Spas - Mom's Guide To Travel

Jun 29 2015

Travel Products That Make Your Travel Life Easier

On Sunday I did a morning travel segment on WBAL-TV 11, a local station in Baltimore, where I spoke about innovative travel products that make your travel life easier. It was a fun experience sharing some of my favorites with the audience.

Travel products segment — Moments before going on air for the segment.

Travel is stressful enough, between flying, getting through security checks quickly and easily, or traveling solo with your child so I like to keep my eyes out for travel products that are going to make the experience just a fraction easier for me. Below you’ll find the five travel products that I talked about on-air.

Travel Products — I’m just noticing all the red. Can you tell it’s my favorite color?

Victorinox Spectra Dual Access Extra Capacity Carry-On

Luggage means everything to me. I’m not a backpacker so I’ll rarely talk about those types of products. I like toting around luggage that is both functional and fashionable. The features that I like about this luggage piece from Swiss Gear, the same company that makes timeless Swiss Army knives, include:

TSA-accepted 3-dial combination lock
lightweight construction,
easy maneuverability with its 360degree spinner wheels
WHAT I LIKE most about this luggage is that it helps keep me organized. I know exactly what I need to put where, in order to maximize the space and design.

Occles Eyewear

This second item is really unique. These are bridgeless eyeshades called Occles, a company of Scotland. You’re probably wondering what are bridgeless eyeshades. Think of noise cancelling headphones but just for your eyes. The eyeshades are like little suction cups that block out ambient and UV light which not only protects your eyes but allows you to go to sleep a little faster. You can use them when you

are on the plane
on the beach and the sun is shining
or if you want to sneak in a nap in the middle of the day when the kids are running around.

A Pillow For Your Armrest

The third item is the Walter and Ray Arm pillow. This super light-weight plush cushion doesn’t take up much space in your bags and comes in handy when you’re on a flight and you want to comfortably rest your elbows on that hard arm rest. The extra padding is such a small detail but it’s the little things that count. You can also use this as a lumbar cushion.

If I’m in a window seat and no one is beside me, I’ll put the arm pillow on the arm rest near the window and lean against that as a back rest, sitting at a diagonal to give myself more leg room. It would be uncomfortable to do that with the exposed seat handle digging into your back.

Functional Travel Clothing

Pocketed travel clothing is really useful when you want to travel hands-free and avoid carrying an extra bag for smaller items. This ScottEVest travel vest has 17 pockets that you can fill with all types of necessities. And because of it’s design, it doesn’t look bulky once the pockets are filled. The vest can hold and conceal your cell phone, money, id, head phones, ipad minis you name it. Talk about compartmentalization.

The Ride On Carry On

This product is a classic. It is a foldable child’s chair that converts your carry-on luggage into a stroller. It folds flat so that you don’t have to detach it from the luggage and you can store it in the overhead bin as is. The headrest doubles as a tray table and it’s included. It supports a child from 8 months – 5 years with a weight up to 50 pounds.

It’s wonderful because it replaces trying to push a stroller and carry-on luggage, which is a challenge to maneuver when you’re flying solo with a child. I used it when my husband was deployed and I had to travel with my then 2 year-old solo. It made a world of a difference maneuvering around the airport with a small child and carry one luggage.

When the link to the segment is ready, I’ll put it up in another blog to share with you all. You can find any of the products that I mentioned in the links below or through the Amazon widget in the right sidebar of this page.

Products

Occles bridgeless eyeshades – http://www.occles.co/

Walter & Ray Arm Cushion – http://walterandray.com/product/armpillow-plus/

What are some of your favorite travel products that ease your travels?

Jun 23 2015

Speaking About Managing Family Travel – Interview

Last week, on I Heart Radio’s Speaking of Travel show, Marilyn Ball from News Radio 570 WWNC interviewed me about managing family travel.

