On the go with Grandma

Grandkids look forward to annual road trips

By Cindy Card Buchholz, Journal correspondent | Friday, October 17, 2008

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Anybody who has ever dreaded taking a road               trip with a child in the car should meet Marge Anderson. The Rapid City grandmother spends her summer vacations traveling with her grandkids. And in nine years, she has never once heard “Are we there yet?”

“I have the best vacations in my life with my grandchildren,” Anderson said. “This gives me some quality time to connect with them, and it helps them see there’s way more out there than just what we have.”

She said her grandkids are always well-behaved on the trips. “I think grandparents really have a special something to connect with kids. They don’t misbehave. They know we can get along and have fun or stay home.”  

Anderson has 10 grandchildren in the Rapid City area — five girls and five boys — and can fit five in her car at a time. She has two step-grandchildren, one too young and another who lives too far away to go. Her excursions have included Yellowstone National Park; Colorado Springs, Colo.; Thermopolis, Wyo.; Glacier National Park; Mall of America in Minneapolis; Breckenridge, Colo.; and Moab, Salt Lake City and Ogden in Utah, to name a few.

She plans two trips a year — one for the younger children, whom she calls the Gadabouts, and one for the older ones, called the Runabouts. She said she feels very blessed that her three children entrust her with their children.

“She’s Grandma, and the kids are always excited to be with Grandma,” said her daughter, Kristal Alderink of Box Elder. “They know they always have to follow rules. Grandma does a great job with them. When they get to do fun things with her, they don’t complain.”

Eleven-year-old Robert Holter of Box Elder said even though he sees his grandmother throughout the year, he always looks forward to the special excursions.

“We get to go to different states and stuff and hang out with our Grandma,” he said. His favorite trip was going to the Tetons. “I thought they were real pretty,” he said. He added that he never gets bored in the car and he never gets homesick.

Seven-year-old Aurora Yerden of Box Elder said her favorite destination was the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs. “We saw penguins, and some were in the cold water,” she said. She said her other favorite trip was Reptile Gardens. “I like the bird show.”

Anderson said she came up with the travel idea after reading an article in a Focus on the Family magazine about grandparents whose visiting grandchildren stay with them.

“I modified the plan to go on vacation instead,” she said.

Cooking and camping are not part of her trips. “We eat out and stay in hotels or cabins,” she said. She added that the children must be at least 4 years old to go.

The first group outing was to Yellowstone in 2000. She said planning is key to having a successful vacation, as is involving the children in the preparations. Anderson said she now plans several years in advance. She sends out invitations around January each year, because planning requires coordination with vacation time and family commitments.

She also sends her grandchildren a questionnaire to learn more about them — their favorite book, favorite color, favorite restaurant, shirt and shoe sizes. As vacation time approaches, she sends them clues about where they will go, which she said adds to their anticipation. Her packing instructions specify bringing specific-colored T-shirts so everybody can wear the same color shirt each day. She also makes new personalized T-shirts every year.

“My sister Brenda and I design the T-shirts, keeping in mind the sites we’ll visit,” Anderson said.

She said she has a budget and recently started using a spreadsheet. “I try to be realistic with that. I do a lot of research on the Internet.”

She said she also buys snacks and drinks through the year so the car is well-stocked. The children’s spending money comes from saving aluminum cans throughout the year.

When arranging lodging for a large group of kids, she stays away from online reservations.

“When I make reservations, I call and talk with a person. When you have five little kids, you really want to know what the accommodations will be,” she said.

On the road, she makes sure everybody has a job. They rotate seats in the car as well as jobs. The person in the front seat is the resource person who is responsible for maps, confirmation numbers and park passes. She also designates a safety person who carries a first aid kit. 

“They like the responsibility, and they like helping,” Anderson said.

She said her charges never run out of things to do. She provides each child with a folder full of activities such as coloring pages, crossword puzzles and dot-to-dot pages. She also includes a map of where they are going. Her grandchildren keep a journal about the places they have hiked.

As a safety precaution, each child wears a name tag under his or her clothes with parents’ names and contact numbers in case of an emergency.  She also gets a power of attorney form for each child so she can consent to medical treatment, which she has never needed.

She said a digital camera is an absolute must. “I keep a photo album for each child, and had to order more than 900 prints this year,” she said. She also videotapes the trips and makes copies for everyone.

At the end of the trip, she has her passengers fill out critiques and asks their opinions and suggestions for future trips. “I just love the responses I get,” she said.

Ashly Crowson, 14, of Rapid City said one year, the kids requested they be surprised. “We didn’t want to know where we were going. Everything was a mystery that year. It was fun. It is always fun. I have not been on a trip that wasn’t,” she said.

Anderson said she is already looking forward to next year’s journey. The destination? “It’s a secret.”