Nine years ago, 70-year-old Pat Thompson started a new family tradition — taking her teenage granddaughters from Canada to Hawaii Island for a vacation, without their parents.
Thompson and her granddaughters snorkeled at Kahaluu, soaked up the sun at Hapuna and Kekahakai beaches, watched hula, and got to choose one big ticket adventure, such as swimming with the dolphins or zip-lining. She’s done similar parentless vacations three times so far — each trip with different granddaughters. They manage to keep up with her.
Not one to miss out on the fun, her husband, Ralph, hosted a guys-only vacation with five grandsons a few months ago.
Pat and Ralph are part of a growing travel trend of grandparents skipping a generation to vacation with just the grandchildren. About a third of grandparents surveyed in a 2019 AARP “Grandparents Today” report have gone on skip gen travel trips with their grandkids, spending an average of $1,746 a year on such trips.
The Thompsons first visited Hawaii in 1976 and now reside part of the year in Keauhou. They have four daughters, two sons, 13 granddaughters and 10 grandsons spread out within a two-hour radius of each other in Alberta, Canada.
In 2001, Pat brought her four daughters and two daughters-in-law on a girls trip to Kona.
“We were having so much fun in the pool that people thought we were a synchronized swimming team,” she laughed. “So we made up a routine and performed aquatics for applause.”
As the families and number of grandchildren grew, scheduling a supersized vacation to include everyone was a big challenge.
“It’s like herding sheep when we get together,” mused Pat. “With a party of 37, we can’t all fit on a sidewalk in Kona.”
So Pat streamlined the approach — she decided to spend part of her leisure time in Hawaii hosting quality vacations with a select number of grandkids. In 2011, she brought oldest granddaughters Halley and Kaylee to Kona when they turned 16. Two years later, Avery, Meg and Maren reached the teen threshold for their turn, followed by Paige, Ella, Keara and Allie in 2018.
“It’s a different dynamic to see the girls as individuals away from their families and get to know their personalities better,” said Pat. “For example, Paige was always quiet when she was with her family, but with her cousins her personality came out, and I could see how much she was like her mom, my daughter Alison. So I get to know them better, and they get to create special memories with their cousins, whom they usually only see twice a year during the summer and at Christmas.”
“These skip-gen experiences are priceless,” said oldest daughter Amy Thompson, who doesn’t mind not coming along. “Not only does this give my kids a chance to make great connections with their cousins whom they seldom see, but they also create solid memories with their grandparents that they can talk about forever.”
Son/Brother/Dad Ryan Thompson, agreed.
“Kona has been the best experience for our kids and us as well,” he said. “We have made so many great memories there, and consider ourselves very lucky.”
After her third round of granddaughter vacations, Pat nudged Ralph to bringing some grandsons over to Kona. Up until then, only grandson Jorgen had visited with his friend.
So last fall, Ralph organized a scuba diving adventure for Syver, RJ, Berg, Keegan and Reid that included lessons toward certification followed by deep sea dives.
The week-long vacations gave the grandkids insight into how cool their grandparents really are.
“In our particular family, the young strive to keep up with the youthful activities of our elders,” commented daughter-in-law Lena Thompson, married to Thompson son Neal.
“My dad’s in such good health,” added Amy, “they don’t think of him as old because he gives them a run for their money!”
Pat and Ralph each have one more group of grandkids to host in the next five years or so.
“Never underestimate the power of fun,” Pat said with a grin. “It keeps us young.”
Disrupt Aging is a column produced by AARP Hawaii, West Hawaii Today and The Hawaii Tribune-Herald. It began this month and will run monthly in the West Hawaii Today Home Section on Sunday although two articles have run this month to promote its launch.
Roberta Wong Murray is an AARP volunteer seeking stories about people who are redefining their age. Contact her at rwongmurray@gmail.com or call 322-6886.