On the show we talked about what inspired me to pursue a life of travel and how I make the adjustment with kids. You can read a snippet of the transcript from the show below.

Marilyn Ball:

Well, how many times have you boarded a plane behind a parent with a child or God forbid, two children? All the other passengers on the plane are holding their breath hoping that the family doesn’t sit with them.

But now that parent is you.

How can you avoid fulfilling the other passengers worst fears and your own? Traveling is stressful enough for people without kids add restless impatient and messy little ones and it’s a whole new ball game.

Much of your fear is probably due to having seen those daggers of hate which other travelers throw at parents and their children. And maybe you’ve even thrown those invisible daggers yourself before. Part of it also is you just don’t know what might happen when you’re trapped ten thousand feet above ground. Even if you usually do have well-behaved kids and so you might imagine the worst from diaper blow outs and vomit on a stranger’s laptop to a six-hour screaming session.

You know with a little preparation you can mitigate many of the biggest concerns about traveling with your kids. You don’t have to be the most hated person on the airplane.

All right, true, traveling with your family might seem pretty scary and even though you feel like you’re herding cats, the experiences you have and the memories you make just might change your life for the better. Well, the good news is my guest today is not only a traveling mother of two children, she’s very familiar with the challenges of pulling off that much-needed vacation.

Tawanna Browne Smith is the founder and editor of Mom’s Guide to Travel, a cite that provides multimedia content aimed at encouraging parents to continue exploring the world with and even without kids. Tawanna works with hotel brands and tourism boards to experience and market their products. She produces travel video content. She’s the author of an e-book on travel with young kids and self-published the Mom’s Guide to Saving Money on Family Travel. Tawanna is originally from Brooklyn, New York and is now based in the Baltimore Washington area where she joins us today.

Welcome to the show. Thank you for being here Tawanna.

Me:

Thank you so much Marilyn, I appreciate it. I’m very happy to be here.

Marilyn Ball:

Well Tawanna, you do a lot of traveling and now you have two children of your own. Tell us a little about your love of traveling and how you’re pre-kids traveling influenced how you travel today.

Me:

Well, I would say that I’ve always been a dreamer. I’ve always been that kid who was looking out of the window, and you know, just saying to myself, OK there is definitely more to the world than New York.

I went to a boarding school when I was thirteen. And when I was in school, I met kids from around the world. My best friends were from Liberia. I had another friend who was from Korea and one who was from Mexico. And it was always very interesting to have conversations with these other kids, finding out what they’re life was like in their own country, it was just so different from what I’d known.

It was always great to hear them talk about where they were going for vacation and so that created a spark in me. And I thought, “when I am older and able, I want to travel.” So after boarding school, I went to college as far away as I could but still staying in the United States. I went to school in California. And it was a ball that started rolling from there…

You can catch the rest of the transcript by listening to the audio above or on the News Radio 570 website by clicking here.

Jun 15 2015

10 Ways To Make Your Chattanooga Visit Exceptionally Fun

Last Fall, I spent an action-packed 3 days in Chattanooga, Tennessee, a city I knew nothing about except for a reference to the Chattanooga Choo Choo. In my brief research on things for families to do in Chattanooga, I learned that it was a popular city for outdoor enthusiasts such as rock climbers, hikers, and kayakers. Go figure.

Here I thought I’d just be learning about trains.

Below is a short list of what I found were ten of the best things to do in Chattanooga for a four-day visit with your family. This list will help you with your trip planning should you decide to get some family travel in to this dynamic and scenic South East city.

