A Family of Seven (plus one) Takes Tom to Boston

[dmilem]

My husband and I returned Saturday from a Fall Break vacation to Boston with our five children and my husband’s sister. We flew from Louisville and connected to our flight to Boston in Baltimore. My husband carried his Aeronaut and a small Cafe bag. I carried my Tristar and a medium Cafe bag. Our three oldest children carried, among a few other things, Synapse’s. And, our girls took their new Field Journal Notebooks, which they received for their birthdays. I’m not going to bother listing by item the packing cubes and pouches that also made the trip. While I don’t have any photos of the bigger pieces or the Cafe bags, I’ll just say they performed admirably. I wound up using the Small Cafe bag for my camera and other items I need throughout the day. Having my wallet secured to the bag added tremendous piece of mind. However, I did find that there are hazards in choosing to go carry on only when I accidentally left my Tristar outside one of the airport bathrooms on the return home. I was about to board the plane when I realized I didn’t have it. I guess I was too busy counting heads! My husband did locate it but it was a close call and we were the last to board the plane.
What a joy to have pieces that are comfortable to carry and fit an amazing amount of stuff. I do, however, have a few pictures of the Synapse’s and an FJN, which my youngest daughter insisted on carrying. On a side note, I found myself looking at the bags other people carry in the airport and for daily use. I must say, ours looked really good!
Thanks Tom for making bags that look great, function well and are a pleasure to use!



Waiting for lunch



The Loves of My Life Waking in the Park. My husband is carrying our youngest son in a non-Tom backpack.





Whale Watching





On the USS Constitution



At the New England Aquarium

[Maria]

Congratulations on getting the whole family to travel like this, and what a tremendous relief to have found your misplaced Tristar! Phew! It makes a difference when the children can carry some of their own things, especially as the parents have enough to do already! Good for you!

[dorayme]

Thanks for sharing. I ♥ this!

[backpack]

Just precious! Thank you for sharing those great pictures!

[misterN]

Awesome pictures!

[ncb4]

I absolutely love these photos! You have a beautiful family, and that picture where your older daughter is holding her younger sister is especially sweet. Scary about your TriStar though: your mom-mind was certainly elsewhere, making sure all your kids were safe.

[Katy]

These photos are amazing!

The first time I saw this thread title I had to do a double take, I thought it said "A family of seven (plus one) take one Tom to Boston" :)

[maverick]

these pictures are just fabulous!! my favorite is of the kids at the aquarium!

[brian]

Great pictures! I'd love to visit Boston again some day.

[dmilem]

Thanks for your kind words everyone! We had a great trip....nerve wracking at times, but great none the less. We're a small town crowd and aren't used to mass transit trains and stand-still traffic.But there was so much to love in Boston...the Common, the Bunker Hill area with all the lovely brownstones, Old Ironsides, etc. Just when I started to feel comfortable, it was time to come back to my beloved Kentucky.
My real question is...do I now qualify as a FOT?!

[Lani]

I *LOVE* that your kids each have Synapses. Was that their main carry-ons? How easy that must have been! It's such a nice backpack that it looks balanced even on the smallest of your three kids that carried them. And you know they'll be able to continue using them over the years, since they won't fall apart.

On our flight home from Boston, there was a family of 7 (mom, dad, four kids and one baby), and all of the children carried rolling uprights. While that might at first SEEM convenient, watching them carry their rolling uprights was like watching LEGO blocks bumping into each other instead of clicking into place. One of the parents would have to hold their infant, and if they had to go to the counter, they couldn't also hold their own luggage.... so they'd get one of the older kids to help roll a second bag. Trying to carry TWO rolling uprights is NOT a pleasant experience, especially when you look like you're 10 years old! Had they all gone with Synapses and other carryable bags, I think they would've been able to travel much easier, like you guys did!

Thanks so much for sharing. :-)

[dmilem]

Hi Lani,
Our three oldest children shared a couple of pieces of rolling luggage. We wound up checking them on the return flight. I used the Synapse's as the girls only bags when we went to Chicago last summer and they worked great. For this trip to Boston, the weather was all over the place as far as temperatures were concerned so I didn't get to pack as light as I would have like to have. Our oldest sons use their Synapse backpacks as their book bags. They hold an amazing amount of stuff and are balanced on their smaller frames. I have a feeling they'll outgrown them before they wear them out. I see Brain Bags in our future! They Indigo Synapse is mine but Catherine carried it for this trip. I have a feeling that in the not-so-distant future I'll be borrowing it from her.
I'm very interested in traveling light and am seeking ways to improve, even with the five children. I want them to learn to go through life traveling light. Two years ago, before I even knew there was a Tom Bihn, my husband and I and our 2 oldest boys went carryon only when we traveled to China to meet our youngest son. How I wish I'd known Tom then as well as all the helpful sights online. I was left to fend for myself and have learned so much since then.
Dawn

[Lani]

I don't know about outgrowing them... based on the rave reviews from all the adults here, I suspect they will be able to use their Synapses for many years to come. Should the backpacks ever get too small as a carry-on travelpack, I would recommend gifting them with a full-fledged Tom Bihn carry-on, and they can use their Synapses as their day bags. :-)

For now, even the Western Flyer might be too big for them. That said, typically when I carry two items, I tend to prefer that they use different carrying methods (so for example, not two backpacks). If the Synapse is one carry-on, your kids might want to use a shoulder bag as their second carry-on. The Cafe Bags are pretty good for carrying books, although the Co-Pilot is mighty fine, too. And actually, if Tom comes out with a larger Pilot bag, that might be sized just right as a carry-on shoulder bag for them!

As for packing lightly for variable weather... it's something I did for our most recent vacation. The trick? Layering with wool. It's a little spendy but I took one wool undershirt (in black, that I could wear as a T-shirt) and one thin wool cardigan hoodie. The two combined barely made a dent in my Western Flyer.

Depending on your child, you can adjust their wardrobe and still minimize what you pack for them. If they're still spilling stuff on their tops, you might want to pack some patterned tops that you can easily rinse/dry in a hotel room bathroom, etc. Every few days, you can take everybody's clothing and do a load of laundry (family-friend hotels will often have a laundry room). I highly recommend using the unscented Purex laundry sheets. They are totally flat and travel really well. If you want to do some hand rinsing, you might consider packing a bit of Charlie's Soap (they are, hands-down, my favorite laundry soap). Carry a stick of that Tide pen, too. You can catch most little spots with just that.

Layer, layer, layer... and make sure that every article of clothing a child packs, matches with every other item they pack. When on vacation, nobody cares that you are only wearing three different tops!

[misterN]

Must resist temptation to purchase synapse.

[Shiva]

question about wool clothes + charlie soap

[QUOTE=Lani;30662]
As for packing lightly for variable weather... it's something I did for our most recent vacation. The trick? Layering with wool. It's a little spendy but I took one wool undershirt (in black, that I could wear as a T-shirt) and one thin wool cardigan hoodie. The two combined barely made a dent in my Western Flyer.

Lani:
what brand woollen clothing were these? I have not been able to find such ultrafine merino wool that is not itchy. I did try the Patagonia undershirts, but they are sporty. Can't pass them off for dress at all.

Also: Charlie's soap---where do you get them?

Thanks so much
s