The tent, designed for solo backpacking, was as sleek as a kite. For years, my husband and I squeezed into it. Then, last summer, we added a third person to our crowded wigwam when our daughter, Roxie, was born. Six weeks later, we spent a trial night beside a redwood-shaded Northern California river.  It was high season in wine country, and the campground was festive. I was already dreading keeping our neighbors awake with a crying baby when, as if sensing my anxiety, a mother with school-age children stopped at the sight of our newborn. “You’re brave,” she scoffed.  But Roxie didn’t cry. We sang to her by the campfire, changed her diaper by flashlight and fed her in the warmth of a mummy bag. The next morning, the woman returned. She hadn’t heard a sound from our site all night. The trip was an unqualified success.  During my pregnancy, I thought a lot about what travel means to me — as a woman, a working mother and a travel writer. What would being a parent do to my ability and desire to explore? Would travel become too difficult, too overwhelming, too expensive?  Frugal Family, a new column that will appear every two months, will examine these questions. It will be a counterpoint to prevailing wisdom that says any travel beyond Disneyland or a holiday drive to Grandma’s house is the realm of single, childless vagabonds and the jet-setting elite. But rather than lecturing smugly on why seeing the world is the greatest education a child can get, I want to show the reality of, say, camping with an infant — a reality that’s not always as smooth as our triumphant first trip. As Roxie grows, the column will grow with her, striving to be an honest representation of the ever-changing challenges — and evolving joys — of family travel on a $2,400 budget.  Roxie is days from crawling, and friends tell us that travel will get harder. And I believe it. But I also believe it will be worth it.  In the meantime, I bought a bigger tent. On sale, of course.
An intrepid travel writer, with an infant in tow, explores the challenges and joys of navigating the world on a tight budget.