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It’s officially Fall! It definitely doesn’t fe It’s officially Fall! It definitely doesn’t feel like it in Miami, it really never does but that just gives us a reason to explore other states. West Virginia is one of them, fun fact I actually lived here between undergrad and grad school! Here are Things to do in West Virginia (SAVE + SHARE): 

1. Enjoy New River Gorge National Park & Preserve, or visit any of the states 35 state parks as West Virginia has 1.5 million acres of parks and public land. We personally walked the Shavers Lake Trail and canoed on the lake. 

2. Enjoy some serious adventures! We’re always trying something new and West Virginia offers a lot of options from whitewater rafting, to 1,000+ miles of off-road ATV trails, to rock climbing, caving and mountain biking . 

3. Take a train ride on the Cass Scenic Railroad which stops at the Whittaker Camp where those who worked in the lumber and coal industry lived during the work season. 

4. Explore Cranberry Glades Botanical Area where you might just get to see some black bears! 

5. Walk the Falls of Hills Creak trail to get up close to some gorgeous waterfalls! 

This week I’ll be sharing various cities and states you can experience a beautiful Fall getaway. What are some of your favorite places to enjoy autumn?

Tap the link in my bio for my West Virginia blog post and a blog post of the best places to experience Fall in the US!
Still not over our day exploring the waters of For Still not over our day exploring the waters of Fort Pierce. We danced, snorkeled, fished and went tubing. Definitely want more days like this and still pinch myself that this is what a day of work looks like for me sometimes. Thank you @seadoo for the opportunity.
If you know my husband you know water activities a If you know my husband you know water activities are his favorite! Fishing, jet skiing, just being on a boat on the ocean relaxing, name it, he’s there. So we couldn’t be more excited than to not only get the chance to test out the new @seadoo Switch but be the stars of a whole commercial for it. We had entirely too much fun filming this. Of course now he wants to buy one!

Do you like getting out on the water? Favorite activity?
Our 3 Day London Itinerary (SAVE + SHARE): 

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Day 1: Walked across the Tower Bridge (you can take a tour of London of Tower as well), walked along the River Thames and took a make a fascination hat class with @create_your_own_hat! 

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Day 2: Harry Potter walking tour, checked out Borough Market and went on a night ghost bus tour. 

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Day 3: Morning Tea at Peggy Porschen, Buckingham Palace for Changing of the Guards, and explore Westminster for the infamous red telephone booths, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey.

If you have more time on previous visits to London we have taken a day trip to check out Stonehenge, Bath and Windsor Castle, rode the London Eye, took a ferry ride down the Thames River, checked out Warner Brother Studios, and did a graffiti/street art tour.

Is London on your list? If you’ve been what did you do that you think is a must for visitors?

Things to do in London, London with kids, family travel
Then vs Now (swipe left)!🥹🥰 My babies are no Then vs Now (swipe left)!🥹🥰 My babies are not babies anymore. Where has the time gone? Excuse me while I go cry in the corner 😭😭😭😭. 

Too in my feelings to provide an informational post, I’ll be back tomorrow.
Why is this man always trying to stop my fun? List Why is this man always trying to stop my fun? Listen replace husband with whoever you need to but why these ppl keep acting like we can take our money when we’re gone?!? Y’all feel me or nah? 😅😬😩
Morning Tea in London! Afternoon or High Tea is us Morning Tea in London! Afternoon or High Tea is usually on everyone’s things to do in London list but since the girls and I don’t eat beef or pork the menus for most places didn’t make sense for us as they are filled with ham sandwiches and other things we don’t eat. I ended up finding Morning Tea at Peggy Porschen instead which offers a tea menu with breakfast items, while not traditional it worked best for us! It cost £35 pp.

For a traditional Afternoon or High Tea Try:

🫖Palm Court at The Ritz
🫖The Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon at Fortnum & Mason
🫖Theatre Royal Drury Lane
🫖The Grill Room Hotel Cafe Royal (has vegetarian an vegan options)
🫖Coronation Afternoon Tea at Cellarium, Westminster Abbey
🫖The Rosebery Coronation Afternoon Tea at Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park
🫖The Goring Hotel

Afternoon Teas Geared Towards Families:

☕️Peter Pan Afternoon Tea at Aqua at The Shard
☕️Jurassic Afternoon Tea at the Ampersand Hotel
☕️Jungle Book Afternoon Tea at Brown’s Hotel
☕️Secret Garden Afternoon Tea at Taj 51
☕️The Buzzy Bees Afternoon Tea at St. Ermin’s Hotel
☕️Grover’s Children’s Tea at Grosvenor House Hotel
☕️The Peppa Pig Afternoon Tea Bus Tour
☕️Sherlock Holmes Inspired Afternoon Tea at the Mind Palace
☕️Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Tea at One Aldwych
☕️Mad Hatter Afternoon Tea at The Sanderson
☕️Wizard of Oz Afternoon Tea at The Soho Hotel

Have you done a proper Afternoon or High Tea in London before? Was the one you did on this list, if so what did you think of it? If you have additional recommendations please do leave a comment!

