Page Ettle
BootsnAll Photojournalist
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Page and two of her children. |
Page Ettle believes that traveling with children is “the ultimate form of adventure travel”. For her, adventure has included transatlantic flights, living overseas, and numerous cross-country roadtrips – and the kids aren’t even out of kindergarten yet!
Not surprisingly, prior to motherhood Page’s life included a lot of traveling. Born into a military family, she moved almost every two years and traveled for most major holidays. By age 20, she had been to 42 states and toured Europe twice. College led to a BA from Loyola University, New Orleans, followed by a MBA from Johns Hopkins. After several years in the corporate rat race, Page gave birth to two little girls, less than 22 months apart. She decided to take a break from the work world to enjoy a “relaxing” motherhood experience.
A daring transatlantic flight with an airsick husband and the kids (then ages 9 months and two years) led to a three-month stay in Italy. Based in Venice, Page and her brood traveled to Rome, Florence, and Verona. Of all the places in the world to take young children, Page thinks Italy is top of the list. The Italian people adored her kids, and pickpockets avoided her like the plague when she was carrying a baby!
Roadtrips have been an essential part of the family bonding experience, beginning when her firstborn was a mere four months old. Stateside jaunts have included drives to New Orleans, Albuquerque, Houston, Chicago, and very rural Indiana.
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Hubby, with 2 Ettle Road Warriors. |
Page believes that traveling is important for children. It exposes them to other cultures and makes them realize that there’s far more beyond their own backyard. As a parent, you get the rewarding experience of seeing the world all over again through the eyes of your children. Plus the geography and history lessons are invaluable.
Of course traveling with children is not all fun and joy. Page and her husband have endured numerous catastrophes – such as the terrifying case of an infant stricken with the “Venetian stomach flu”, three days of rain at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta, endless days of infant/toddler jet-lag, a toddler nearly trampled by a horse, outrunning a tornado in Louisiana, and meeting Italian polizia in full riot gear outside an Italian soccer stadium. This does not even begin to include all the “creative” diaper-changing/breastfeeding situations, but some things are better left unsaid.
Through it all, Page’s foremost thoughts are for the overall safety and happiness of her children. In the future, she is contemplating a possible trip to Australia with the kids. If anyone has information on the best playgrounds in Sydney, drop her a line.
Look below for links to all of Page’s BootsnAll articles. Also feel free to email her at ettlep@swbell.net.
