Normally, I interview local experts from around the world to find out the best things to do in their city. Today, we’re doing something special by interviewing my 9-year-old son, Timothy. In this episode, we talk about why parents should travel solo with their kids, Timothy’s encounter with a stingray, and traveling to Stockholm in January.
Keep reading to learn about how you can enter the $100 gift card sweepstakes.
Solo trips with Timothy
One of the great joys in my life is traveling with my family. Unfortunately, my wife cannot travel as much as me. So, I take the kids with me as often as I can as we explore the globe.
We miss Mommy on these adventures but these trips give us a better opportunity to connect. Plus, I love being able to get all of the hugs when Mom isn’t around.
I took Timothy on his first solo trip to Honolulu shortly after he turned 5 years old. We used British Airways Avios miles to fly and a Marriott resort certificate to stay, so our only cost was food, fun, and a rental car. Our flight, hotel, and rental car cost a total of $262 for our one-week stay!
On the North Shore of Hawaii in March 2016
Over the next 12 months, we also visited Cabo, Costa Rica, and Stockholm. Cabo and Costa Rica were wonderful with great weather. Stockholm was fun, but we were there in January so some attractions were closed and it was around 20* Fahrenheit most days.
We decided to visit Grand Cayman and thaw out during Timothy’s Spring Break. By this time, Timothy was an experienced international traveler and loved the adventure. We stayed at the Kimpton Seafire Resort & Spa. While on the island, we visited the Cayman Turtle Centre, Cayman Caves, Stingray City, and Starfish Point Beach. And then hung around the pool as much as possible. Everything was going great until a storm in Atlanta caused us to get stuck. We didn’t get home until 48 hours after our original plans.
A stingray trying to kiss Timothy at Stingray City in Grand Cayman
One of the trips that I’ve been planning for years finally happened in Fall 2019. Timothy loves Legos, and I was able to book a trip to see the original Legoland in Billund, Denmark. We flew Business Class flights from Chicago to Amsterdam and back from Billund, Denmark, during his Fall Break. The trip was everything we could have hoped for, including a short stop in Amsterdam for some history as we explored another great international city.
Entrance to Legoland Billund
Who is Timothy Huffman?
Timothy is a student that loves sports, Legos, and puzzles. He started flying at the age of 6 weeks, has Global Entry to skip airport lines, and has traveled to 10 countries. Timothy is also pretty awesome at snowboarding and has an IKON season pass.
He is finishing up 3rd grade, yet he reads and does math problems at the level of kids much older than him. We can’t wait to start traveling again and add even more stamps to his passport.
Snowboarding at Mont Tremblant in January 2020
100th Episode – Giving Away $100 Gift Cards to Two Listeners
The first $100 gift card was chosen from everyone who has already left an Apple Podcasts review. And the winner is Zenithdogg with this 5-star review:
Love the podcast. It truly shows the scope of great places around the country that people never knew. Keep the information coming because no one knows when I will be traveling to places mentioned at we travel there. Happy travel.
The second $100 gift card will be chosen from all Apple Podcasts reviews of We Travel There with Lee Huffman posted throughout the next week. The winner of a $100 virtual gift card of their choice (must be a retailer that I can buy online or at my local grocery store) will be chosen on Monday, May 18, 2020, at noon Central time.
Big thanks to today’s affiliate partner – CLEAR
Don’t you just hate waiting in line for security at the airport? Me too! Even the PreCheck lines are slammed most of the time.
That’s why I use CLEAR to skip the lines and get to my flight quicker.
For my listeners, I’ve worked out a special deal where you can try CLEAR free for 2 months. This is a limited time offer, so go to WeTravelThere.com/clear to sign up today.
Stay tuned for our next episode
Listen to the next episode when Jenny Navin shares the best things to do in Santa Cruz, California. Jenny and I talk about the boardwalk amusement park, concerts on the beach, and movies filmed in the city. We hope you’ll join us when We Travel There.
What’s your favorite part of our 100th episode? Send us a Tweet, let us know in the comment section below, or continue the discussion in our Facebook group!
Please take a moment to subscribe to the podcast via Apple Podcasts or Stitcher so you don’t miss the next episode! While you’re at it, give us a rating and Tweet the podcast to your friends.
To see which cities we’ve interviewed and scheduled, please visit WeTravelThere.com/map. If you’d like to be a guest on the show, please submit an application at WeTravelThere.com/guest.
Randy Petersen
Bravo for 100. Bravo to Timothy and his Global Entry status!
Lee
Thank you, Randy. I appreciate all of your support over the years. You’ve made such a positive impact on this journey.
KAYCE CREWS
I enjoyed the story about Costa Rica and calling Mommy. What a lucky kid to be able to travel so many places.
Lee
Thank you, Kayce. There’s nothing like being able to call Mom to make everything better. We try to help them experience the world to try new things and create awesome memories. It is amazing to watch them realize the similarities with people from other countries and explore the differences that make us unique. I appreciate you listening and sharing your thoughts.