Ann and I spent the last half of June travelling through Austria with granddaughters Corriell and Liza. In early July, we took granddaughter Ella and a friend on a short sail in the San Juans. What a contrast!
Liza and Corriell are 16 and 18. Cee is emotional, empathetic, intuitive. Liza, in her quirky bicycle hat is cerebral, analytic, questing for information. Both are open, interested, curious and confident. 
They made for delightful travelling companions as we explored together the vestiges of Austro-Hungarian Empire; the baroque excesses of the Roman church; the creative tumult of Vienna’s fin de siècle renaissance in art, music, philosophy, architecture and psychiatry; the charm of the Tyrol. And how well they related to one another, noting and sharing, each in their own way -- not a h
arsh word between them. (But what they could do to a hotel room! Each stop looked like a luggage bomb had gone off five minutes after check-in.) Amy and Jeff observed that we have given the girls a set of shared memories at a time when their lives are about to diverge into adulthood; a nice insight for us.
They made for delightful travelling companions as we explored together the vestiges of Austro-Hungarian Empire; the baroque excesses of the Roman church; the creative tumult of Vienna’s fin de siècle renaissance in art, music, philosophy, architecture and psychiatry; the charm of the Tyrol. And how well they related to one another, noting and sharing, each in their own way -- not a h
arsh word between them. (But what they could do to a hotel room! Each stop looked like a luggage bomb had gone off five minutes after check-in.) Amy and Jeff observed that we have given the girls a set of shared memories at a time when their lives are about to diverge into adulthood; a nice insight for us.Ella and friend Nina are 9 and 10. High energy and short attention spans cooped up on a small sailboat make 
for moments of delight, moments of frustration. The beauty of the islands, the mountain views, the passing pilot whales and seals had to compete with cocooning in the V berth to read, plot pranks, pig out on purloined chips and cherries, and immerse themselves in Nintendos and
I-pods. (If you want interaction with grandkids, banish that Nintendo!) They put on after-dinner musical reviews on the foredeck, braved the 48° water, hiked ashore, and eagerly awaited return to Frappuccino land. Ellas’s dad, Grant, who had sailed these waters when he was nine, provided the parental heavy hand, leaving to Ann and I the boat handling and guilty pleasures of indulging kids.
for moments of delight, moments of frustration. The beauty of the islands, the mountain views, the passing pilot whales and seals had to compete with cocooning in the V berth to read, plot pranks, pig out on purloined chips and cherries, and immerse themselves in Nintendos and
I-pods. (If you want interaction with grandkids, banish that Nintendo!) They put on after-dinner musical reviews on the foredeck, braved the 48° water, hiked ashore, and eagerly awaited return to Frappuccino land. Ellas’s dad, Grant, who had sailed these waters when he was nine, provided the parental heavy hand, leaving to Ann and I the boat handling and guilty pleasures of indulging kids.
Travels with grandchildren – perhaps 18 is too late, maybe nine is too early. I regret not having done it with Peter and Frank. I hope I have the energy to do it when Christopher, Ella, Max, Molly, and Parker reach 13 or so… only time will tell.
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