How do I travel with 9-year-old triplets?

For Travel + Leisure’s Traveling As column, we talk to travelers about what it’s like to explore the world through their unique perspectives. We chatted with high school teacher and coach Electra Viveros about sharing his passion for travel with his wife Angela and their 9-year-old triplets. Here is his story…

Growing up in La Quinta, California, my family had little money, so I didn’t travel often. Later, I was lucky when one of my uncles started a career where he was privileged to earn a decent income. His gift to his nephews and nieces was always the gift of travel.

He was moved to London and I went to visit him when I was about 18; It was revealing. I had never been to a big city like that, where there are trains, subways and double-decker buses. I was new to all this and that changed me. It was interesting to see how different people live, eat and even move their bodies.

It’s like stepping out of your own bubble when traveling and entering someone else’s to get a glimpse into their life. For example, in Spain I was surprised by naps and how people take time to laugh and breathe. Even the way they drink wine is different. It’s like we’re drinking to survive and they’re drinking to enjoy.

Now, most of my money is spent on travel. I don’t buy as many material things as I probably would have if I hadn’t had that early experience.

I already had the travel bug when I met my now wife, Angela. She is also from a small town and a family that didn’t travel much other than driving around her state, Michigan. She came with me on a trip to London and caught the travel bug even more than I did.

We both coached basketball and she used to coach the travel team. We were eight to 12 girls and we traveled up to four hours away. Some of them had never been to the beach or the mountains, so it was great to be able to see their first experiences. Traveling with 15- to 17-year-olds will prepare you for anything, including triplets.

Having triplets was not planned. But upon entering, we made a pact that we were going to travel as much as we could, as if we only had one child. We will not stay home simply because it is more challenging.

We took them on their first flight to visit family in Michigan when they were 6 months old. I was terrified that everyone on the plane would hate us. We had to buy an extra seat since the rule is that you can only have one baby on your lap. So, we put a car seat in the third seat and rotated them, alternating from lap to seat.

I remember being amazed at how wonderful they did on the flight, which lasted over three hours. But we had always taken them for walks and I think that prepared them for it. We even received a lot of compliments when we got off the plane.

When they were 1 year old, we took their first road trip from California to Michigan. That is still his favorite place. We have been to many places, like Disney World and Hawaii, but will always choose Michigan. They just like the life out there. Where we live, the temperature reaches 115 or 120 degrees in the summer. In Michigan, they can be outdoors every day, go to the lake and fish. They go off-roading with their cousins ​​in the dunes.

But when we take the kids somewhere new, it’s as good as experiencing it through your own eyes for the first time. It’s almost better because of the way kids see things: they still see magic. Then they get very excited, which is difficult, because when they are excited, they become very active.

We also traveled with our niece, who is 18 years old. We raised her since she was 4 years old. It’s a great help. When we travel with her, we are three against three, instead of two against three.

We would probably all agree that Hawaii was our most memorable trip: it wasn’t just the six of us, but both sets of grandparents as well. We were in Kauai and Oahu for two weeks. The triplets had just turned 6, but they still talk about it three years later: “Do you remember when we were all in Hawaii with our grandparents, we went diving and boating?”

Now, we’ve expanded those trips. This summer, we traveled through 15 states in 28 days. My sister lives in Colorado, so our original plan was to go from there to Michigan and then back home. When we got to Michigan, I thought, “Let’s do it big.”

Neither of us had been to the South, so we headed there. In Nashville we visited the Grand Ole Opry and in Memphis we had the best barbecue. We also love The Big Texan in Amarillo and always stop there when we drive. To top it all off, we went to the WNBA All-Star weekend in Phoenix.

I love national parks and I’m trying to go to all of them. This summer we visited Zion National Park in Utah and Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. We have hiked in Estes, Colorado, through Rocky Mountain National Park, and have also been to the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Sequoia, and Joshua Tree.

Every trip is a challenge in its own way. When we are on the road and there are long stretches with nothing to see, it can be a challenge. we have a [Chevy] Tahoe, fortunately we have that third row and we can give [the kids] space if necessary. But there were times when they were younger and the three of them were in a row, getting on each other’s nerves and hitting each other from the car seats. You also have to stop many times because someone has to go to the bathroom.

Luckily, my wife is a queen of road trips and traveling in general. Since they were 2 or 3 years old, the triplets each had their own portable desk with pens, markers and roadside bingo cards. Then we would slide them in and they would have their own snack trays. She thinks of everything, whether we go to someone’s house for a day or a week.

Traveling is like a disease for my wife: she is always planning trips. We’re going to New York for New Year’s Eve and we’re thinking about going to Hawaii in the summer. We both feel like we have little time when our kids are young, so we want to tailor these experiences for them.

We can’t wait to get them out of the country, but we think about their ages. Before we took them to Disney World last summer, we thought, “What will be the best age they’ll remember, but it’ll still be magical?” So we took them when they were 8 years old. We are talking about a great trip to Europe, but at what age will they understand how special it is? They haven’t arrived yet. If we did it soon, it would be more for us than for them. That’s something we think about all the time.

But we don’t like being stuck at home, so we plan weekend trips even a couple of times a month. We usually go a few hours away to San Diego, Orange County, or Los Angeles. My triplets could spend all day on the beach in San Diego. My wife and I like breweries, so the kids know to try a new brewery when we go on a weekend getaway. We love new experiences.

Our three children are nothing alike. Asher is calm. He is never temperamental and always lets himself go. Then there is Luca, who is always a challenge. He’s very opinionated about where we’re going, what we’re doing, and how long it’s going to last. And Talen is energetic. He is bouncy and will communicate with everyone. If someone approaches us, it’s the spokesperson: “I’m Talen, this is Asher, that’s Luca and yes, we are triplets.”

We attracted more attention when they were little. We once went to Sea World when they were about 2 years old. I was taking a photo of them in the kids splash area and didn’t realize they had attracted a crowd. We draw attention simply because having triplets is quite rare.

We are lucky that most of our difficult times happen at home. Maybe my children are so used to doing things constantly that when we are crowded at home that is when the behavior is bad. I don’t remember any difficult times when we traveled, other than road trips.

Last weekend we went to Legoland near San Diego and on the way home we stopped at the wineries in Temecula. I was surprised by the number of people who came up and praised the children’s good behavior. They were surprised to find out that they didn’t need tablets or anything like that. It hit me when the server said, “I’ve never seen 9-year-olds be able to communicate and be in the moment.”

That is the reward for everything you have experienced. They can sit, behave and communicate well on their own and with each other, and I really think that wouldn’t be the case if we hadn’t traveled so much.

Next, I want to take them to London, to see Big Ben, the London Eye and a show, the typical things that will be cool to their young eyes, but that I didn’t see until I was a young adult. My wife is half Greek so she wants to go there. We also want to go to Italy.

I want to take them to Alaska to see some bears or maybe an orca in the wild. My kids really like fishing, so I want to go there for them. My niece’s goal is to see the Northern Lights, so I would love to take her too, just the three of us without the kids.

But even if it’s somewhere I’ve never heard of, I’m always willing to travel.