In April, my daughter, Charleigh, and I took our first mother / daughter trip. I’ve been taking mother / daughter trips since I was 15 and father / daughter trips since I was 18. Just uninterrupted one-on-one time with my parents as individuals. While, my kids are much younger, I wanted to follow my parents’ examples and start taking one-on-one trips with my little ones! (Liam’s is coming this fall or next spring, depending on when he’s ready!)
This trip was planned to be spent almost completely outside and to be relatively cheap. The plan was to car camp, and then the activities were to hike, paddle boat, stroll through Eureka Springs, go to the library, sit outside and craft together… all the girly things. BUT many of those things were thwarted by various things. This trip challenged my want to build a perfect trip for CJ while also being financially responsible and not comparing them to my own trips with my parents because, well, my kids are much younger.
First of All, it Rained… A Lot
Because we were car camping, I had plans to do most things outside. Sit at our picnic table at our campsite and read or craft, hike the trails in the park we stayed in, play on their playground. But, it rained, a lot, and not just rain, it stormed, so it wasn’t safe to go outside even if we wanted to get out in the rain. So the car became quite cramped when we were trying to do activities in it.
Our Plans to Car Camp Didn’t Work Out
Aside from it being cramped while waiting on the rain to pass, CJ was ultimately terrified of car camping. We got all of our snacks and activities put away, got all cozy in our pallet bed and then I turned the lantern off. I was very dark, you could hear the sounds of animals and nature noise just outside of the car and Charleigh honestly started to panic. She asked what I would do if a bad guy came, and I said I would protect her. I would get in the driver seat and drive away; I would protect her. But her wheels were turning and she was kinda starting to panic. Then, with her sweet little five-year-old self snuggled up against me, she quietly said, “Mama, I don’t feel safe.” As the mom who wants to be my child’s safe place, that broke my heart. But I was also so proud of her for telling me that she felt that way. That took bravery. So, I immediately sprung into action.
I initially thought, why don’t we just go back home and go out tomorrow morning and scrap Sunday, but then she was devastated saying, “I ruined girls trip!” That broke my heart in a whole new way. So, we started looking for the most budget-friendly hotel options while also being safe and not meh-looking. Ultimately we ended up really only finding something a little over an hour away in a city nearby.
We Went with It
Matt was unbelievably helpful and booked us a hotel while we headed to Bentonville, Arkansas. Initially we wanted to stay close to Eureka Springs, but it was so hard to find something that wouldn’t break the bank, and it was already late. So, we made the choice to just head to Bentonville and Matt took care of the rest. Thanks, Matt! We got in incredibly late and then once we got there, CJ was wired. So we stayed up entirely too late cross-stitching and watching TV. Kinda the opposite vibe I was going for, but we were just going with it at this point.
She Wanted to Rest More Than I Thought – Even Napped One Day!
I had so many ideas of things to do packed into every single day. What I didn’t anticipate is how much she would want to rest or do some of the same stuff we normally do at home. She even napped! She hasn’t napped in a bed in over a year unless she was sick, but that day she wanted to. So, we napped! We played in playgrounds and got ice cream.
I Learned that, Especially as She’s Five, I Needed to Give Up MY Expectations of the Weekend
In my head, this trip had to be packed full – and we still did quite a bit – to be memorable. I was so focused on building an itineraty full of activities, that I forgot what we both really wanted out of this trip… time together. So, once I leaned into that, it ended up being some of the best time.
But, We Made Some of the Sweetest Memories Here’s How We Spent Our Mother / Daughter Weekend
Even though I feel like the the time wasn’t that full, here’s the deal, it was! And when I think of some of what I planned, we still did a lot of it. It was just in a weird, less efficient order, and we changed up some of the things.
FRIDAY – Missouri to Arkansas
On our first day we drove down to Kings River Falls. It was further than the campground we were staying at, so I decided to do the “long drive” first and then everything else we did would sort-of be en route back home. We hiked to Kings River Falls which is an easy 2-ish mile hike, round trip. The trail is easy to follow and leads to a really beautiful waterfall that has an incredible swimming hole at the base if it’s swimming season. CJ wore the little fair wings I got her and she was so stinkin’ cute. We played adventure girl fairies, threw sticks and gumballs into the river, and smelled all the little wildflowers popping up along the trail. We soaked in time at the waterfall until we needed to head back north to Eureka Springs.
We got up to our campsite at Lake Leatherwood just in time to get settled before the rain hit. CJ and I popped the hatch and sat in the back of my car and journaled. Then it started to rain, and it was raining hard and then it started to lightning, so we decided to go into Eureka Springs and we went to the library. Then, we went to the store and bought a few bonus crafts to do, a few more snacks, and some rain boots for sis. I looked at my weather app and an hour away it wasn’t raining, so CJ and I loaded up in the car and did a short little waterfall hike. We met a family from Asheville and CJ told them all about our trip there last November. It was so cute! Charleigh proudly stomped to the waterfall in her brand new rain boots. I love seeing her out in nature being her sweet nature fairy self.
After our little hike, we drove back to our campsite. The sun had set, we did a little crafting and reading with our little lanterns. I put up the little privacy shades up that I had made, then we turned our lanterns off and snuggled into our pallet and were about to sleep. Charleigh was snuggled in close and she started asking questions like, What if a bad guy comes? Will you keep me safe? And then she told me in a really sweet, soft voice, Mama, I don’t feel safe. That broke my heart and also made me so proud that she had the strength to tell me that. So, we packed up, I got her in her carseat, and Matt helped us get a hotel booked while we started driving to Bentonville.
SATURDAY – Bentonville and Beyond
Charleigh and I woke up and she was devastated that we weren’t at our campground because she wanted to go paddle boating. We were about an hour away, and she wan’t being bratty about it, it was just something she was so excited about, so we drove back and paddle boated that morning. We looked at turtles, at birds and more. We touched the lake, touched lily pads and enjoyed the views while we chitchatted. It was lovely.
Then we headed back to Bentonville. After lunch, she was wiped out, so we took a nap. After waking up we went out to explore: we went to Crystal Bridges Art Museum to look at art, in their little studio we made some art, and walked a bit of one of the trails. Then we walked around downtown, went and got ice cream at the Spark Ice Cream Shop, and we went to a used bookstore where CJ found a book she wanted. Then, we played at a playground for most of the rest of the evening before going to have dinner. After dinner, we went back to the hotel and crafted. It was just a day of doing all the girlie girl things we do when CJ says, Mama, can we have some girls time? It was perfect.
SUNDAY – One More Stop Before We Head Home
After we had brekkie in the hotel and drove through Starbucks, we went to check out a waterfall that neither of us had been to before called Pinion Creek Falls. It’s right off the road in Bella Vista and they’ve built a really nice bridge that goes over the creek and offers a really gorgeous view of the waterfall. We tried to hike more, but it started to rain with a little roll of thunder. So, we headed back to the car to head back home!
While this trip looked almost completely nothing like I thought it would, it was a really beautiful trip that filled my cup, and I hope Charleigh’s cup, too. We played, learned, crafted, created, talked, laughed, snuggled and hiked together. We did all the things we love, together. This trip meant so much to me and I can’t wait to make this an annual thing we do together. I love being her mama and I love that I’m getting to take one-on-one trips with her and incorporating the joys of travel with the even greater joys of motherhood. I hope we’re creating memories that last a lifetime.
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