Greetings from Family Travel Week, sponsored by The Family Backpack, a new online guide that connects you to the best family travel blog posts. Enjoy seven days of family travel stories that will help you plan your next adventure, reduce pre-vacation stress and provide useful tips for once you arrive at your destination. Wheels up!

I have always enjoyed writing, especially when I travel. My grandmother traveled to Japan in the 1950s and journaled the whole trip. I still have those journals. Perhaps that’s what inspired me.

Since my first trip to Europe in high school, I have journaled about my experiences, the places I liked, the food I tried, made comparisons to my own country and whatever else came to mind. In a world where it seems like everything is now on a screen, it’s nice to go back and read a handwritten journal.

Two years ago, when we took our two boys to Turkey, I decided to get my oldest a travel journal. He was 7 at the time, and so I researched a journal that would provide writing space but also activities. The journal I liked the best was "My Travel Journal, A World of Activities."

Every night at dinner I would bring the travel journal for him to write in and then do some of the activities. The fact that the journal had additional activities for him to complete extended the time he spent on it. For my 5-year-old, I brought along a notebook and had him draw pictures from the day’s experience. People raved about how well-behaved they were at the restaurants we visited. Thank you, travel journal, as this is not always the case.

Details: Recommended for ages 8-11 (I found it fine for my 7-year-old). It’s 124 pages and has games, mazes, story prompts, information about foreign currencies around the world and more. Get it for $12.99 here. 

Wheels up!

What does "wheels up" mean? Go here.