Mom's Guide To Travel

Trip Planning, Expert Tips, and Fun Ideas For Family Travel.

5 Tips for New York City Tourists (video)

If you’re going to be visiting New York City in the summer time, and you want to avoid being elbowed by a local, standing in long check-out lines at your hotel, and a few other key suggestions, watch this video of 5 tips for New York City tourists from a New Yorker.

Here’s a wrap-up if you don’t have 6 minutes to watch. No worries, I won’t take it personally.

1. Avoid summer travel if you can.

2. Don’t stop in the middle of the sidewalk to sight-see. Seriously.

3. If you pay for a cab with your credit card, it’s an automatic 20% tip. Use cash-ola!

4. If you drive into the city and park at a hotel, parking will usually run you $50-$60 per day. Don’t do it!

5. If you’re flying out on Sunday, take an early morning flight to avoid ginormous crowds.

Group Travel: 5 Things to Look for in the Ideal Travel Roommate

Travel roommate

The first time I ever had a roommate other than my sister, was when I was 13 years old and went off to boarding school. All I knew about her was her name and that she was from Maryland. My main source of anxiety centered around personal space and privacy, something I won’t have to worry about when I travel to London to meet up with four other female travelers. We’ll be relaxing in a spacious well-appointed apartment provided by Go with Oh!

Back in my boarding school days I knew a stranger and I would be sharing some small sterile space, so far removed from what we called home. I knew we’d be in that tight room for four months and it would take a little time for us to make it cozy. Privacy was nil and we had never had a conversation with each other.  A dozen (plus) years, roommates, and conversations later, I have a pretty good idea what to look for in what I’d call an ideal travel roommate.

First off, it’s unrealistic to think you’re going to find a roommate that’s a clone of yourself. We’re all very different types of travelers. Even my best friend and I set ground rules before we take a trip with each other. Well, I wouldn’t call them rules, but more like, understandings. Some of the things we discuss are:

  • going off on our own to explore (specifically, if we’re not in agreement about an activity)
  • personal must-do or must-see activities
  • shower times (she prefers evenings, I prefer mornings)
  • night time noise (radio or television)
  • contingency plan for snoring

travel roommate apartment

In general, the most important parts of sharing the space are the bedroom and the bathroom. What I like about the Go with Oh! apartment that I’ll be staying at with my London roomies is that there’s plenty of bedrooms and bathrooms for 5 women to share so that we won’t be stepping on each other’s toes. Plus, at some point before our trip, the 5 of us will have spoken together or even met in person.

Here are five suggestions I’d recommend when looking for the ideal travel roommate:

  1. Be Communicative – Be upfront but respectful. If you’re a light snorer (uhummm), let people know.
  2. Stay Open-minded – It’s okay to do you but why not step outside the box just this once?
  3. Practice cleanliness – Cleanliness is next to Godliness…enough said.
  4. Display Basic Manners/ Be courteous – Treat others as you’d like to be treated.
  5. Have fun – Your time is short, so why not keep it sweet?

I’m looking forward to returning to London and hanging with these ladies while practicing what I preach at our Go with Oh! London digs.

Here is an updated bit of advice that I lend in this video replay:

Flying with Kids and Leukemia: Port-a-caths and Medications

Traveling is a big element of our family life. However, my youngest son’s recent diagnosis has put that on hold for the time being. In coming to terms with our “new normal” and making adjustments, one of the first things that has come to mind (outside of when will we be able to travel as a family again?) is HOW do we travel with my son’s new medical needs? How do we fly with his port-a-cath? How do we fly with his medications?

It’s crazy but you never think about these things if you’re not living it. I’ve walked briskly by hundreds of passengers maneuvering the screening process with their wheelchairs. I’ve seen people hand special bags over to security agents. And I’ve watched travelers be escorted for special security screenings. Thoughts like, “Hmm, why does that person get screened separately?” or “Wonder what’s in that bag?” have briefly crossed my mind. And then I’d go on about my business.

Now I know.

Passengers with implanted medical devices have the option of undergoing different security procedures. In preparation for the next time we fly, I consulted the TSA website, which gave me all the answers I needed in regards to my son’s port and his medications.

Flying with Medications
Flying with Medications

To Do

  • Let the security officer know that my son has an implanted device and where it’s located.
  • Request the security officer to do a pat-down inspection or a discreet screening.
  • Declare that we are traveling with medications and carry doctor’s documentation.
  • Request a visual inspection of medications before the screening process begins if I don’t want meds to be X-rayed.
  • Separate medications from other property and place in a pouch or bag.
  • Hand the medicine bag to the Security agent.

Remember that

  • My son’s clothing isn’t required to be lifted as a part of the inspection process.
  • All medications and supplies are allowed through security checkpoints after they’ve been screened.
  • I will be asked to handle and repack my own meds (uhh, yeah!) to prevent contamination or damage.

Although the TSA site doesn’t mention this, I’d also request that the agent switch gloves when they need to pat him down. Can you imagine all the germs on the gloves that they’re using? Yeah, that’s the last thing any mom of a child with cancer wants touching their child: a plastic glove that’s touched…God knows what.

