Vacations Blog

Babble is an online magazine that covers all things kid and parenting. It’s what they do. That means that with the summer suddenly upon us they have devoted a good portion of their time planning how to get away from it all – assuming all does not include the children (but nice try).

Here are a few examples of what they offer:

From “Babies on a Plane” by Hana Schank:

“We’re just checking to make sure you’re not over the limit,” the security officer said when I asked exactly what they were looking for with regards to the baby food.

“What’s the limit?” I asked.

“Just a reasonable amount,” explained the security officer.

Which is what? Enough to feed a baby but not enough to make an exploding applesauce bomb?

As if that’s not bad enough, the type of baby food you bring on board is also subject to inspection. I was once in line in front of a woman who had a jar of Gerber’s Peach Cobbler confiscated because the security officer said it was a dessert, not baby food.

For more Babies on a Plane visit Babble!

From “10 Toddler Vacation Tips” by Merideth Broussard:

Fill up the iPhone or iPod with family photos and videos.

If you have an iPhone, it’s probably already loaded up with kid-friendly apps like MyFirstABC, Poppin’, Doodle Kids, Scribble, and KidArt. When your little one tires of doodling or popping bubble wrap bubbles, pull out the big guns: family photos. I’ve yet to meet a toddler who doesn’t love going through the family digital photo archive. It’s a chance to tell stories, reflect on the past, and remember the good times your family has had. In other words: a perfect way to begin a family vacation! When you tire of explaining who’s who in every photo, it’s time to move on to home movies of your child. Unrepentant narcissists that they are, toddlers looooove seeing movies of themselves and people they know.

Going to a warm place? Don’t forget that afternoon nap conflicts with prime time on the beach.

There are two strategies for dealing with the afternoon nap issue.

Option 1: reserve a room with a balcony, or a first-floor room with outdoor access. It sounds simple, but I can tell you that it made a huge difference in my happiness on our beach vacation. While my little one napped in our first-floor beachfront room, I sat outside in the sun and read my trashy mystery novel or chatted with friends. It was perfection.

Option 2: Avoid hotels and go to a family-friendly B&B or small inn.

Find out why and some other great tips for Traveling with Toddlers at Babble!

From “25 Family Travel Tips” by Annie Bacon:

Always have a couple of small toys in your bag for outings. Avoid toys that have many small pieces: Polly Pockets are perfect to keep a young girl occupied in the hotel room, but you don’t want to have to crawl under the table to find a missing shoe. Also, don’t bring any “beeping” or musical electronic toys: parents have a selective sense of hearing that allows them not to go crazy in the presence of anything from Vtech, but others might not have that skill.
A few good choices…
- Coloring book with washable pencils
- Activity or sticker books
- Etch-a-sketch
- Magnetic play scenes or dress-up dolls
- Anything that comes in a small case

Resist the urge to ask for a child’s plates before yours. It might keep him quiet at first, but then he’ll have nothing to do once it’s your time to eat.

If you travel abroad, keep in mind that some cultures have different meal schedules and that restaurants’ open hours may differ from what you’re used to. Make enquiries before heading out, or you might hit your nose on a “Closed” sign.

Read more Family Travel Tips at Babble!

As you can see, they offer plenty of advice on how to make the most of your family vacation, from airports to passing the hours of a long road trip and all the beaches in between. It’s also a great place to see what the rich and famous are doing over their summer holiday, and who doesn’t want to know that?

Safe travels!

All photos and quoted text are property of Babble.

I recently posted on this blog about first-time air travel with a toddler. As I mentioned in the previous post, we encountered some successes as well as some genuine teeth clenching moments associated with our 20-month-old’s first airline travel to San Francisco. This post is outlines our actual weekend in that fair city.

Accomodations- Queen Anne Hotel. An historic Victorian 4-story hotel in the Pacific Heights neighborhood, the Queen Anne is very romantic with charming rooms and fireplaces in the downstairs common areas. It was walking distance to the trolley line and a few parks – perfect for those with kids in tow. And, while the Queen Anne doesn’t market itself specifically to families, so we were pleasantly surprised by a number of child-friendly amenities. These included a travel crib, high chairs in the dining area, a full breakfast and cookies (with brandy or the adults) in the evening. The staff, with one exception, was wonderful! If you are traveling with children, we would recommend you book a suite, which includes a sitting/living room area with fridge, sink coffeemaker and a separate bedroom with door.

Queen Anne Hotel

The down-sides to staying at the Queen Anne were few: the travel crib was older and needed repairs (which the staff saw to only after we insisted) and a few of the antiques in the room were not toddler-friendly. We didn’t break anything, but it was definitely a learning curve for a child whose own home has few hands-off zones. And, while the website says the hotel offers childcare, it doesn’t. So, don’t book thinking this service will be available and you will be able to have a “date night” in San Francisco. Overall, the hotel was very nice. We would recommend it to friends, even those with toddlers, because the location is excellent, the staff is friendly, and the few disappointments did not make a difference in our stay.