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Light Packing Tips

September 22, 2017      Trip Planning Tips

This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small commission at no cost to you. Please see our disclosure policy for more information. All opinions are my own.

Packing light is key when traveling with kids and especially when you tend to city hop like we do. On our most recent trip to Europe we visited Amsterdam, Paris, London, and Brussels. Constantly on the move every few days and going up and down the stairs, as most apartment buildings in Europe do not have elevators, packing light was an easy way to reduce frustration. For this week long trip pictured below is all we packed. Had I chose to purchase diapers in Europe or if Kennedy was no longer in them I could have ditched the Dory suitcase as it was only filled with diapers and wipes.

suitcase against the wall

Child suitcases can become annoying really quickly. Jordyn loves to pull her own suitcase but sometimes when we are in a rush it slows her down or if she gets tired of course it then becomes your responsibility to hold it. I love that her Dory suitcase has a strap on the back that goes over the handle of my suitcase so I can push/pull both with only one hand. So how do I pack for a family of 4 for a week in one suitcase?

​Clothing
When deciding on our clothing for a 7 day trip I only pack 3 bottoms per person. Jeans, especially men’s are very heavy and take up a lot of space. You really don’t need a different bottom for each day, you can re-wear. I pick darker bottoms as they typically go with more tops and if I get a little dirt on them it’s not noticeable.  I pack 1 shirt for each day. If the weather is warm where you are going packing dresses for women and shorts for men over jeans will also save you space and make your suitcase lighter. Since we typically stay at Airbnb’s they usually have washing machines and I always pack travel size detergent or a few detergent pods so we can do laundry half way through the trip if necessary. If your thought is “I might wear it, let me pack it just in case.” PUT. IT. BACK!  Lol but seriously, it’s like the shirt you always want to give away because you haven’t worn it in years but you somehow decide in your head you will because you like it but then of course you never wear it. The same thing will happen with this extra outfit you’ve convinced yourself you need on this trip, just leave it at home. Remember the less options you have to choose from, the quicker you’ll be able to get ready and out the door to start your adventures.

clothing laid out to be packed in suitcase 

This is exactly what we packed in one suitcase for our week long Euro Trip. Details below on how we fit it all in one suitcase weighing 43lbs total!
​
​Shoes
Shoes can take up a ton of space in your luggage and they can be very heavy. I always coordinate our clothing so we can get away with wearing the same shoe with each outfit. This way we only have the shoes we are wearing on our feet the day we leave and we don’t require any space in our luggage to pack shoes. Worst case we will each have two pairs of shoes with the heaviest one being worn on our travel days to save weight in our bag.

Toiletries
We put all of our toiletries in travel size clear containers and I label with a permanent marker. The pressure from airplanes can cause items to escape so I always put each of them in a snack size zip lock bag to prevent spillage. I then put everything in one of our packing cubes.


​Packing Cubes
If you don’t have packing cubes you need to get some! My friend used them on our trip to Australia and I was amazed at how much she could fit in them plus how organized her bag was. I immediately ordered some and they are the best. Here’s why:

They help us stay organized! I ordered a different color packing cube set for each of us. This helps automatically know whose clothes are where in case of an emergency. I wish I had these in Australia because I was de-boarding a flight when Kennedy had an explosive diaper. Poop was all up her back and her pants and shirt were done for. When went through our bag I pretty much had to take everything out since her clothes were at the bottom. Had I had packing cubes I’d simply grab her color cube without disorganizing my entire bag and then having to repack everything.