Take the free electric shuttle around town just to get your lay of the land. Free transportation is always a gift from a city’s Visitors Bureau and you should take full advantage of it.
Ride a bike using the Bike Share program. Not only is it good exercise but you’re decreasing your carbon footprint on the city when you walk or ride a bike over driving everywhere. It’s a nice way to explore at your leisure. You’ll need a credit card to rent the bikes. The company puts a $101 hold on your card but refunds the hold once you return the bike.
Learn or practice your rock climbing skills at High Point Climbing and Fitness. Conveniently located downtown, just two blocks away from the Riverfront, you can tap into your inner daredevil and either climb an exterior public art piece or practice indoors. You’ll find a 28,000 climbing space filled with 23 auto belays, 100 top ropes multiple bouldering rooms, sport climbing, and a speed-climbing wall as well as a standard gym area. All-in-all, climbers have access to practice on 300 routes. Don’t worry if you or someone in your family has a disability. They’ve hosted events before where they’ve worked with people needing special assistance. Just inquire within.
Let your children roam free at the Creative Discovery Museum. It’s been ranked among one of the top 20 children’s museums in the U.S. since it opened in 1995.
Hunter Museum of American Art in the Bluff Art District
Explore the Bluff View Art District at 212 High Street. Roam the outdoor sculpture garden for a peaceful stroll. This quaint district is made up of cute homes, two restaurants, a bed and breakfast, coffee shop, and two museums. Enjoy delicious coffee and pastries (or a delicious bagel breakfast sandwich to go) at Rembrandts. Laid back and quiet, you may find yourself pulling out a book and just relaxing for a spell. If it’s later in the day, treat yourself to a plate of handmade pasta at Tony’s Pasta. After gorging on fresh bread, I kept my meal simple and enjoyed an inexpensive plate of handmade fettuccine with garlic and olive oil.
Get your hiking shoes out and spend a few hours at Rock City Gardens. You’ll have fun squeezing through narrow pathways etched between massive boulders and ancient rock formations. Follow wispy signs and smiling gnomes as you cross fairytale-style bridges on your way up to Lookout Mountain. There are over 400 native plant species in the garden. You’ll get a chance to see them all while you make your way to Fairyland Caverns where miniature scenes of favored fairytales are displayed. At the top of Lookout Mountain I had a chance to take in panoramic views of the valley below and the horizon leading to six neighboring states.
If you like fish, you have to check out the Tennessee Aquarium. It’s the world’s largest freshwater aquarium. Inside are giant tanks filled with sharks, barracuda, stingrays and more.
Ride the Tennessee Valley Railroad’s restored vintage trains. The short ride takes you on a trip through history along one of the original railroad lines in Chattanooga. We crossed over four bridges and passed through pre-Civil War Missionary Ridge Tunnel. Our trip took us to a stock yard where they fix and clean old trains and engines.
Travel deep within the caverns of Lookout Mountain to find Ruby Falls. After an elevator ride and a half-mile walk you’ll come upon a spectacular underground waterfall, among the highest in the United States. Learn about stalagmites and stalactites as you pass by mineral pools, limestone and ancient rocks on the way to the Falls. If you want to do something a bit more daring, try your hand at ziplining through the treetops of Lookout Mountain. The course includes 30 high-wire challenge elements including ladders, nets, walkways, bridges, tunnels and more. Personally, walking through the caverns to the Falls was enough exercise for me.
The Lookout Mountain Incline Railway rising from beneath the cloud bank.
“Climb” Lookout Mountain again. This time make the climb on the Lookout Mountain Incline Railway. It’s known as the world’s steepest passenger railway with a 72% grade. It’s a beautiful mile-long ride to the top of Lookout Mountain where you’ll peep secluded mountain homes and panoramic views of downtown Chattanooga.

Sample Chattanooga Itinerary

If you’re short on time or are trying to pack in as much as possible in 24 hours (something I don’t recommend), here’s what one of my days in Chattanooga looked like. If you’re enjoying some family travel time, I’d cut these activities in half, go slow and enjoy your surroundings.

