Take a kid along to enrich your travel pleasures

Introducing our family to the pleasures of our much loved Hawaii added pleasure to the trip in many ways. Here we are -- Bruce Keller and Christene "Cookie" Meyers, at left, with our Bay Area family, the Ganners: Steve, James, Amarylla and Peny, on the shores of Hilton's Waikoloa Resort on the Big Island.

Story By Christene Meyers

Photos By Bruce Keller

"The Carpe Diem Kids"

WE LOVE to travel with our niece, nephew-in-law and their kids.

Seeing a new place with a youngster gives an extra kick to all of us.

Kids give you a perspective you may not have had -- or one you lost after you "grew up."

The innocence and enthusiasm of kids helps you get more bang for your travel buck.

And you learn along with them.

Kids find ways to explore and enjoy without the constraints imposed by adulthood. Here Peny and James make a game out of hotel yard decor.

Introducing a young person to a familiar beloved city is mind expanding. Taking a child to a theater, aquarium, concert hall, park or museum enhances the adult visitor's perception. It's also a chance to teach protocol and proper behavior.

Seeing the delight of a child experiencing something new adds to the fun, here feeding fish at Barcelona's aquarium.

Taking a kid to a palace, formal garden or stately home and introducing the child to tour guides, scholars, musicians and artists inevitably bolsters our own knowledge. It may take time and homework to research and answer a child's questions. The enthusiasm of youth is contagious. It's a joy to watch kids build character and become more courageous, confident and independent as a result of travel and exposure.

A trip to Disney World here, or Disneyland in California, or any amusement park is a good way to rediscover the child within.

For children, experiencing the inevitable pitfalls of travel is part of the adventure. While we adults might be anxious when we get lost or battle a language barrier, kids usually don't. When we resort to the web to decipher a menu, a child will point to a photo or just jump in and try something new. Children enjoy the challenges and roll with them more easily.

We take our great niece and nephew to the circus whenever we can, here in Redwood City, California.

TRAVEL ALSO introduces tolerance and acceptance, commodities we all need.

As Mark Twain said, travel is the enemy of prejudice, so it's wonderful to watch children enjoy, accept and embrace other cultures. A hula class on the beach with guests from Indonesia, France, Chile and Norway was a highlight for me in Hawaii. What fun to use my college French, and for all of us to learn to hula together. Treasured time with new friends ad my niece and grand niece learning, enriching, expanding our global view.

The innocence of kids embraces the new, here at Maui's Surfing Goat Dairy where kids meet kids.

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NEXT UP: Christmas and Hanukkah are distinct holidays from different faiths -- Christianity and Judaism. Their dates sometimes overlap due to the different calendars they follow. Often our Jewish friends celebrate Christmas while at the same time, we respect Hanukkah. It began this year at nightfall on Sunday, Dec. 14 and ends on Monday, Dec. 22 this year. As always our Christmas is Dec. 25, which this year we celebrate on a Thursday. While the holidays are always close together, sometimes they coincide as in 2024 when the first night of Hanukkah fell on Christmas Day. That won't happen again until 2035. Meanwhile, we reflect on the importance of respect for one another and various traditions -- both religious and secular. Let's make this holiday season a time to celebrate friendships new and old, family and the joys of travel, nature and life. L'chaim!

Celebrating the holidays in a new place adds dimension. Here, a double rainbow on the Kona Coast of the Big Island made a special New Year's! We take a look next week at what we value during holiday time -- friends, family, travel and extending tolerance and grace.