Day 1 – After a leisurely breakfast at the hotel, we became typical San Francisco tourists. We loaded our son onto his mother’s back and we set out for the nearest cable car stop. It was a beautiful day, so the 5 minute walk to the beginning of the California Trolley line was refreshing. We checked out the unique San Francisco architecture dotted with turn of the century row houses and, to these Seattleites, surprisingly few trees. Our son loves trains, so the California trolley line was a little slice of heaven. We rode the entire cable-car loop through the business district, to the waterfront, and back to where we started. Our son learned to yell “ding, ding” as we rode through town.

Cable Car at Fisherman's Warf

We spent ample time at the waterfront browsing gift shops, watching the ferries come and go, and snacking on the local fare, before boarding the F-train along the Embarcadero towards Pier 39. Pier 39 bills itself as “San Francisco’s Premier Bay Attraction, a festival marketplace with more than 110 stores, 12 bay view restaurants, and a variety of fun-filled attractions for all ages including world renowned sea lions, street performers and live daily entertainment.” We spent the rest of our afternoon wandering around, eating lunch, people watching, and riding on the double-decker carousel – which was a bit hit with our son. After leaving Pier 39 we completed the trolley loop by boarding the Powell-Hyde line at Fisherman’s Warf and riding the cable car back up the hill to where we started. Our son fell asleep on the way back, so after a late nap we had an early dinner and walk in the nearby Filmore district. We then returned to the Queen Anne for a nightcap and bed.

TIP - If you plan to go on more than one trolley ride in a day, purchase a day pass for the cable cars, trains and buses. We got ours at the gift shop of the Holiday Inn Golden Gateway Hotel on Van Ness steps from the beginning of theCalifornia line, as well as good advice on the optimal sightseeing plan from the friendly local staff.

Day 2 – This was a day for family to visit us in the city and our last before heading east to continue that visit. After a few planning calls, breakfast and checking out of our hotel, we decided to head over to Golden Gate Park to visit the California Academy of Sciences and more specifically the Steinhart Aquarium. We had heard rumors about tickets to the Academy selling out and since this was a Saturday we got there early and explored the grounds near the Academy and the de Young Museum while we waited for family to arrive. The grounds were open, spacious, and pleasant and deserved to be explored much more than we had the time or ability to do with a little one along.

Soon the crowds started to arrive in droves. Once our party of 9, including many young children, finally arrived the Academy was absolutely swarming with people. We proceeded in and attempted to enjoy the visit, however the sheer number of visitors made it nearly impossible to enjoy the quality exhibits on display throughout the Academy and the Aquarium. After a couple hours we decided to picnick out on the park grounds where we could enjoy some fresh air. After lunch a few of the party braved another trip in but the results were similar to those before lunch, so we decided to call it a day. We left the city shortly thereafter with a scenic drive across the Golden Gate Bridge , which was itself an awe inspiring experience and left us wanting to return as soon as our situation would allow.

TIP - Academy of Science tickets will run you $24.95 for adults, $19.95 for kids 12-17, and $14.95 for kids 7-11. Parking will set you back another $20.00, so come with a fat wallet, and elbow pads.

Beware of Ghosts at the Queen Anne Hotel

Things We Wished We Had Time For:

As I mentioned this was our first trip with our son.  It was aslo a far cry from the types of trips we are used to taking, where we could cram the maximum amount of touring pleasure into even a long weekend.  Yes, it was a different speed, but it was also still a lot of fun.  I think the key for us was to not plan too much, but rather to enjoy the the sights we could comfortably see without over-taxing our little guy.  With that in mind, here are a couple of things we didn’t get to this time but look forward to on our next trip to the Bay area.

San Francisco Ghost Hunt- If your children are older, you might check out this haunted tour of the Pacific Heights neighborhood that meets each evening in the lobby of the Queen Anne! Apparently several ghosts reside in the Queen Anne, as well as other neighborhood haunts. We didn’t take the tour but did see the tour guide, Jim Fassbinder, in his cape, tophat and lantern. We stayed on the third floor, apparently the most haunted on the hotel, and did see one ghost – but he seemed to be pretty friendly!

Golden Gate Bridge

 Bicycle Tour of the Golden Gate Bridge - We saw many advertisements for this during our short tour of the city and would have attempted this if we had more time. Baring that, at least a walk across the bridge would have been preferrable to the drive. The bridge was packed with walking tourists and that is also an option we will explore on our next visit.

Cable Car an Queen Anne Hotel Photos from Uptake.com
Golden Gate Bridge Photo by Rodefeld
Ghost photo miraculously snapped by the author

Air travel with a small child doesn't have to be stressful

Airplane travel with a small child is a challenge that, if handled incorrectly, can turn what is intended to be a relaxing vacation into nothing short of a ‘memorable’ travel experience for all the wrong reasons.  The mere thought of traveling, especially for the first time, with an active toddler was enough to cause some serious anxiety for this first-time dad.  However, after a recent trip to San Francisco, I have now experienced planes, trains, automobiles, trolleys and hotel rooms with my 20-month-old and survived with my sanity intact.  So, I thought it would be a good idea to pass on some of my observations of what worked in air travel and what didn’t to other rookie parents who may be stressing ever so slightly about traveling with their little ones.