They turn your luggage into drawers like at home! Everyone packs their cubes a different way. When we are traveling to multiple cities in one trip I will pack mine based on city, putting the outfits I plan on wearing in each city in one cube so I only have to open one and everything else stays organized. However, when staying in one place an entire trip I might pack based on item: underwear and socks in one cube, shirts in one, and bottoms in the other. Instead of unpacking everything I will just put my cubes in the drawers and everything is easily accessible but also stay together and organized.​

packing cubes laid out on a bed

​The black cubes have all my husbands belongings, the red has Kennedy’s, the yellow/black has Jordyn’s, the big yellow one has mine and the small yellow has all of our toiletries.​ Below they all neatly fit into our regular sized check in luggage.

suitcase packing using packing cubes 


Here is our bag with all of our stuff all under the 50lb maximum weight for a total of 43lbs!

suitcase being weighed at the airport 

​The packing cubes seen in our suitcase above are from eBags and you can get them here. However, I recently started using packing cubes from EzPacking. The reason is because I love that they too also come in various colors so we can each have our own set but I also like that they are completely see-through on the top so you can see everything inside. Most importantly I love that they are completely sealed which keeps the stench from your dirty clothes away from your clean clothes especially when traveling to multiple cities on one trip. Use promo code ‘thetravelingchild’ to save 15% off EzPacking packing cubes.

ezpacking cubes on a bed filled with clothes

 

​What packing tips do you have? Drop them in the comments below!

The Traveling Child is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, amazon.ca. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.

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Comments

  1. Elisa says

    November 4, 2017 at 11:42 am

    Ok you have me convinced on packing cubes. I seriously LOVE your blog. I travel at least once a month with our almost 7 month old, usually by myself and your blog has helped me so much. I recommend it to everyone! ❤️

    • Monet Hambrick says

      November 13, 2017 at 7:44 am

      Awww, thank you so much Elisa!!! That means so much to me and I am so happy it has been so helpful to you. Yessss, packing cubes are life, I swear by them now!
      Monet

  2. April Kitchens says

    November 14, 2017 at 12:28 pm

    Girl I need those packing cubes!! And definitely a ziplock for toiletries. Thankfully Target has a few of the brands that I like in travel sizes and I just refill when needed.

  3. Zuli says

    November 18, 2017 at 4:08 pm

    Ok! I just figured out what I’ll be getting us for Xmas! I like to do a family gift, and what better gift than the gift of travel?! I have so many ideas for road trips, and, hopefully, one big trip that will require a plane for next year, and these packing cubes will be perfect!

    • Monet says

      November 20, 2017 at 7:30 am

      Hi Zuli!
      Yes, the gift of travel is truly amazing. Packing cubes have seriously changed my life lol, I hope they make it easier for your family to pack light and stay organized as well!
      Monet

  4. Tiffany Haywood says

    November 20, 2017 at 6:48 pm

    You definitely have this down to a science and a skill I have not mastered yet. I will be adding this packing cubes to my shopping list for our next trip for sure.

  5. Stephanie Saint-julien says

    January 11, 2018 at 3:24 am

    Seeing this blog gives me life !!!! I swear because I live in Miami where I dream everyday of traveling especially with my 1 y.o. son Aiden and Boyfriend Tyree. This gives me the extra push to travel because I always wondered how in the world can travel with a baby it must but hard. But now looking at things in a different light I thank you for this great info. Hope to be on the same traveling path to.

    • Monet says

      January 11, 2018 at 7:20 am

      Hi Stephanie,
      We live in South Florida too!! I won’t lie it’s hard sometimes but that’s just being a parent in general so I’m like might as well have some of those hard days be in some of the most beautiful places in the world. Take advantage of the free flights for your son while you can!!!
      Monet

  6. Carmelita Watkins says

    February 11, 2018 at 7:02 pm

    Hello, I have a question…When you pack for 4 people is the luggage you used a carry on luggage or a check in luggage size?

    • Monet says

      February 11, 2018 at 7:07 pm

      Hi Carmelita,
      When it’s all four of us we use a checked luggage sized suitcase.
      Monet

      • Carmelita says

        February 12, 2018 at 1:45 pm

        Thank you!

  7. Orliande says

    May 31, 2018 at 5:28 am

    Hi
    I used different size bags that you roll to let the air out then zip and lay then flat. Takes up no space. I might get some cubes for toiletries and shoes

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Hi! We’re The Hambricks

Hi! We’re The Hambricks

If kids live there, kids can visit! That's our motto and you'll often find us exploring destinations most don't find "kid friendly". We've traveled to 35 countries on 6 continents with our children since they were 10 weeks old and share tips to make it easier and affordable. But mom and dad are people too so we also write about solo travel, baecations and girlfriend getaways.

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