Melbournians: Short getaway to Port Stephens

Alyssa: There was once a time when a short trip away to R & R meant packing a weekend bag along with a couple of novels, swimwear, a hat and a few bottles of red. Add a toddler to the equation and suddenly the luggage triples in size along with miscellaneous items such as a plastic bath tub, a load of biscuits and junk food to keep the toddler pacified in the car for the 2.5 hour drive to destination, a collection of children's dvds and toys to keep the toddler pacified inside the resort just in case the weather turns bad. And in hindsight, maybe a couple of Panadols and ear plugs would've came in handy just in case the toddler decides to throw a tantrum throughout the 2.5 hour drive back home. Our trip was good (except for the drive home), although we could have had nicer weather. We stayed for 4 days at the Oaks Pacific Blue Resort in Port Stephens which was close to the beach and had very nice kid-friendly pool, the type that you could swim out from your room. I said to Yung that I could see us coming back there for future family holidays only when the kids are tantrum-proof, otherwise, it's just hard work holidaying with a toddler. Whatever happened to the good old days of travelling child-free?