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Photo Blog | Norwegian Encore
Quarantine Made Me a Better Mother
Little Man in the Big City
Once Upon a Time in Yosemite
Packing Tips for Air Travel with Infants

We need input for toddler hiking shoes/boots! Gavin wears a Toddler 8 and we're having one heck of a time finding something that will actually be practical for hiking. Waterproof would be great, but not a dealbreaker. Photo from October 2020 when we met up with another adventure mom to play in the Cascades. That place was incredible!

At work a few months ago, we celebrated a local Delta Captain's retirement. He was surrounded by family and friends as they congratulated him for his 33-year aviation career. I got choked up... but I admit, the pool spilling over my eyelids wasn't because I was proud of his accomplishments or overwhelmed by the echoes of loved ones cheering for him. I was actually feeling kind of sad. Jealous.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

In October, I made the announcement that I was leaving social media. I was having trouble striking the balance of "living my life" and "living my life for an audience". I realized I was doing things for the 'Gram and not for personal enjoyment, and it was stealing my joy. I felt immense pressure to get every photo perfect instead of truly being present in the moment. I decided I wanted to spend my time focusing on my son, diving deeper into my faith, and getting back to the basics instead of spending literal hours a day on social channels. Because the latter was incredibly taxing and unfulfilling. Social media sometimes feels like a contest of whose life is better, who's cooler, who has the nicest home, who has the best body, or who's the best mother. I'm grossed out that I felt the need to compete for as long as I did.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Snacks and naps are Gavin's only essentials when traveling. Meanwhile I've got a list of a few hundred things I don't want to forget, including our @gbglobalofficial compact "Pockit" stroller and @babytula blanket. I've already made a list of our favorite travel essentials for infants (link in bio), so I'll be making another list for TODDLER travel essentials this week. I've actually been in denial about having a toddler and have put off that post in particular for awhile now. Ha! If you have any tips/tricks/products you love for toddler travel, drop a comment so other moms, including myself, can know all the things that have been tested, tried, and true!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

We packed up our wild selves for a different kind of wild than we are used to: the bustling streets of Chicago. We were both overstimulated almost right away by the sights, sounds, smells, and traffic, but we found plenty of beautiful outdoor escapes among the skyscrapers to keep us grounded. Gavin's favorite experiences include riding the busses and trains, eating deep dish pizza, petting stingrays at @Shedd_Aquarium, taking a swim in Lake Michigan, and chasing @alesealesealese 's cats. 😆⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Driving to the airport on Thursday morning with only three hours of sleep, I made a commitment to myself that we were going to have fun and make memories no matter what happened. That very same day, mere hours later, I was beating myself up for being tired and not giving Gavin much of an adventure. Man, I can be the absolute worst at taking my own advice. Did we see everything I wanted? Nope. Did we have fun and make memories anyways? Yes, yes we did. By setting the bar too high, I'm setting myself up for failure and disappointment. But if I lower the bar, or take it away entirely, I gain more flexibility and patience throughout the journey because I'm not worried about a loftier-than-necessary goal. The goal, on every trip or wandering in the woods, is to have fun and make memories. Plain and simple. That's it. Oh how quickly I forget that.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Glacier Point is a quick little 0.5 mile jaunt to an overlook above Yosemite Valley. Half Dome dominates the view as the valley floor sweeps across his shadows. I swear to you, when we reached the overlook, Gavin let out a, "Woooooow" in a hushed whisper full of awe. And again I was reminded of why we take these trips. Why I work weird hours. Why I love my job. We followed the trail back and debated what portion of nearby trails to start. Knowing that I was not in a place mentally or physically to do a hike longer than three miles, we decided to take on a small section of the Four Mile Trail. We sat in the shade to have some snacks and soak in our last views of Half Dome before beginning the trek.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

[Full Yosemite story via link in bio] The water was low enough that a current was nonexistent along the river's edge, so that's exactly where we played. Gavin studied and threw the rocks, completely amiss to the 3,000 foot granite monolith towering over us. He was just shy of four months old when we took him to see "Free Solo" for his first movie theatre experience ever. Watching him play in the water below El Cap was a surreal moment that somehow brought all of our experiences together full circle.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

[Full Yosemite story via link in bio] Back at camp, I mapped out a rough itinerary and made dinner while Gavin played in the dirt with his new toys. I studied him as his imagination unfolded and I felt so lucky and grateful to be there with my boy. My sad attempt at starting a campfire was embarrassing (thankfully the weather was so warm that a fire wasn't necessary) so we ate our dinner while admiring the stars in the glow of our @LuminAID solar lights. We cleaned up camp, did a trash run, and made sure all of our food was stored in the vehicle before settling in to our tent for the night. He curled up on the sleeping mat clutching tightly to his new airplane and car as I set up the iPad for a movie night under the stars. "Bolt" began to play and I dozed off and on throughout the movie. When Gavin started rubbing his eyes, we traded the movie for the sounds of nature, cuddling and singing until he fell asleep.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Hotels are awesome when we travel, I mean who doesn't love a hot shower and a flushing toilet? For this trip though, I knew I wanted to try camping. This was our first solo camping trip (meaning without Ian), and our first camping trip whilst traveling, so I felt like the odds were very much stacked against me. Schlepping the giant bag of gear through the airport wasn't the greatest thing ever either. But. We did it!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

On the one hand, I’m lucky because Gavin loves the pack so much that he doesn’t want to walk. On the other hand, I’m unlucky because Gavin loves the pack so much that he doesn’t want to walk.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

If you ever wanted to know what it's like to be an adventure photographer with a toddler in tow, this is what it looks like. I was keeping G away from the current of the river, engaging him in water play on the shore, helping him throw rocks in the water and not at people, dodging some of the gnarliest, biggest crickets we've ever encountered, while playing pack-mule of snacks and hydration, applying sunscreen and bug spray every hour, and all while trying to get "the shot." I'm basically a professional juggler like every other mother out there, but always with a camera in-hand. Who else can relate? 📸 @holly.mandarich⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

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Author: Megan Elizabeth

Megan is a mother, writer, and photographer sharing her life experience through the lenses of travel and outdoor culture to inspire and empower other moms to keep adventuring after having kids.

Holiday Travel Amid Covid and What to Expect

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Travel

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Megan Elizabeth

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