The number one thing any parent of a child traveling with a disability is looking for is sensitivity, then consistency, then efficiency with the process. What I liked most that I saw on TSA’s Travelers with Disabilities and Medical Conditions page was: “it is the manner in which the screening is conducted that is most important.“

Understanding that TSA policy isn’t always consistent with practice, I’ll be sure to present the site’s official language to gate agents the next time we fly.

Orlando Theme Parks – Tips for Traveling with Special Needs

A family trip to the Orlando and Kissimmee area would be remiss without a visit to the area’s local theme parks and attractions. Traveling with special needs adds another dimension to a family’s theme park adventures. If you have a child with autism, you’re not quite sure what to expect from them and sometimes all the research and prep in the world inevitably goes to the dogs. However, one of the first things you should do when you arrive at places like Disney World and LegoLand is report to guest services. Let them know your child’s individual need and they’ll give you a valuable piece of paper – the Guest Assistance Card. Disney World’s pass looks like this:

Must-Have Pass at Disney

It’s good for up to 5 family members, including the guest with special needs. Although the pass doesn’t eliminate your wait time at rides, it will help to shorten it significantly. This comes in handy during peak seasons like Spring Break, when the average wait time for rides runs about 90 minutes. For shows, attendants will escort you through a separate entrance and listen to your seating needs (i.e. the front, close to the exit).

LegoLand will give you a pass like the one below when you report to Guest Relations after you enter the park:

Must-Get Pass for Special Needs

The child/person needing assistance and one other person will be provided immediate access to rides. If the whole family wants to ride together, you will be assigned a time to get on the ride together. You go to the Exit for the ride (all except The Dragon) and the attendant at the attraction will mark the back of your pass – it’s kind of like an appointment. When it’s time to get on, you report back to the Exit and they let you on the ride. The back of the pass looks like this:

"Appointments" on Our Access Pass

Some attendants adhere to the rule, some don’t worry about it and let you on pretty immediately. Either way, I think the system works well. Of course, I prefer immediate access (who doesn’t?) – I always feel like I’m racing against the clock when we’re having good moments and I want to capitalize on that precious time. Yet, even with having to come back at a scheduled time, rides are so close at LegoLand that you can walk to the next attraction/activity or grab a snack. Before you know it, your appointment has arrived.

I’m very grateful to LegoLand and Disney World for being so accommodating and helping in a big way to make our visit pleasant. We didn’t wait longer than 15 minutes for any one ride during our visit to Disney. At LegoLand,  all except once or twice, we enjoyed immediate access. Our day moved along very smoothly with only 1 brief melt down. Hooray! Families dealing with special needs, whether physical or developmental, appreciate any help they can get.

 

The Road to Kissimmee and Orlando

The countdown for our family trip to Kissimmee and Orlando has officially begun. Customary to family vacations that we take in the middle of the school year, I’ve had to keep my excitement contained. So much has gone into the planning of this trip and there’s still much to do in the days before we hit the road (i.e. Spring cleaning, exercise, appointments, writing deadlines, school tests) that reveling in vacationhood probably won’t occur until the day that we arrive.

Planning for my family’s trip to Florida has been a two-month process. One thing I’ve learned during this whole process that applies to my personality: Don’t do Florida for Spring Break! I love off-season traveling and this trip is definitely the antithesis of that.

In the meantime, I’ve released very few of the details to my 8 year old because I wanted to not only avoid the barrage of questions in the midst of my planning but also because I need him to stay focused for his standardized tests before our journey begins. It’s a challenge for a child to understand that although vacation is on the horizon, everyday life still goes on. My four year old is a different story. He’ll get the gist of it all once he sees it and that’s a moment which I look forward to.

 

We opted to do a family road trip instead of flying. I’m hoping I don’t regret the decision. When it comes to driving, or co-piloting for that matter, I’m very little help to my husband. He doesn’t believe me when I say I have “road narcolepsy” (Yes, I made that up but I define it as extreme sleepiness after 30-45 minutes riding in a car or train). It never fails. I don’t last long. Unless I’m the one driving, he can count on me to be off to my own personal Magic Kingdom in less than an hour.

 

The drive from Maryland to the Kissimmee/Orlando area is over 13 hours, barring food/potty stops and traffic. We’re still plotting whether to stay the night in Charleston with the in-laws or forge ahead. At any rate, the Florida hotel reservations are made, tickets have been arranged, our itinerary is set, and snacks are packed. All we have left to do is fill our suitcases, gather our entertainment, map our course, and plan our attack for the theme parks.

On our list of things to do while in the Kissimmee area: Disney World, Legoland, Sea World, Arabian Knights, Fantasy of Flight, and good old fashioned sightseeing. I’ve also managed to smuggle in a detour to the beach. We’ll probably need a vacation after this trip. Does that happen to you?

Anyway, I can’t wait to create these memories with my family and share the journey with you all along the way.

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