6:30 am Breakfast

8:00 am Ruby Falls

9:30 am Lookout Mountain Incline

11:00 am Chattanooga Market

12:00 pm Lunch at Taco Mamacitas / Dessert at Milk & Honey

1:30 pm Zoo

3:00 pm Hunter Museum of American Art

5:30 pm Dinner at Tony’s Pasta

Important Addresses in Chattanooga

1. High Point Climbing and Fitness

219 Broad Street

Chattanooga, TN 37402

2. Creative Discovery Museum for children

321 Chestnut St

3. Bluff View Art District

212 High Street

4. Rock City Gardens

1400 Patten Road

Lookout Mountain,GA 30750

5. Tennessee Aquarium

1 Broad St

6. Tennessee Valley Railroad

4119 Cromwell Road

7. Ruby Falls

1720 South Scenic Highway

Chattanooga, TN 37409

8. Lookout Mountain Incline Railway

3917 St. Elmo Ave

Check out more of my photos of Chattanooga on my Findery Notemap – just click above.

Jun 15 2015

Incorporating Brain Chase Learning Program Into Your Summer

In the video below I discuss ideas on how you can incorporate the Brian Chase learning program into your kids’ busy summer.

The Research

Research shows that summer learning loss is an issue which impacts all students, especially in mathematics. The numbers show that some children lose about 2-3 months of math comprehension every summer when they’re not engaged in a summer learning program.

Can you imagine how on target your child will be if he/she is doing one hour a day of review or new concepts? I can. It’ll make our sixth grade year go that much smoother.

In the video I show you a sample schedule that I’m considering for my son, whereby he’s getting his learning time in and still has the remainder of the day for other activities, whether we’re at home or traveling. We travel with more than one tablet in addition to my laptop, so he’ll be able to get his work in on the go.

The Plan

My idea is to get him engaged in the morning and be done!

As you’re working on your summer trip planning and looking at camps, as well as other activities, make sure that you’re flexible working Brain Chase into your schedule. Your kids only need 5 focused hours per week to do the program.

This works out to be an easy 1 hour per day of work! Easy.

I have a feeling that once my oldest starts the program, watches the videos, and begins unlocking clues, he won’t be in a rush to “be done.”

The Chase Begins Soon

The Brain Chase program starts in a week (June 22nd) so if you haven’t signed up yet, now’s your chance. Pricing for the regular program is $199 for the first child and $100 for each additional sibling. Premium pricing is $249 and $149 each additional child – with this you get an adventure pack, a t-shirt, and a Sunstone of Cortès patch.

Guess what? They even offer a 7-day cancellation policy if you’re not fully satisfied. That’s how confident the creators and educators are in the program.

Remember, in qualified states, your child will be competing for the real Sunstone of Cortès treasure, a $10,000 prize and a trip for the family to find the hidden treasure. All for studying and guessing first! (Kinda wish I was age 7-15 so that I can play.)

For more information click here to register for the program. You can also read about Brain Chase in the national spotlight here. Good luck and see you on the chase!

This post is sponsored by Brain Chase in conjunction with their summer learning program. All opinions expressed are my own.

Jun 07 2015

How To Ride The Megabus From Baltimore To New York

I rode the Megabus from Baltimore to New York and survived!

Okay okay I’m totally being dramatic. Of course I was fine riding the Megabus. Before Thursday (or rather before Thursday morning when I saw a fat $280 round trip Amtrak ticket staring me in the face) I would’ve said you can lock me up in the trunk of a car before I travel by bus.

Know what type of traveler you are.

I’m just not a bus kinda girl.

Why? Well, we’re all different kinds of travelers and I’m one who happens to prefer cars and planes, ships and trains. Buses rarely come in to play unless I’m in a foreign country.

I don’t particularly care for buses because they tend to be slower; are usually filled with “interesting” characters; and the journey can be a different kind of uncomfortable. After riding the Megabus last week, I’ll say that this particular journey wasn’t that bad.

Here’s why:

1. The price was nice! I can’t say anything about the price. At all. I made a super last minute travel decision to go to New York for an event. It would’ve cost me over $250. The Megabus from Baltimore to New York cost me $56 and according to my girl Tonia who loves taking the bus from DC to NY, even that’s on the “high” side. For a quick turnaround trip that you book less than 2 hours from your departure time, that price is AWESOME!

