Best Baby Travel Moments (Free Book Friday)

Here we are (I’m the one behind the camera) at Inspiration Point on our first trip as a family to Yosemite National Park. Yes, that’s a soul patch on Tim, and no we didn’t actually hike with our infants’ heads dangling like wet spaghetti. We try to make a pilgrimage to Yosemite each year, be it in spring, summer, or fall, whether we are lucky enough to have the highly competitive reservations for camping or the comforts and conveniences of staying in a cabin or lodge.

As with any place a family visits annually, seeing the pronounced changes in its children from one year to the next, Yosemite will always have a special place in our hearts. For us, it’s where Angelina took her first independent steps right in the Upper Pines Campground (the year after this photo was taken), among other great memories. It was also during the trip when this photo was taken, that Tim very innocently asked me, “So, what do you want to do next?” He, of course, was thinking in terms of eating lunch, hiking up the falls, or something of a more logical nature.

I, however, was thinking of the bigger picture: of how incredible it felt to be out in the world with our infant in spite of how hard it could be to simply get out the door with her at home, of how I would live my life as a new mother, of what I might do next with my writing career. And it was there on the valley floor that I first described what would become my second book: Travels with Baby: The Ultimate Guide for Planning Trips with Babies, Toddlers, and Preschool-Age Children.

We found ourselves back at Yosemite just a few weeks ago, coinciding with the 1 year anniversary of its publication. What an amazing journey it has been since that afternoon in Yosemite, when we had no idea just how many adventures were in store for us as new parent. The chiding barrage of baby-loving Buddhist monks Bangkok, the surprise grand escorted entrance at the Louvre in Paris simply because we had a stroller, climbing up ancient Mayan stone steps with my second-born on my back, watching my children climb all over the Alice in Wonderland sculpture in Central Park, watching my big girl riding her tag-along bike so proudly through Yosemite Valley.

There have, of course, been many challenging moments along the way. But while the words “travel” and “baby” are all too often followed with a groan by people who associate the two with noisy flights and slow-moving families at airport security, some of us know better. As the song “Moon River” attests, “There’s such a lot of world to see.” And who is luckier to see it than the mom with a baby on her hip or a child at her side?

In celebration of Travels with Baby‘s first birthday, I’m giving away a signed and personalized copy of the book. The winner can keep the book as a gift for herself (or himself), or send it to a friend as a gift–in which case I will include some lovely wrapping and a gift note from you. Early holiday gift? Present to the new parents in your life? You decide who I’ll send your new book to.

Safe journey,

Shelly Rivoli, author of the award-winning guide Travels with Baby