Here are my 10 observations.  Please feel free to add your own by leaving a comment to this post.

1.  Airline Tickets for Kids – My young son rarely sits still for more than a couple of minutes at a time, much less in our laps.  Although domestic airlines no longer offer discounted children’s fares, we thought a dedicated seat in which to put his car seat would be the best way to go.  You can’t count anymore on a “free” seat being available on a flight – airlines are fully booking most flights.  So, we perused recent airline sales and bought him his own ticket at a great rate. 

2.  Car Seat or No Car Seat – We chose to use an FAA approved car seat for the flight.  The good thing was that he was safely restrained in a familiar place.  The biggest downside was that our son’s feet then easily reached the seat in front of him, which he felt compelled to kick repeatedly.  Thankfully, the occupants in the seat on both flights were very understanding.  We also bought a car seat rolling attachment, which allowed us to wheel it through the airport.  This worked great once it was attached, but was extremely cumbersome to attach and detach.  With a fidgety toddler to entertain, this was a bit of a pain.  However, the car seat became necessary because, although we rented a car from Thrifty car rental and they do have car seats available, they could not guarantee one would be available when we arrived.  What is the point of that?

Airport Security can be cumbersome with a little one in tow

3.  Airport Security/Gestapo - It was a new experience navigating airport security with a toddler.  We actually had to take the size 6 ½ shoes off of our 20 month old and try to coax him to walk himself through metal detector.  We also had to have the car-seat and stroller personally inspected since they wouldn’t fit onto the conveyor.  Lastly, we had a sippy cup of milk which we were instructed to run through the x-ray machine, then once it came through it was subjected to another test to make sure it was actually milk.  Remember to add enough extra time for all these inconveniences when planning when to arrive at the airport.

4.  Airport as Playground – It is was a great idea to arrive early at the airport so that we could find the children’s play area.  This allowed our little guy to get plenty of exercise and wear himself out for the flight.  Another success was finding a large window at the gate area so that he could watch the airplanes taking off and landing.  He absolutely loved that – this was a plan that worked!

5.  Avoid Late Night Flights – Scheduling one leg of the flight for our son’s mid-day nap time was great.  He played at the airport, ate some lunch, visited with the other travelers, conked out just as the plane took off, and woke up when the plane landed 2 hours later with a smile on his face.  In contrast, the return flight at 10:30 p.m. was excruciating.  All the things that made the airport fascinating to our toddler on the flight out were the exact same things that kept him from going to sleep on the return flight.  So, he was overtired and over-stimulated by the time we boarded the plane and crying in misery as the plane lifted off.  It might have worked better had the return flight been at his bedtime – 7:30 p.m. – rather than three hours later.

6.  Air Flight and Ear Pain – The cabin pressure only bothered our son during the decent of the return flight.  Unfortunately, this happened while he was sleeping and caused him to wake screaming.  He wasn’t interested in sucking on a sippy cup to pop his ears, so this was one time we wish we had a bought a binky to give to him for those few minutes (for the record, he hasn’t used a binky since he was 5 months old).  Consider ear pain a reality when you travel with kids and plan for how you will relieve it – sippy, binky, bottle or breast.

7.  Keep the Child Busy – Since they have to be strapped into the seat for long periods of time, it is a great idea to bring plenty of small, unfamiliar things to distract their attention.  Our approach was to have a small backpack filled with interesting new items to discover.  Once that had been exhausted, we had loaded a couple of kids videos (educational, of course) on my video i-pod and bought him some child-sized headphones with tiger ears.  This worked great and since he normally doesn’t get to watch television he was transfixed.

Arrive at the airport early and explore

8.  Snacks, Snacks and More Snacks – We packed a little travel bento box for our son and kept it crammed with healthy snacks.  He could eat whatever he wanted whenever he wanted, and we didn’t have to worry about a hungry toddler meltdown.  This plan worked out great – no drawbacks!

9.   Travel Lightly, But With a Big Baby Bag – I normally travel pretty light.  However, this time was a whole new experience as we ended up packing so much extra stuff, including the full sized stroller (which worked great to gate-check) and car seat on wheels that it actually seemed well worth the $4.00 to rent one of those luggage carts to schlep it from the car to the security check in.  The rest of the time I ended up being a glorified Sherpa.  We used most of the kid stuff, including the new toys we packed to keep him occupied in the hotel room, but could have packed less for ourselves and him.

10.  RELAX! – The airport staff, flight crew and most travelers are more understanding than we expected.  We got lots of smiles and assistance on both legs of our journey, and no one complained about our screaming toddler on the flight home (at least not to us).  People are much nicer than we often give them credit for.  Don’t forget to ask for your child’s first “wings” or a TSA sticker – both fun things to add to your kid’s scrap book.

Now, sit back and enjoy the flight!

Photo credits: Airliner by two stout monks; Security by Chicagoeye; Child by Stephen Witherden