2. I was able to book a reserved seat. I like guarantees so I’m all for paying an extra few bucks to know exactly where I’m sitting. If you’re rolling with the kids you’ll want to consider this unless you’re down for lining up early. I’m not. I’m an impatient soul. I wanna roll up and roll out.

Megabus from Baltimore to NY — Short line (reserved seats) vs. long line ( unreserved seats)

If you have a reserved seat, you usually board first. Even if you don’t board first, you won’t be scrambling trying to find an optimal seat because you would’ve already secured one. You’ll get exactly what you paid for.

Let me forewarn you, the seats are pleather and kinda slippery which you’ll have to deal with on those bumpy bouncy roadways like parts of the NJ turnpike. Avoid wearing rayon pants or the like – you’ll be sliding all over the place.

The bus tries it’s best to leave on time. It was fairly prompt when I traveled. I’ve heard that it can be painstakingly late at times. This is one of the biggest trade offs between its price and convenience.

Even with Megabus’ suspect punctuality, I’d say play it safe and be there 15 minutes before departure as the website recommends. If you have a reserved seat, you can probably cut it closer but don’t be late.

Bare essentials

Don’t expect pretzels or nuts when you get on the bus. Don’t expect help with your luggage either. I had a day bag with me so I was fine. You’ll see plenty of people traveling with luggage. An older woman carrying a suitcase received no assistance. She was simply directed to the storage bay.

Hey, you can’t complain when you’re not paying much for a service.

3. Wifi service on the bus. WiFi is great when it works for you. With so many people on the network and the bus moving along spotty reception areas of the turnpike, it’s hard to get consistent service. I just switched back to my 3G when I really needed it.

Best seats in the house

What I liked a lot was having outlets to plug my devices!! That’s super important for me as much as I’m online. Several seats have outlets under the seat but not all of them.

The front row top deck seats have four outlets, one for each passenger sitting in that row. Seat 9, where I sat on the journey going up from Baltimore to New York did not.

I’ll say, although I liked having the bus-driver style view in seat 3, as well as the outlets, seat 9 was more comfortable. Sitting in the aisle seat I had more space to stretch my legs forward. In the front row, there’s nowhere to stretch your legs out.

It’s those little nuances that make you wiser for the next time. And that’s why I chose different reserved seats for the round trip ticket – so that I can compare and share.

Did she just say “next time?”

Why yes, yes I did. I won’t be taking the kids on the bus – it’s much easier and more comfortable for me to take them by car. However, IF I have a last-minute trip to Manhattan again, I won’t count this bus out as an option for myself.

Thankfully the ride wasn’t that bad and there are no additional stops on the Megabus from Baltimore to New York.

Travel hack

Another passenger told me how he’s ridden the bus for $5.00 without even having a ticket!

Essentially he said that he rides standby, using one of his old reservation numbers which he writes down on a piece of paper, He tells the bus attendant that he missed his earlier bus. If they have room, he just has to pay the $5.

It’s risky if you have somewhere to be but some people don’t mind chancing it to save a few bucks.

Final tip for riding the Megabus from Baltimore to New York

If you plan on parking, be sure to print out your parking pass which will be a link in your confirmation email. The skimmer that I am, I didn’t notice this until I was in route to catch the bus. So, I ripped a white sheet of paper from my son’s story book and made it look like the pass I saw in another car. I also wrote my reservation number – just in case.

Thankfully I didn’t get ticketed or towed from the White Marsh stop. It was a long shot (and a risk) but thought I’d better give it a try. Do as I say, not as I do: Be sure to print out your parking pass before you park and ride.

What do you think about buses? Like ’em, hate ’em? Would rather do a death march before you step on one? Share your thoughts with me in the comments.