Business Travel With Family

Okay, the title may seem a little contradictory, but stay with me and it will all make sense.

I travel a lot for my job. About 99% of my travel involves taking trips where I can drive where I need to go within a day. In fact, because I live too far from a large airport, it makes as much if not more sense to drive places than to fly. Mileage reimbursement is not bad and helps the budget. But the best part of being able to do most of my business travel by car is that my wife and daughters tag along with me on my trips. It should be noted that we homeschool our kids which makes the family travel possible.

Now, there are some obvious disadvantages to trying to travel together. But for the most part, the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. Frankly, I like having my family with me when I have to go somewhere. It's much nicer coming back to a hotel with my family waiting for me than to a hotel room that is empty. It's depressing having to travel alone away from family. I've known many people that have had to travel 4-5 days a week and see their families on weekends if at all. I admire folks that can do that and still maintain a healthy family life. I just don't know how you do it.

Another advantage of travelling together is that we try to tie in educational ventures into our trips. For example, we were in Washington, D.C. earlier in the summer which of course opens up ample opportunities for educational trips. My kids have had the opportunity to not only read about history in books but to experience it by visiting museums and historic homes.

Our girls have learned how to behave like proper young women, in part, from having to travel and behave in restaurants. They've also become closer through being forced to amuse each other at the hotels (when they're not working on schoolwork).

It's not always easy for us to travel together but it is preferable. When you have to travel for work, could you take your family if you wanted to? It's not only possible, it's very rewarding. Next time you have to travel for your job, consider whether it could also be an opportunity for your family to go with you and experience things your destination has to offer that you might not otherwise get to experience.

This post originally appeared at DadBloggers.