I have written past columns about traveling with small kids and the challenges that can present.

I have written past columns about traveling with small kids and the challenges that can present.

This column is about what happens when those kids grow up.

Over the next few weeks, I will update you on what an adventure that can be. As you read this, I will have just landed in Barcelona, Spain, along with my youngest daughter, Heather, who is 29. As a family, we have traveled together a lot. This is the first time in many years that it has been just Heather and me.

The purpose of our trip is business. We are escorting a group of 77 people on a western Mediterranean cruise as part of an incentive program a local company put together to reward their employees’ exceptional job performance. The company organized the trip through us, and our job is to see that everything goes just as it is supposed to with all the onboard events and private shore excursions we have arranged.

We will begin our journey in Barcelona, sail to Villefranche in France, Florence, Rome, Naples and Palermo in Italy, then conclude our trip in Paris. Normally, my wife, Carol, would accompany me, but because of some issues with her elderly mother, it was just not possible for her to go now. Almost immediately, Heather volunteered. Heather worked in our store during her high school and college days, but moved on after graduating to find her own station in life in the public relations field. For her, this is more a vacation than work, but that’s OK. She knows what to do when I need help.

Now as any dad knows, particularly dads of daughters, in a girl’s formulative years, dad’s role in life is reduced to that of a walking ATM machine. I was blessed with two daughters and a wife, so you can multiply that role by three. They didn’t even have to punch in the numbers and the cash poured out.

As my daughters grew older, they were very similar in size to my wife. I never quite figured out with the accumulation of fancy dresses between the three of them, nothing ever worked for the other one and dresses always seemed to be single-use objects. A new dress was always needed for the big events and the cash machine doled out.

Funny thing, I was able to wear the same black tuxedo for all those years and nobody ever said “Hey, isn’t that the same suit you wore last time?” I would probably still be wearing it, but I guess it shrunk because it doesn’t seem to fit the same way (or at all).

At any rate, the first good sign on this trip is that Heather, as usual, just had to have some new clothes. She went out and bought them all herself and I didn’t have to pay for them. The old ATM didn’t have to strain to put cash out. Wow, it’s a new day! The second good sign was Heather called me and offered her credit card information so that all her room charges would go on her card instead of me footing the whole bill.

Hallelujah! Good things run in threes. She said she would take care of buying Euros for her own spending money. Given the value of the U.S. Dollar, that is huge. Chalk this up to one of the major differences and advantages of traveling with your grown kids. They actually pay for things themselves.

Every parent who has taken small kids on vacation knows just how much work it can be. Dragging the strollers, car seats and all the other equipment can be exhausting. As kids get a little older, just supervising them while in a strange place can wear you out, not to mention the mental toll of “are we there yet?” Advantage number two for traveling with your adult kids is that it’s much more like traveling with a good friend. They take care of themselves! You already have 10 times more energy to just enjoy your trip.

Well, we settled into our hotel to spend a few days just exploring Barcelona before the rest of the group arrived. We have both been to Barcelona before so it’s a little easier to whittle down the list of things we most want to do. The problem of course is agreeing on those things. With little kids, it is easy. The parent makes the decision and that’s it.

With adult kids, it becomes more of a negotiation. In this case, I’ve decided to take a passive role and let her pick.

The only advice I gave was that if she has to experience the nightlife of Barcelona, that normally by 10 p.m. I start to nod off before the news is finished. I’m not sure how cool you can look in a trendy Barcelona night spot with an old guy at your table nodding off, but I’ll be there for her.

Lesson number three about travelling with your adult kids: They may actually want to do things without you, and they’re big enough to do it!

Next: On to the French Riviera.

Jerry Vaughn is president of World Voyager Vacations in Federal Way: jvaughn@

worldvoyagervacations.com.

I have written past columns about traveling with small kids and the challenges that can present.

This column is about what happens when those kids grow up.

Over the next few weeks, I will update you on what an adventure that can be. As you read this, I will have just landed in Barcelona, Spain, along with my youngest daughter, Heather, who is 29. As a family, we have traveled together a lot. This is the first time in many years that it has been just Heather and me.

The purpose of our trip is business. We are escorting a group of 77 people on a western Mediterranean cruise as part of an incentive program a local company put together to reward their employees’ exceptional job performance. The company organized the trip through us, and our job is to see that everything goes just as it is supposed to with all the onboard events and private shore excursions we have arranged.

We will begin our journey in Barcelona, sail to Villefranche in France, Florence, Rome, Naples and Palermo in Italy, then conclude our trip in Paris. Normally, my wife, Carol, would accompany me, but because of some issues with her elderly mother, it was just not possible for her to go now. Almost immediately, Heather volunteered. Heather worked in our store during her high school and college days, but moved on after graduating to find her own station in life in the public relations field. For her, this is more a vacation than work, but that’s OK. She knows what to do when I need help.

Now as any dad knows, particularly dads of daughters, in a girl’s formulative years, dad’s role in life is reduced to that of a walking ATM machine. I was blessed with two daughters and a wife, so you can multiply that role by three. They didn’t even have to punch in the numbers and the cash poured out.

As my daughters grew older, they were very similar in size to my wife. I never quite figured out with the accumulation of fancy dresses between the three of them, nothing ever worked for the other one and dresses always seemed to be single-use objects. A new dress was always needed for the big events and the cash machine doled out.

Funny thing, I was able to wear the same black tuxedo for all those years and nobody ever said “Hey, isn’t that the same suit you wore last time?” I would probably still be wearing it, but I guess it shrunk because it doesn’t seem to fit the same way (or at all).

At any rate, the first good sign on this trip is that Heather, as usual, just had to have some new clothes. She went out and bought them all herself and I didn’t have to pay for them. The old ATM didn’t have to strain to put cash out. Wow, it’s a new day! The second good sign was Heather called me and offered her credit card information so that all her room charges would go on her card instead of me footing the whole bill.

Hallelujah! Good things run in threes. She said she would take care of buying Euros for her own spending money. Given the value of the U.S. Dollar, that is huge. Chalk this up to one of the major differences and advantages of traveling with your grown kids. They actually pay for things themselves.

Every parent who has taken small kids on vacation knows just how much work it can be. Dragging the strollers, car seats and all the other equipment can be exhausting. As kids get a little older, just supervising them while in a strange place can wear you out, not to mention the mental toll of “are we there yet?” Advantage number two for traveling with your adult kids is that it’s much more like traveling with a good friend. They take care of themselves! You already have 10 times more energy to just enjoy your trip.

Well, we settled into our hotel to spend a few days just exploring Barcelona before the rest of the group arrived. We have both been to Barcelona before so it’s a little easier to whittle down the list of things we most want to do. The problem of course is agreeing on those things. With little kids, it is easy. The parent makes the decision and that’s it.

With adult kids, it becomes more of a negotiation. In this case, I’ve decided to take a passive role and let her pick.

The only advice I gave was that if she has to experience the nightlife of Barcelona, that normally by 10 p.m. I start to nod off before the news is finished. I’m not sure how cool you can look in a trendy Barcelona night spot with an old guy at your table nodding off, but I’ll be there for her.

Lesson number three about travelling with your adult kids: They may actually want to do things without you, and they’re big enough to do it!

Next: On to the French Riviera.

Jerry Vaughn is president of World Voyager Vacations in Federal Way: jvaughn@

worldvoyagervacations.com.